Federal judge halts plans for road through Alaska wildlife preserve

A federal judge in Anchorage vacated a land exchange between the Interior Department and the King Cove Corporation that would have cleared the way for an 18.9-mile road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, finding it violated the Endangered Species Act, ANILCA, and the Administrative Procedure Act. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum had transferred 484 federal acres to the corporation last October in exchange for more than three times as much nearby land, ostensibly to let King Cove residents drive to a larger airport in Cold Bay instead of relying on air or sea routes.

Judge Sharon Gleason found Interior tried to use the very act of removing the land from the refuge as an excuse for why refuge protections no longer applied to it — a circular argument she was not impressed by. She also found the Fish and Wildlife Service's biological opinion undercounted harm to sea otters and Steller's eiders and contained significant math errors.

Despite the ruling, Defenders of Wildlife says Alaska is fast-tracking construction of a 2.8-mile road segment anyway, prompting plans for an emergency injunction. Senator Dan Sullivan called the decision a 'shameful betrayal' by a judge who 'sides with Lower 48 environmental groups,' which is one way to describe a court applying federal wildlife law.

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