OPINION: An avalanche of tribal resolutions oppose Izembek’s land exchange

The US Fish and Wildlife Service has conducted a supplemental environmental impact assessment process to consider the effects of a potential land swap to build a road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness Area. The land exchange would be used to build a road corridor through the Refuge and its Izembek Isthmus, a narrow (three mile wide) tundra and wetland area surrounded by the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean, providing a very unique, critical habitat for a number of animal species, including the Pacific heron and emperor geese . As described by the USFWS, the road would be used for non-commercial purposes and to connect the communities of King Cove and Cold Bay.

Seventy-six tribes are in opposition to the land swap and road and are adamantly against the dangerous precedent that would be set if a land swap and/or road is approved without congressional authorization in the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. Tribes across the state of Alaska are very concerned that all refuge lands, designated wilderness and national parks will be at risk.

Tribes in opposition to the land exchange have sought a reasonable compromise that would facilitate safe and reliable transportation between King Cove and Cold Bay while avoiding negative impacts on tribal members. The marine ferry alternative to the proposed land swap and road has previously been described by federal authorities as a reliable means of transportation between King Cove and Cold Bay, and significant financial investment has already been made to develop infrastructure that could support this least impactful and viable alternative.

Previous agency documents estimated that 98% of the world’s Pacific escarpment population relies on the Refuge’s eelgrass beds to stop and refuel during their long migration to and from Mexico. Imperial geese – which use the refuge and proposed action area as a spring and fall migration and/or wintering area and feed on its rich aquatic and terrestrial habitat – are endemic to the Bering Sea region and have been described by the USFWS as among the rarest and most vulnerable goose species on the planet .

Due to widespread tribal concerns, tribes have passed 19 resolutions from 76 tribes and a village corporation in opposition to a potential road and/or land swap in the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.

It is noteworthy to recognize that resolutions of opposition come from the tribes living on the Bering Sea coast, Yukon River watershed, Kuskokwim River watershed, Koyukuk River watershed, Forty Mile watershed, Bristol Bay, Upper Cook Inlet, Southern Brooks Range, Northern Brooks Range, Kobuk River watershed and Norton Bay watershed.

Tribes in opposition to the proposed Izembek land swap/road include the following seven language groups: Yupik, Cupik, Inupiaq, Gwich’in Athabascan, Koyukon Athabascan, Han Athabascan, and Dena’ina Athabascan.

Nineteen resolutions of opposition to development in the Izembek Wildlife Refuge come from 76 federally recognized tribes and one village corporation:

1: Alaska Village Council Presidents, Waterfowl Conservation Committee (representing 56 tribes)

2: Sea Lion Corp.

3: Native Village of Hooper Bay

4: Native Village of Paimiut Traditional Council

5: Chuloonawick Native Village

6: Native Village of Saint Michael

7: Chevak Traditional Council

8: Stebbins Community Association

9: Norton Bay Watershed Council (representing 11 tribes)

10: Levelock Village Council

11: Alatna village council

12: Native Village of Tyonek

13: Evansville Tribal Council

14: Arctic Village Council

15: Venetie Tribal Council

16: Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government

17: Ivisaappaat (Ambler) tribal council

18: Native Village of Scammon Bay

19: Native Village of Eagle

Tribal inquiries to the Department of the Interior:

Do not submit the supplementary environmental impact statement. The SEIS cannot be completed during this administration. Therefore, it would be reckless to leave an unfinished and widely opposed process in the hands of an unknown administration.

If the SEIS is to be released: The Tribes request that the USFWS select the marine alternative as the preferred alternative, that a 120-day comment period occur, and that an ANILCA 810 existence hearing occur.

Important climate changes:

• Izembek is home to one of the world’s largest eelgrass beds in the world, which provides food and shelter for an astonishing number of migratory and resident species, including almost the entire Pacific population of black bream each spring and fall.

• In addition to this keystone role in Izembek’s ecosystem, eelgrass is also an important tool for mitigating and adapting to climate change.

• Eelgrass is a remarkably effective buffer against one of the most catastrophic effects of climate change, which is ocean acidification.

• Ocean acidification occurs when atmospheric carbon dioxide is absorbed by the ocean, lowering the water’s pH.

• Recent studies have shown that eelgrass is a powerful buffer against this phenomenon.

• The Bering Sea is particularly sensitive to ocean acidification and is already experiencing disproportionately high acidification.

• Eelgrass has been shown to sequester carbon annually at a rate ten times greater than mature tropical forests and stores three to five times more carbon per equivalent area than tropical forests.

• Izembek’s massive eelgrass lagoon, one of the largest of its kind, is an important carbon sink.

• When these habitats are damaged or destroyed, it is not only their carbon sequestration capacity that is lost. Carbon stored in habitats can also be released, contributing to increased levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

• Seagrasses have declined 30% globally in the last 150 years, and eelgrass is disappearing at an alarming rate of over 100,000 square feet per hour.

• Eelgrass provides crucial structural support along the coast and protects Izembek from the severe and worsening climate impacts of sea level rise, coastal erosion and increased flooding.

Angutekaraq Estelle Thomson is chairman of the Native Village of Paimiut Traditional Council. Chief Frank Thompson is first head of the Evansville Tribal Council. Robert Murphy is the tribal administrator for the Chuloonawick Native Village.

The views expressed here are those of the writer and are not necessarily endorsed by the Anchorage Daily News, which welcomes a wide range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email comment(at)adn.com. Send posts shorter than 200 words to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any browser. Read our full guidelines for letters and comments here.