As I’ve reported in this blog (here), the House and Senate had been considering a land swap bill that would build a $15.6 million, nine-mile gravel road through federally designated wilderness at Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

Wilderness areas are not common in the National Wildlife Refuge System, which has only about 63 units (out of over 540 units) with federally designated wilderness. Izembek NWR is so valuable as a wildlife refuge that almost all the acreage at Izembek NWR is designated wilderness.

Last Wednesday, the House Committee on Natural Resources passed the House land swap bill — sponsored by Don Young (R-AK) — on a voice vote, meaning the votes were not recorded so that we could see how each committee member voted on this controversial bill.

The Wilderness Society issued a press release with the ugly details:

Today’s vote by the House Natural Resources Committee to report H.R. 2801 is a huge loss for the migratory birds, wildlife, and internationally recognized wilderness habitat of the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, The Wilderness Society (TWS) said today. The bill, H.R. 2801, is sponsored by Rep. Young (R-Alaska) and was approved by the committee this morning on a voice vote. The proposed legislation would reverse Congress’ explicit prohibitions to allow a road to be cut through the heart of the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge wilderness in Alaska. The CEOs of 24 conservation groups, including TWS, had urged the House committee to reject the Izembek Road as a bad idea — bad for wildlife, and bad for U.S. taxpayers. TWS vowed to continue to fight the bill when it comes before the full House.

Izembek National Wildlife Refuge is a place where tens of thousands of the world’s migratory birds stop to rest, nest, and feed. It is internationally recognized as one of the most ecologically important wetlands complexes on the globe. Nearly the entire world population of Pacific black brant and Emperor geese rely on Izembek. So do Steller’s eiders (a species listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act), tundra swans, and dunlins. The Izembek wetlands complex is a feeding ground for many subsistence-use waterfowl species that are significant for natives throughout western, northern and interior Alaska. Thus, the impacts to this habitat and these species will be far-reaching.

Rep. Young says the road is needed for the community of King Cove to access Cold Bay airport for health and safety reasons. “The truth is, these needs were met 10 years ago, when Congress gave millions of taxpayer dollars specifically to provide a safe and reliable way for King Cove’s residents to get to Cold Bay,” said Nicole Whittington-Evans, Associate Director of The Wilderness Society in Alaska. “The threats to wilderness, wildlife, and Alaska Native subsistence cultures from this very bad bill are especially troubling in light of the fact that the need for safe transportation between King Cove and Cold Bay has already been met,” Whittington-Evans added.

In 1998, Congress gave the community of King Cove $37.5 million to assure that residents needing emergency medical attention could safely get to Cold Bay Airport. Among other things, this money — U.S. taxpayers’ money — paid for an upgrade to King Cove’s medical facilities including advanced telemedicine capabilities, an improved airstrip, a state-of-the-art hovercraft to safely transport people and vehicles to Cold Bay, and connecting marine terminals in the two communities. The hovercraft began operating early last year, and has successfully met every medical evacuation challenge it has faced. When Congress provided this generous appropriation it specified that building a road through the Izembek Refuge Wilderness was strictly prohibited.

Currently we are waiting to see if the House Democratic leadership will allow this bill to come to the floor or if Congressman Don Young (R-AK) — who is facing a tough fight for reelection this year — will try to attach it to another bill and sneak it pass American taxpayers, much as he did with the notorious Coconut Road earmark.

Young altered the language on a $10 million earmark after it was rejected by Congress but before it reached President Bush’s desk. This highly unethical act has resulted in the U.S. Senate taking the rare step of asking the Justice Department to investigate Young, who received $40,000 in donations from the Florida developers asking for the Coconut Road project, which was denounced by local officials because it would have cut through a sensitive wetland area.

Tags:
wildlife, wildlife refuge, Izembek NWR, Alaska, Don Young