The Legal Status of Arctic Sea Ice in the United States and Canada

35 (1) Polar Geography 2012 (1-19)

Vermont Law School Research Paper No. 08-13

21 Pages Posted: 3 Dec 2012 Last revised: 6 Feb 2013

See all articles by Betsy B. Baker

Betsy B. Baker

Vermont Law School; University of Washington School of Law

Sarah Mooney

Vermont Law School

Date Written: March 30, 2012

Abstract

The treatment of sea ice in US and Canadian law has failed adequately to allocate and manage demands on Arctic sea ice among competing uses. Decision makers have generally categorized sea ice as either land or water, a binary approach that ignores its unique characteristics and the services it provides to many different users. Agency action and related litigation in the USA demonstrate sea ice user conflicts and highlight the tendency of US law to protect only one type of user at a time. In Canada, two recent Inuit Land Claims Agreement create zones that encompass sea ice. Yet both systems are beginning to acknowledge sea ice as a component of larger systems and as a resource with multiple uses and users. Both countries have the seeds of mechanisms in place to allow multiple users of sea ice to provide input on planning decisions affecting sea ice. While much work lies ahead, and none of these steps on its own clarifies the legal status of sea ice, combined they provide a modest foundation for beginning to better balance competing uses of sea ice in a warming Arctic.

Keywords: Arctic, sea ice, ecosystem services, Alaska, Inuit, Inuvialuit, Nunavut, Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, Land Claims Agreements, United States, Canada, Environmental Law

Suggested Citation

Baker, Betsy B. and Mooney, Sarah, The Legal Status of Arctic Sea Ice in the United States and Canada (March 30, 2012). 35 (1) Polar Geography 2012 (1-19), Vermont Law School Research Paper No. 08-13, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2183796

Betsy B. Baker (Contact Author)

Vermont Law School ( email )

68 North Windsor Street
P.O. Box 60
South Royalton, VT 05068
United States
8028311270 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.vermontlaw.edu/directory/person?name=Baker,Betsy

University of Washington School of Law ( email )

c/o 510 L Street
Suite 500
Anchorage, AK 99517
United States
9077937046 (Phone)

Sarah Mooney

Vermont Law School

68 North Windsor Street
P.O. Box 60
South Royalton, VT 05068
United States

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