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, ------------------------------ ____________________________________________________________ Small Business Tools Compete with the big boys. 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