Update: On November 18, Alaska Public Radio reported that Senate Majority leader Harry Reid had said the omnibus public lands package — that includes the Izembek NWR land swap — will not be voted on in the Lame Duck session, and any action will be postponed until January.

This blog has followed the ongoing political saga of the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge land swap that has — over time — become the proposal that will not die. And during the Lame Duck session of Congress that is about to occur next week, the ill-advised land swap — which is bundled into an omnibus public lands package — could finally win passage.

The Wilderness Society, which has led the fight against the road, sums up the situation:

Problem:

A proposal to build an unnecessary and costly road through the biological heart of the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge on the Alaskan peninsula could move forward if Congress returns for a rare Lame Duck session next week. S. 1680, a proposed land exchange that would remove 206 acres of critical wildlife habitat on a narrow wetland isthmus in order to build a $56 million U.S. taxpayer-funded road, has been attached to an omnibus public lands package of 150 bills.

Proponents argue the road is needed for emergency transport from King Cove (pop 800) to Cold Bay (pop 80). However, Congress already solved this problem in 1998, with a $37.5 million appropriation to King Cove used to build a state-of-the-art hovercraft for regular ferry and emergency medical service, upgrade King Cove’s medical facilities, construct new marine terminals and build an unpaved road between the town of King Cove and the connecting marine terminal.

The hovercraft is working and has met every medical evacuation need of the King Cove community since it became operational conducting at least 32 successful medevacs. Even the Mayor of the Aleutians East Borough, a road proponent, agrees, saying the hovercraft is “a lifesaving machine” and “it is doing what it is supposed to do.”

King Cove has thanked Congress for their generosity by selling a backup engine at a considerable loss; is trying to sell a second backup engine; has proposed selling the entire hovercraft; has failed to pursue funding contracts that would underwrite the hovercraft’s operations and according to a November 9, 2008 Washington Post article, has financed a gold plated lobbying campaign, spending more than $353,000 in lobbyists and travel to Washington D.C. to push for their boondoggle project. The Post article also raises questions about the true reasons behind the road - namely a connection to oil and gas interests.

Solution:

This damaging proposal, already voted down by Congress once in 1998, must be stopped in its tracks! Your Senators and Representative might think this is a good deal - UNLESS they hear from YOU!

Action Needed:

Please urge your Senators and Representative to oppose any public lands omnibus package that includes a road through the Izembek NWR!

On November 9, 2008, the Washington Post published an article that highlighted some of the concerns that refuge advocates have about this proposed land swap — mainly that it’s not about emergency transport, but about finding a back-door method for building a road — in wilderness habitat — that will eventually be used for oil and gas development:

As with many Alaska issues, the road raises both hopes and fears regarding oil and gas. The Izembek refuge abuts the North Aleutian Basin, one of the nation’s last untapped petroleum reservoirs.

The recent decision to expand offshore drilling has reopened discussion of exploration off the Aleutian peninsula. Borough Mayor Stanley Mack said Shell executives have visited multiple times, and he predicted an enormous natural gas operation in colder waters to the north. King Cove could become the staging site. In preparation, the city has created a football-field-size swath of harbor that could store heavy equipment…

Shell’s interest in the area is not academic. The company paid almost $1 million in 2007 for rights to drill on 33 blocks of state land in the borough. The company has courted local officials, taking them this year to visit offshore facilities in the Gulf of Mexico and to a conference in Norway.

Shell, which did not respond to requests for comment, has also increased its presence locally. Among other civic involvements, the company designed a second- and third-grade curriculum to teach students about oil and gas development.

“We want to get that into the school now, so that by the time these kids graduate, they’ll be ready for the jobs that we hope will be here in 10 to 12 years,” Mack said…

Local officials strongly deny having a hidden agenda but acknowledge that economic development is a top local priority. Aleutians East Borough Administrator Robert S. Juettner said the road could one day be a catalyst for change.

Call your senators and representatives as soon as possible (visit Congress.org to find your officials) and urge them to oppose any public lands package that includes a road through Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. This bad idea must be stopped once and for all.

Tags:
wildlife, National Wildlife Refuge System, Izembek NWR, Alaska