Federal judge halts plans for road through Alaska wildlife preserve

Environmentalists say air and sea routes would be better than running a nearly 20-mile road through endangered species habitat.ANCHORAGE, Alaska (CN) — After almost a year of legal back-and-forth regarding a proposed road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, the Trump administration and the state of Alaska have hit a red light.On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason, a Barack Obama appointee, ruled that a land swap last year between the Department of Interior and an Alaska Native regional corporation violated the Endangered Species Act, the Alaska National Interests Land Conservation Act (ANILCA) and other federal laws.This past October, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum transferred to the King Cove Corporation 484 acres of federal land between the villages of Cold Bay and King Cove, receiving more than three times that amount of nearby land in return so Alaska could build a road connecting the two towns.“King Cove Road” would extend for 18.9 miles, improving medical access for King Cove residents by making it easier for them to reach a larger airport in Cold Bay.But the plaintiffs in three cases challenging the land swap say the Interior Department set no restrictions on commercial or recreational use of the road. Defenders of Wildlife, Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges and the Native Village of Hooper Bay say the failure to do so could invite overuse, leading to the serious endangerment of migratory birds and other animal life within the Izembek refuge.In a related suit, Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges noted past federal analysis found a road would be “the greatest known potential threat to wildlife and wilderness values within the Izembek complex,” and that marine or air routes could satisfy King Cove’s transportation needs just as well as ground transport.In her ruling, Gleason found the Interior Department attempted to “circumvent” federal conservation law through the land swap itself — the department claimed that aspects of legislation like ANILCA could not be applied to the transferred land because it was no longer in federal possession.“Defendants cannot rely on the exchange’s removal of the corridor from the refuge — the very action alleged to require [ANILCA] compliance—as the reason why [ANILCA] does not apply,” she wrote.The Interior Department also violated the Endangered Species Act, Gleason found, by relying on an incomplete biological opinion issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.The service didn’t formally calculate the full impacts of road construction on native fauna like northern sea otters and Steller’s eiders. The biological opinion, as originally submitted, was also rife with significant mathematical errors, violating the Administrative Procedure Act.“The court acknowledges the hardships identified by federal defendants and the serious concerns of the residents of King Cove that have sought for decades to have a road to Cold Bay constructed,” Gleason wrote. “But those circumstances cannot justify keeping in place an unlawful land exchange that would allow road construction to proceed.”Though the judge vacated Burgum’s land swap, Defenders of Wildlife say Alaska is still moving to “build a 2.8-mile road segment leading to refuge and wilderness lands,” and that the group “will move for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to halt construction.”“The state of Alaska is fast-tracking road construction. Since the land exchange is now vacated, the state is now building a road to nowhere at the cost of the integrity of the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge,” Jane Davenport, a Defenders of Wildlife senior attorney, said in an email.In a statement, Alaska Senator Dan S. Sullivan, who is running for reelection, called Gleason’s decision a “shameful betrayal” and claimed that the judge “regularly sides with Lower 48 environmental groups.”The King Cove Corporation said it would provide a statement at a future time.The Department of Interior did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads