34
Opinion of the Court
agree with the Special Master that Congress can also reserve submerged lands under federal control for an appropriate public purpose, and thus resolve a question left open in Utah Div. of State Lands, 482 U. S., at 201, in the United States' favor.
As drawn by the Master, the boundary of the Reserve encompasses both those lands that would ordinarily pass to Alaska under the equal footing doctrine—that is, tidelands and submerged lands beneath inland navigable waters—and those lands that would pass to Alaska only by virtue of the Submerged Lands Act—that is, lands beneath the 3-mile territorial sea. As a result, the parties dispute the principles governing ownership of the submerged lands.
Under our equal footing cases, "[a] court deciding a question of title to the bed of navigable water must . . . begin with a strong presumption" against defeat of a State's title. Montana, supra, at 552; see Utah Div. of State Lands, supra, at 197-198. We will not infer an intent to defeat a future State's title to inland submerged lands "unless the intention was definitely declared or otherwise made very plain." United States v. Holt State Bank, 270 U. S. 49, 55 (1926). The United States argues that the presumption against defeat of state title does not apply to lands passing solely under the Submerged Lands Act—that is, lands beneath the territorial sea—over which the United States has paramount authority: Any grant of such lands is to be " 'construed strictly in favor of the United States.' " United States Opposition Brief 53 (quoting California ex rel. State Lands Comm'n, 457 U. S., at 287). The Master agreed with the Government's approach, concluding that the United States can demonstrate that it retained title to submerged lands beneath the territorial sea under a "less demanding standard" than our equal footing cases require. Report 394. Nevertheless, the Master analyzed the withdrawal under the "stricter" standards of Utah Div. of State Lands and Montana, reasoning that the less demanding test for lands be-
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