Sign Today: Oppose reckless roadbuilding through the Izembek Refuge!

The Izembek Refuge is in danger of being cross-cut by a proposed road that will fragment this vitally important wetlands complex and designated wilderness.

The road construction is part of a proposed land swap between the King Cove Corporation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. If approved, the village of King Cove would build a road through a narrow isthmus at the heart of the refuge, destroying vital habitat for migratory birds, a caribou migration corridor, and congressionally designated wilderness in the process.

This land exchange sets a dangerous precedent for conserved lands in Alaska. It will open the door to future land exchanges for commercial and private purposes that jeopardize a network of over 150 million acres of national public lands!

Protect wildlife who depend on the Izembek Refuge: Sign your message to the Interior Secretary today!

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Defenders of Wildlife

Dear Secretary Haaland,

The Izembek National Wildlife Refuge sits at the intersection of the Pacific America, West Pacific, and East Asian/Australasian migratory flyways. Each year, Izembek’s lagoons complex hosts hundreds of bird species as they migrate along these routes; hundreds of species from every continent depend on the rich eelgrass beds at Izembek Refuge as they traverse from the Arctic back to their winter ranges across the globe.

Virtually the entire global populations of Pacific brant and emperor geese depend on Izembek Refuge to feed and build fat reserves for migration. Scores of Native communities across western Alaska have depended on the waterfowl sustained by Izembek’s irreplaceable eelgrass beds in the Izembek and Kinzarof Lagoons wetlands complex. The proposed road will cut across a narrow isthmus separating these lagoons, fragmenting this vitally important habitat. The narrow isthmus is a migratory corridor and tundra swan nesting area and many wildlife species stand to be impacted by this road, including brown bears, wolves, fox, caribou, tundra swans, Pacific brant, emperor geese and many others. A road through the heart of the Refuge and its congressionally designated Wilderness threatens to irreparably harm wildlife and its habitat, including a critical migration corridor and globally significant wetlands complex.

The proposed land exchange will swap lands owned by King Cove Corporation for Izembek Refuge Wilderness lands managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Such an exchange will harm refuge resources and values and set a dangerous precedent for other land swaps in other national parks, refuges, and Wilderness lands in Alaska and could erode the established conservation lands system across the state.

The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act does not allow the Interior Secretary to trade away land in Izembek Refuge Wilderness for the purpose of building a road. Land exchanges can only be used to further refuge purposes. However, this exchange will undermine the refuge’s purposes, sacrificing its ecological integrity through fragmentation, pollution and other impacts, and would not benefit the refuge but rather provide surface transportation to an airport.

Last year the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $43 million for dock improvements at Cold Bay to accommodate commercial use, freight and fuel transportation, private vessels, public transportation use, and emergency medical services. The Army Corps of Engineers has already determined a marine alternative will meet the needs of King Cove and will not undermine the integrity of ANILCA and the Izembek Refuge. Please select the marine alternative that has been determined to be a safe, 99% reliable, and economic alternative compared to the devastating road.

We stand behind the 78 Tribes and 1 Village Corporation who do not support building a road through the Wilderness of Izembek Refuge. We urge you to do the same.

Sincerely,
{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name}

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