A decision handed down in U.S. District Court in Anchorage on March 29 voids a land exchange deal agreed upon by the Interior Department and the King Cove Corp. to construct a single-lane gravel road connecting King Cove to the all-weather airport at Cold Bay.
The agreement for the land exchange, signed a year ago by then Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and the King Cove Corp., which represents two federally-recognized Aleut tribes, would have given residents of the fishing community of King Cove road access to Cold Bay to medevac people with medical emergencies to advanced medical care.
The predominantly Aleut population of King Cove had sought federal approval for the approximately 12 miles of road through what is now Izembek National Wildlife Refuge for over three decades. King Cove and Cold Bay are accessible only by air and sea.
King Cove Mayor Henry Mack said the community was saddened that the court found process flaws in the land exchange, but added that “we will not let this latest development dampen our resolve.”
Aleutians East Borough Mayor Alvin Osterback said that land exchange would have allowed King Cove residents to get a higher level of care, especially in times when weather conditions prevents them from reaching Cold Bay by air or boat.
“The people of King Cove deserve reliable access to healthcare, and the fight to build a simple gravel road affording them that basic right has taken far too long,” said Speaker of the Alaska House Bryce Edgmon. “Today’s U.S. Superior Court decision to invalidate the plan to allow a land exchange between the Interior Department and King Cove Corporation is disappointing and presents an unnecessary setback.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, called the ruling disappointing, and said she would “never stop until this road is a reality and the nearly 1,000 residents of this isolated community have a lifeline for emergency medical care.”
Trustees for Alaska, the nonprofit public interest law firm representing opponents of the road, hailed the decision by U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason as a victory for wetlands and wilderness in the federal wildlife refuge.
“The court’s decision today provides an important and essential check on Interior’s public land giveaway,” said Katie Strong, senior staff attorney with Trustees. “The agency’s attempt to skirt the law to benefit private or commercial interests disregards the intention of Congress and the purpose of the Refuge System itself.”
Trustees contended that the land exchange attempted to trade refuge and wilderness lands to make way for a road without using procedures established by Congress in the 1980 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.
The court ruled that the Interior Department failed to explain its decision to enter the exchange of land agreement with King Cove in light of its previous decision that alternatives to a road exist and that a road would cause significant environmental harm.
Gleason ruled that in entering into the exchange agreement that Zinke reversed the Interior Department’s previous policy without any reasoned explanation for the change of course with respect to the existence of viable alternatives to a road.
The court also denied injunctive relief sought by Trustees on behalf of its clients, who included Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges, The Wilderness Society National Audubon Society, Wilderness Watch, Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, National Wildlife Refuge Association, Alaska Wilderness League, and the Sierra Club.
