A coalition of green groups on Wednesday sued the Trump administration over the proposed King Cove road in Alaska, seeking to derail the long-awaited project that would run directly through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.
In the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Alaska, the groups argued that the proposed land swap between the federal government and the state would violate the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.
“Izembek is one of the most important wildlife refuges on the planet. A road would do irreparable damage that no land swap could begin to heal,” said Randi Spivak, public lands program director at the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups that filed the lawsuit. “Unleashing the bulldozers on this incredible place would destroy vital feeding grounds for millions of migrating birds from three continents. Impartial experts have repeatedly rejected this destructive project, for good reason.”
The proposed road, which would provide the 1,000 residents of isolated King Cove quicker access to an all-weather airport in nearby Cold Bay, has been debated in Washington and in Alaska for decades.
King Cove residents travel to a hospital 600 miles away in Anchorage for medical emergencies. With no reliable airport, the residents often must be flown via Medevac to the Cold Bay airport, but those flights frequently are delayed due to severe weather. Earlier this month, the Interior Department announced it had reached a land-swap agreement with the state, and would allow protected land from Izembek to be used for road construction. In exchange, new Alaskan acreage will be given protected status.
“Previous administrations prioritized birds over human lives, and that’s just wrong,” said Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. “The people of King Cove have been stewarding the land and wildlife for thousands of years and I am confident that working together we will be able to continue responsible stewardship while also saving precious lives.”
But critics say the road ultimately could be used for commercial purposes as well, and that the project would open the door to further construction in sensitive areas.
“This illegal deal is just another step toward the administration’s goal of turning over America’s public lands to development interests,” said Nicole Whittington-Evans, Alaska regional director at the Wilderness Society.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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