"Interior Secretary Deb Haaland late Tuesday revoked a Trump-era land swap that would have paved the way for a road to be built through Alaska’s Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.
Instead, Haaland said the Interior Department will initiate a new environmental analysis to determine if a land exchange and potential gravel road comply with federal laws and regulations.
The Interior Department said it was doing so in large part because the 2019 land exchange orchestrated by former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt was done “without public participation.” It also failed to analyze the potential effects of building a single-lane gravel road, about 10 miles long, on those who use the environmentally sensitive region for subsistence fishing and hunting, the department said."
Scott Streater reports for E&E News March 14, 2023.
SEE ALSO:
"Biden Moves To Protect Alaska’s Izembek Refuge, A Jimmy Carter Priority" (Washington Post)
