Potus On Verge Of Approving Road Through Izembek NWR

During a time when Alaska’s vast natural resources are now at risk to President Donald Trump’s administration, which wants to develop those areas, the latest twist is what could happen at Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, where a road could be constructed through the heart of the refuge to connect a small Native Alaskan town with the outside world. The proposal is part of a divisive trade-off of the road for additional land around the refuge.

Here are some details from the New York Times:

The agreement, which is not yet final, is the latest twist in a decades-long fight over the road that has reverberated across Alaska and the nation’s capital. The first Trump administration approved a similar deal in 2019, but the Biden administration canceled it in 2023, saying Trump officials failed to consider the effects of road construction on wildlife and Alaska Native communities.

The deal calls for the Interior Department to transfer 490 acres of land within the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge to King Cove Corporation, a tribal organization that wants to build the road, according to the documents. In exchange, King Cove Corporation would give the government thousands of acres of its own land, some of which would be added to the refuge, the documents show.

Proponents of the road say it is essential for connecting the remote town of King Cove with an airport that could be used for emergency medical evacuations. Opponents say road construction would cause irreparable harm to wildlife as well as many Alaska Native tribes that rely on hunting and fishing.

Among the reaction to this latest plot line, here’s a statement from the Center For Biological Diversity’s Alaska director Cooper Freeman:

“There’s no good way to trade off the heart of the Izembek refuge. It’s simply irreplaceable,” said Cooper Freeman, Alaska director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “This deal would endanger one of our planet’s most important wildlife refuges and set a dangerous precedent for privatizing public lands in Alaska, and it shouldn’t be finalized. As the global biodiversity and climate crises worsen, keeping Izembek’s wetlands intact is more important than ever.”