One of the world's most critically-important resting places for migrating
birds is found in the cold-water lagoons and internationally significant
wetlands of Izembek National Wildlife Refuge on the Alaskan Peninsula.
Virtually all of the world's Pacific black brant stop at Izembek to feed
and rest, and nesting tundra swans, ptarmigan, bald eagles, and hundreds
of thousands of geese and shorebirds, as well as threatened species, such
as Steller's eiders are found in the refuge. Also, over 50 species of
fish and marine mammals as well as caribou, brown bears, wolves and,
wolverines are all sustained by the refuge.
We need your help to keep this globally significant wildlife refuge
intact. A road is proposed through Izembek's protected Wilderness, and
it is being pushed by Alaska's congressional delegation, other
development interests and some local residents:
The US Fish and Wildlife Service is beginning a planning process to
review the proposed land exchange and road project and your help is
needed.
You can also write comments to the USFWS by May 1st.
Why A Road through Izembek Wilderness is a Bad Idea
· The proposed road would cut through the biological heart
of the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. Izembek's cold-water lagoons and
internationally significant wetlands are critically-important resting
places for migrating waterfowl. Virtually all of the world's Pacific
black brant and Emperor Geese stop at Izembek to feed and rest. The
refuge also is home to tundra swans, ptarmigan, bald eagles, and hundreds
of thousands of geese, as well as threatened species, such as Steller's
eiders. Plenty of mammals use the refuge too - including caribou, brown
bears, wolves and wolverines.
· The proposed road is not needed. The Alaska
congressional delegation claims the road is necessary to address the
health and safety needs of King Cove. In fact, those needs were met by
Congress in 1998, when it passed the King Cove Health and Safety Act.
That legislation provided $37.5 million to upgrade King Cove's medical
facilities, purchase a hovercraft to provide regular ferry and emergency
medical service between King Cove and Cold Bay, construct new marine
terminals, and build a road between the town of King Cove and the
hovercraft terminal. This law specifically prohibited a road through
Izembek's federally protected Wilderness.
· The hovercraft is working. Hovercraft service for
medical evacuation began full-time operation on August 7, 2007. By all
accounts, the hovercraft service has quickly and safely met every medical
evacuation need of the King Cove community, transporting people and
ambulances between the two communities in an average of 20 minutes which
is must faster than 1 - 2 hours it will take to drive the proposed road
in good weather.
· The land swap required to build a road would sacrifice
quality—206 acres of critical, internationally recognized wildlife
habitat—for quantity. Izembek and Kinzarof lagoons contain some of the
largest eelgrass beds in the world which attract tens of thousands of
migratory birds annually. The narrow isthmus between the two lagoons is
an important nesting area for tundra swans, and provides a migration
corridor for caribou and foraging grounds for brown bears. The 61,000
acres of proposed exchange lands do not offer comparable protection or
habitat.
· A road through Wilderness is not compatible with the
purposes for which Congress created the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.
The Refuge was created to conserve fish and wildlife populations and
their habitats; to fulfill the United States' international treaty
obligations (such as the four migratory bird treaties and the Convention
on Wetlands of International Importance); to provide for continued
subsistence by local residents; and to ensure water quality and quantity
within the Refuge. The wildlife values of Izembek National Wildlife
Refuge are globally significant, and should not be compromised.
For more information about Izembek go to:
http://izembek.fws.gov/ or www.wilderness.org
Sample Comment Letter:
Geoff Haskett, Regional Director
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
1011 East Tudor Road, MS 231
Anchorage, AK 99503
Dear Regional Director Geoff Haskett:
Thank you for the opportunity to submit scoping comments for the
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) being drafted regarding the proposed
land exchange and road in the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. I oppose
the land exchange and road proposal because it is unnecessary and will
result in irreparable impacts to the designated Wilderness and sensitive,
critical wetlands habitat of this vital and internationally significant
ecosystem. The US Fish and Wildlife Service has already documented many
of the significant environmental impacts this road would produce in
previous documents, including the King Cove Access Project EIS, 2004
which analyzed transportation alternatives between King Cove and Cold
Bay.
The Omnibus Public Land Management Act past in March, 2009 began a
process that could potentially authorize a road through Izembek’s
federally protected Wilderness. This would be accomplished through a land
exchange that would add some 56,393 acres of non-federal land to the
refuge in exchange for the removal of 206 acres from Wilderness
designation in order to construct a single-lane gravel road between the
communities of King Cove and Cold Bay, Alaska. Under the provisions of
the bill, Interior Secretary Salazar must determine whether the road
project is in the nation’s public interest. The federal lands that may be
exchanged would bisect a narrow isthmus between Izembek and Kinzarof
Lagoons. This area encompasses some of the most unique and valuable
wetland resources in the world.
Specifically, the US Fish and Wildlife Service needs to analyze the
following in this EIS:
o Impacts from the proposed road including: road construction,
sediment run-off and watershed impacts, pollution, road avoidance and
habitat fragmentation, among others;
o Current and projected Impacts to the region from climate change
and how these impacts will be confounded by the development of a road;
o Threats to eel grass beds;
Impairment to threatened and endangered terrestrial and marine species;
and,
Cumulative impacts including proposed oil and gas development in and
around the lands and waters of the Izembek Refuge and lagoon,
A cost-benefit analysis of the road that considers the funds already
spent to improve transportation in the region from the King Cove Health
and Safety Act and includes a comparison analysis of the current
transportation system – the hovercraft;
The US Fish and Wildlife Service must also complete a compatibility
determination as required in the National Wildlife Refuge System
Improvement Act . A road through Wilderness is not compatible with the
purposes for which Congress created the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.
The Refuge was created to conserve fish and wildlife populations and
their habitats; to fulfill the United States' international treaty
obligations (such as the four migratory bird treaties and the Convention
on Wetlands of International Importance); to provide for continued
subsistence by local residents; and to ensure water quality and quantity
within the Refuge.
The wildlife values of Izembek National Wildlife Refuge are globally
significant, and should not be compromised.
Thank you for your consideration of my comments.
Sincerely,
------------------------------
____________________________________________________________
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