Plan Overview

In June 1999, Alaska enacted a landowner liability law that extended liability protection to landowners who establish trail easements across their property for recreation purposes. The act also extended protection to the public holders of those easements. The act as passed appears below: Alaska Statutes Section 34.17.055. Tort immunity from personal injuries or death arising out of the use of land subject to a conservation easement.

Plan Justification

(a) In addition to the immunity provided by AS 09.65.200, an owner of land, a portion of which is subject to a conservation easement that is 50 feet or less in width, that has been granted to and accepted by the state or a municipality, and that provides public access for recreational purposes on the land subject to the conservation easement is not liable in tort, except for an act or omission that constitutes gross negligence or reckless or intentional misconduct, for damages to a person who uses the easement to enter onto or remain on the land if (1) the person had no responsibility to compensate the owner for the person's use of the easement or the land; and (2) the damages arise out of the person's use of the easement for recreational purposes on the land. (b) The immunity under (a) of this section extends to the grantee of the conservation easement providing public access to the land for recreational purposes.