King Cove is an isolated Aleutian fishing village located 600 miles away from the nearest medical facility. The town’s remote location has prevented many ill or injured villagers from reaching a hospital in time. At least 19 have died in the last three decades; a significant number in a population less than 1,000. But the extreme environmentalists don’t particularly care ~ Green’s try to block road serving native Alaskans by suing administration ~

At an emotional January 22 ceremony in Washington, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, on behalf of the Trump Administration, signed an agreement for a land exchange between the federal government and the state of Alaska that will allow construction of a 11-mile-long, single lane gravel road between isolated King Cove and Cold Bay, site of the all-weather airport. The road will go through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.

 
Oh no. Not a wildlife refuge ~

Within two weeks of Zinke’s announcement, a coalition of green groups filed a suit in the U.S. District Court in Alaska, arguing that the proposed land swap would violate the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.

 
First of all, we’re not talking about a major 4-lane freeway here. The proposed road is a little more than 11 miles of single-lane gravel ~

A 400-acre corridor through the Izembek refuge would be needed to construct the road. That corridor would impose on only about 0.06 percent of the Izembek refuge.

Second, to put this in perspective, the federal government owns more than 64% of the land in Alaska. The state owns another 24%. That leaves just 12% in private hands. Essentially, the entire state of Alaska is a wildlife preserve. Further, the state’s 373 million acres are roughly 1/5 the size of rest of the U.S.. Ginormous.
 
Yet somehow, 11 miles of road will have a devastating impact on migratory birds? Um, no. As Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT) explains ~

Claims by environmentalists that the road would do “irreparable harm” to birds using the Pacific Flyway are belied by the well-documented experience of migratory birds along far more challenging flyways. According to the Audubon Society, more than 325 bird species make the round-trip each year along the Mississippi Flyway, from their breeding grounds in Canada and the northern United States to their wintering grounds along the Gulf of Mexico and in Central and South America. Whooping Cranes, Least Terns, Prothonotary Warblers, and many other species fly over the 130 bridges that cross the river, seven of which are part of the heavily traveled Interstate Highway System, and past such major metropolitan areas as New Orleans, Memphis, St. Louis, and Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Furthermore, as CFACT continues ~

In addition to the local tribes, the U.S. Coast Guard also welcomes the road. Over the years, Coast Guard crews have had to step in and evacuate King Cove residents in emergencies.
 
“This road will provide residents of King Cove safe and reliable access to an airstrip and to commercial medivac services,” Admiral Paul F. Zukunft, U.S. Coast Guard commandant, said in a statement. “It will significantly reduce the risk to our U.S. Coast Guard aircrews are exposed to while operating in one of the U.S. Coast Guard’s most unforgiving environments – Alaska.”

This new road project is a practical solution to King Cove’s isolation. It will significantly improve the lives of the residents – mainly native Aleuts – while having minimal impact on the environment. If the radical greens actually cared about the welfare of their fellow human beings they would approve as well.

 
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Related:
Ryan Zinke revives Alaska’s King Cove road project killed under Obama
New interior secretary brings renewed hope for a road out of King Cove