The first attempted Izembek land exchange by the Trump administration, which had no public comment period or serious study, was struck down in our Alaska District Court.īefore Secretary Haaland is yet another Trump Administration land exchange, which was also finalized with no public input. Especially now, given increased funding for infrastructure projects, building a breakwater and improved dock at Cold Bay is a much better solution.ĭespite this thorough analysis, the Trump Administration pursued a road. It has also been pointed out that during periods of harsh weather a road would be impossible to travel under any circumstances including medical evacuations. Regarding alternatives to the road, the US Corps of Engineers completed an evaluation several years ago, finding that a seaworthy ferry, break-water and an improved dock at Cold Bay would be effective. Now, Secretary Haaland is being asked to support a land exchange that would allow a road to be built across the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness that is virtually identical to one that was rejected by Secretary Jewell in the Obama/Biden Administration.Īfter extensive public review and comment, Secretary Jewell determined that the road would have profound, negative impacts on the wildlife, subsistence values and wilderness values of the Refuge, including to birds that migrate to Izembek from the Yukon Delta and other areas of northern Alaska, upon which Alaska Natives who live in Western Alaska rely. This exchange was subsequently dropped during the Obama-Biden administration. Deeply concerned about the impacts this would have on subsistence and wildlife, village residents of the Yukon Flats objected. This illegal exchange was nullified in court.Īnother effort to promote development in conservation areas occurred when the Bush administration pursued a land exchange in the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge, for oil exploration and development. The first such effort came in 1983 when the Reagan administration attempted to exchange lands for an off-shore oil exploration facility in the Saint Matthew Island National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness. Unfortunately, since passage of this unprecedented conservation law, there have been efforts to undermine its purposes and integrity.Ī primary tactic by opponents has been to misapply the land exchange provisions of ANILCA to transfer ownership of lands out of protected areas in order to achieve development purposes, contrary to the purposes of ANILCA. Senate voted 78-14 to approve ANILCA. The vote was bipartisan.įor Alaska and Alaskans, the extraordinary lands protected by ANILCA have been crucial in supporting subsistence, conservation, tourism, ecosystem services and more.
Reflecting this balanced approach, and in response to the strong national sentiment to protect these lands and the subsistence resources they sustain, the U.S. After prolonged discussions among State, Alaska Native, development, federal and conservation interests, a compromise on ANILCA was reached. Nearly forty-two years ago, Congress passed the greatest public land conservation legislation in American history - the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA).
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