Opponents Scoff At Feds’ Potential Izembek NWR Land Trade And Road Construction Plan
After the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released its initial environmental impact statement today for a swap of Izembek National Wildlife Service land, opponents showed their displeasure for a possible new road constructed that would connect with the community of King Cove but also potentially affect migrating birds that many Native populations rely on for subsistence harvests. The Alaska Beacon has some details:
King Cove residents and their supporters, who include Alaska political leaders, have long argued that a road is needed to allow for emergency medical evacuations, among other purposes. There is currently no safe way to conduct medical evacuations from King Cove year-round, the project supporters argue.
Arrayed against the project are environmentalists and some Native residents and organizations in Western Alaska. They argue that the land trade sets a dangerous precedent and that the road development will damage wildlife habitat, including wetlands vital to migratory bird populations on which the region’s Yup’ik people depend for food and culture.
The biological heart of the Izembek refuge is Izembek Lagoon, site of one of the world’s largest eelgrass beds, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service. Nearly the world’s entire population of Pacific brant uses the lagoon eelgrass during migration, according to the service.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland became immersed in the controversy during her term in office. She visited King Cove in 2022 and has been lobbied by both supporters and opponents of the project.
Here’s some reaction from both sides of the issue:
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