United States v. Frey, No. 16-1424 (1st Cir. 2021)
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In this en banc decision involving a real property dispute, the First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court holding that the "Penobscot Indian Reservation" (the Reservation) does not include the waters and submerged lands constituting the riverbed of the six-mile stretch of the Penobscot River known as the Main Stem, holding that the district court did not err.
The Penobscot Nation sued the State of Maine and various state officials seeking a declaratory judgment that the Nation had exclusive regulatory authority over the Main Stem and a declaratory judgment that the Nation had sustenance fishing rights in the Main Stem. The district court declared that the Reservation does not include the waters of the Main Stem or the submerged lands of the riverbed beneath it but that the Nation had sustenance fishing rights in the Main Stem. A divided panel of the First Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part. The First Circuit subsequently vacated the panel opinion and granted rehearing en banc. The Court then held (1) the Reservation does not include the waters and submerged lands constituting the riverbed of the Main Stem; and (2) as to the Nation's claim that Maine infringed on its fishing rights, the claim was not ripe and the Nation lacked standing.
This opinion or order relates to an opinion or order originally issued on June 30, 2017.
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