Appeals court reverses ruling halting Alaska refuge road

Congress created the 486-square-mile (1,258-sq. kilometer) refuge in 1980. Izembek Lagoon holds one of the world’s largest beds of eelgrass, a rich food source for Pacific brant geese, endangered Steller’s eider sea ducks and other migratory birds.

King Cove and Cold Bay are about 18 miles (29 kilometers) apart. With no road, the only access is by either boat or airplane.

The King Cove airport experiences frequent bad weather, making travel difficult. Residents for decades have sought a safer road to reach the airport in Cold Bay for medical evacuations.

Bernhardt noted in his 2019 decision that there had been over 70 medevacs from King Cove to Cold Bay, Anchorage or Seattle in the previous six years and that the U.S. Coast Guard handled about 20 medevacs at a cost of about $50,000 per rescue mission.

The appeals court ruling “means so much to the community of King Cove,” said its mayor, Warren Wilson.

Environmental groups that were part of the lawsuit decried the decision.

“The failure of Ninth Circuit to uphold the district court’s decision to halt the proposed desecration of the Izembek refuge wilderness and wildlife that rely on it allows Interior to give away public lands to serve special interests at the expense of the American people,” David C. Raskin, president of Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges, said in a statement.