Young People in Alaska Defend Their Constitutional Rights Before the Alaska Supreme Court
March 20, 2026
By Emily Miller
Youth plaintiffs in Sagoonick v. State of Alaska II, their attorneys and local supporters gather outside the Alaska Supreme Court ahead of the hearing on March 4, 2026. Photo by Nathaniel Wilder.
On March 4th, 2026, young people in Alaska stood before the Alaska Supreme Court to defend their constitutional rights in Sagoonick v. State of Alaska II, urging the Court to reverse a lower court decision that dismissed their youth-led climate case.
Despite the below-freezing temperatures, Anchorage community members gathered to hold signs and cheer on the plaintiffs during their walk to the courthouse. The supporters joined the youth in the courtroom, filling in the seats behind them.
The youth plaintiffs are challenging state laws mandating development of the Alaska LNG Project, one of the largest fossil fuel projects ever proposed on Earth, designed to transport and export North Slope natural gas for decades. The project would roughly triple Alaska’s greenhouse gas emissions and lock the state into long-term fossil fuel expansion at a time when scientists warn emissions must rapidly decline to avoid catastrophic harm.
Andrew Welle, the plaintiffs’ lead attorney at Our Children’s Trust, argued that the lower court erred when it ruled that it couldn’t review the plaintiffs’ casebecause the challenged statutes violate plaintiffs’ constitutional right to access natural resources, and their right to a climate system capable of sustaining human life, liberty, and dignity.
“The Alaska LNG Project would commit the state to decades of drastic fossil fuel expansion, locking in worsening flooding, storms, and wildfires in these young peoples’ communities and driving worsening species population declines, collapses, and extinctions of the fish and wildlife they depend on for subsistence,” said Andrew Welle, lead attorney to the plaintiffs. “Our clients are asking the Court to do what courts are meant to do: enforce constitutional limits and ensure the State does not sacrifice young people’s fundamental rights for short-term interests.”
Andrew Welle, Our Children’s Trust lead attorney for the youth plaintiffs arguing before the Alaska Supreme Court on March 4, 2026. Photo by Nathaniel Wilder.
In March 2025, the Anchorage Superior Court dismissed the case, saying that laws requiring development of the LNG Project involve “competing interests” and can’t be reviewed by the courts. The youth appealed, arguing that this ruling ignores the courts’ constitutional role and lets harmful government actions go unchecked. A group of Alaska legislators and the League of Women Voters of Alaska filed a brief supporting the appeal, asking the Court to confirm that it must review constitutional challenges.
“Calling Alaska home is core to our identity,” said plaintiff Linnea. “The climate crisis is taking that away, undermining our communities, our health, and our subsistence resources. The Alaska LNG Project would lock in decades of additional pollution when, instead, we must be transitioning away from fossil fuels as fast as possible. We deserve our day in court because Alaska’s Constitution must be more than words. It must protect our rights and hold the state accountable for protecting all Alaskans - the young and the old. When our leaders put short-term profit over our rights, we all suffer. When they invest in healthy futures, we all benefit.”
Youth plaintiffs Linnea (left) and Cecily (right), in court during the hearing on March 4, 2026. Photo by Nathaniel Wilder.
Many of the youth plaintiffs are Alaska Natives who rely on healthy fish, wildlife, and ecosystems for subsistence and cultural traditions. Moving forward with the Alaska LNG Project would worsen flooding, erosion, wildfire smoke, food insecurity, and other climate-related harms they are already experiencing.
The youth are asking the Alaska Supreme Court to reverse the dismissal of their case and send the case back to trial so they can present evidence demonstrating that the statutorily-mandated project violates their constitutional rights under Article VIII and Article I of the Alaska Constitution.
Read more about the youth plaintiffs and their experiences in this blog post, which shares the perspectives of two of the Alaska Native Plaintiffs.