Notice of Availability; Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for a Potential Land Exchange Involving Izembek National Wildlife Refuge Lands

Filed on regulations.gov — full text not in the inline record.

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. Respectfully, Signees (attached)

Filed on regulations.gov — full text not in the inline record.

The attached 6,632 members and supporters of Defenders of Wildlife submit the following comment: Dear Fish and Wildlife Service, I urge you to protect Alaska's amazing landscapes and uphold one of our nation's most important legislative conservation achievements, the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). ANILCA famously protects over 150 million acres of federal land jewels in Alaska as national parks, refuges, forests, wilderness areas, monuments and wild and scenic rivers. It doesn't allow the Secretary of the Interior to privatize those lands in the name of roads or other projects. I respectfully request that you not trade away wilderness lands in the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. The Service's May 18, 2023 Notice of Intent indicates that it plans to consider a land exchange, even though there is no current proposal to consider. The previous administration twice attempted land exchanges in Izembek and both were rejected in court as illegal. The point of these land exchanges was to allow a road to be built through Izembek wilderness to a nearby airport. But road construction and use would cause permanent negative impacts to wildlife and habitat, including Pacific black brant, Emperor geese, Tundra swans, brown bears, caribou, wolves, as well as to the wilderness character of the refuge. There are several other ways to improve access to the airport without undermining the purposes of the refuge and of ANILCA. The Service is charged with managing Alaska's priceless refuge landscapes to conserve wildlife. In its role as steward of Alaska's incomparable protected lands, the Service must reject the notion of trading away wilderness lands for road construction as inconsistent with ANILCA's mission. Please uphold the law and protect Alaska's public lands and wildlife.