A road that would allow people access to emergency medical care or preserve the environment? Do environmentalists really believe that a single lane road through a 315,000-acre sanctuary will endanger wildlife? Almost all of Alaska is federal land. From Politico:
More than 15 years later, his daughter, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski — along with the rest of the Alaska congressional delegation — is still fighting for the road, insisting it’s the only viable way to ensure that King Cove’s 965 largely native Alaskan residents have access to emergency medical care.
What seems like a simple request is anything but. The proposed road would cut through federally protected wilderness land in the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, a 315,000-acre sanctuary near the tip of the Alaska Peninsula. And the Interior Department says the road would threaten vulnerable plants and animals that rely on the area’s unique ecology.
The oftentimes ugly fight has pitted Alaska politicians against the federal government for decades, sowing mistrust and frustration. It has also reinforced the view of many in Alaska that policymakers in the Lower 48 are out of touch with their needs. . . .
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