LAKE CLARK NATIONAL PARK AND PRESERVE — The two floatplanes circled beneath low clouds before landing on an alpine lake, deep in the mountains west of Anchorage.They carried employees of the state of Alaska — footsoldiers in a long-running turf war with the federal government.

It was early August, but the high peaks above the lake were already dusted with fresh snow. On a beach at the water’s edge, the passengers climbed out.They carried guns…