Trapping case concludes in court, sparks legislative effort

PALMER — A high-profile lawsuit over trapping in the Mat-Su’s core area has reached a conclusion, but possible legislative changes to trespassing rules are still underway.

According to court documents, the story begins Nov. 10, 2013, with Nicolene Jordan, who for 21 years has operated a gravel pit with her husband, Mark Loomison, on a homestead that was once a potato farm near Colony High School.

That day, she spotted a vehicle near the pit’s entrance. Loomis later investigated and found at least 38 traps with associated bait, including a moose calf carcass and severed moose heads.

Turns out, the traps belonged to two men, Rick Craig Ellis and John Cyr. Ellis is active in the trapping community and a member of the Alaska Frontier Trappers Association. Cyr is an Alaska Wildlife Trooper.

Though they were on private property, authorities said they weren’t breaking the law, which allows for trapping on private land unless no trespassing notices are clearly posted at every possible entrance to a property.

So, the case wound up in Superior Court in Palmer, where on March 10, it was officially closed.

“The defendants, by and through their attorneys, … hereby offer in settlement of all legal claims and remedies to allow entry of an order trespassing defendants from subject property and an order that defendants be enjoined from trapping activities on subject property,” court documents state.

In other words, as long as Cyr and Ellis don’t set foot on the property again or trap there, Jordan and Loomis are satisfied. They also handed over a $250 check to reimburse Loomis and Jordan for the cost of the court case, a photocopy of which was included in the court file.

Meanwhile, in Juneau, Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, has sponsored a bill changing state trespassing laws.

The bill is a relatively short one, just two sentences long. It cuts out a piece of Alaska statutes that carved out a right for people to remain on “apparently unused land” that isn’t fenced or enclosed or posted with notices 144 square inches or larger, written in English at each access point to the property.

Stedman has said his bill was in reaction to this Valley case.

“As a landowner, you have the right to regulate activities on your property. However, in Alaska, current state law gives a person the privilege to enter and remain on unimproved or apparently unused land that isn’t posted with ‘no trespassing’ signs,” Stedman writes in his sponsor’s statement of the bill. “Furthermore, a sign must be placed at each roadway or access point onto the property. Many Alaskans own private property in remote locations with inclement weather. No trespassing signs can be blown down, removed by vandals or covered by snow. The lack of visible signage should not absolve trespassers of guilt.”

The bill has a counterpart in the House of Representatives and, as of late last week, had made it out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270 or andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com.