Cite as: 521 U. S. 261 (1997)
Souter, J., dissenting
involving title, and if the Court's reasoning were good in a title case it would be good in any Young case.
B
The second joint reason that commands a majority turns on the fact that something more than mere title would be affected if the Tribe were to prevail. As the principal opinion puts it, "[t]he suit seeks, in effect, a determination that the lands in question are not even within the regulatory jurisdiction of the State," ante, at 282, and state ownership of submerged lands "uniquely implicate[s] sovereign interests," ante, at 284, such that the injunction sought by the Tribe would have an unusual effect on the State's "dignity and status," ante, at 287. This is the same reason that Justice O’Connor gives for concluding that Lee and Tindal are not controlling here. See ante, at 290-291. She points out that Lee and Tindal involved claims to land that remained subject to state regulation even after the government officers were held to lack possessory authority, while here, if the Tribe were to prevail, no such regulatory power would be retained given that the submerged lands would no longer be "within Idaho's sovereign jurisdiction." Ante, at 289.
While this point is no doubt correct, it has no bearing on Young's application in this case. The relevant enquiry, as noted, is whether the state officers are exercising ultra vires authority over the disputed submerged lands. If they are, a federal court may enjoin their actions, even though such a ruling would place the land beyond Idaho's regulatory jurisdiction and accordingly deny state officers regulatory authority. Idaho indisputably has a significant sovereign interest in regulating its submerged lands, see Utah Div. of State Lands v. United States, 482 U. S. 193, 195 (1987), but it has no legitimate sovereign interest in regulating submerged lands located outside state borders.
If, indeed, there were any doubt that claims implicating state regulatory jurisdiction are as much subject to Young
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