Here’s a comment from my story on the dust-up between Rep. Lance Pruitt and Interior Department Secretary Sally Jewell. It’s a variation of a question that often appears on stories about the road connecting King Cove to Cold Bay. Anyone care to take a crack at it? It’s legitimate question for people who don’t understand the issue:
I don’t want to start a war, but can anyone explain to me why King Cove deserves this treatment? Since I was a kid, I’ve always understood that when people live in far flung corners of this state, they do so largely at their own peril. No matter how small the road through Izembek might be, does this not set a precedent? Couldn’t every center of population make this argument, regardless of size?
As a resident who has lived in King Cove all of my life, I can say that we live in one of the most remote locations which can get its transportation problem solved by completing the construction of the road to Cold Bay. This will not set precedent because there is not another rural Alaskan village that is a few miles from an “All Weather” airport that does not already have a road. We are so close to the third largest airport in the State of Alaska and can see it from the end of an existing road, which makes this situation frustrating and unusual. Our weather by means of high winds or fog on a frequent basis causes cancellations of medevacs and puts the lives of people in danger trying to save lives. People have died trying to save lives in the past and too many times people’s medical condition is worsened by the wait trying to get to Cold Bay to get to emergency medical attention.
Congress, the State Legislature and Alaska Federation of Natives have all agreed that this is a most unusual situation and needs to be solved. Further the Wildlife Refuge wilderness which is causing all of the debate was put in place by the federal government with no consultation with our local Aleut people. People who had cabins within the wilderness to hunt, trap and fish were burned down by Fish and Wildlife personnel without any word to the people who used them. They were destroyed to prevent us from using them.
The King Cove Corporation and the State of Alaska are willing to put up lands in exchange for this road, 61,000 acres in exchange for 206 acres.
We have lived here for decades and will continue to do so, this is our home. Technically a home where you can look out our back door and see a life saving airport. Too many people in this community are afraid to fly between the two communities.
This is about making transportation safe, reliable and affordable for our children, grandchildren, elders and everyone that lives in this community. I am only one of many people who have endured many long nights and the stress of your whether or not your family member will survive the means of transport to Cold Bay. I am a mother who watched her daughter’s plane crash land at this airstrip and let me tell you that it is not something I want anyone to ever experience. Fortunately the three State workers coming in to do work for the City, pilot and my daughter survived this with minimal harm.
In a time when there is much attention being put on “Obamacare” in this nation, King Cove feels more like “ObamaDon’tCare” administration. This will not set any precedent, it is a simple solution to an age old problem for the health and safety of our Aleut people and the people who make King Cove their home. It has taken us 35 years to get to this point, and the message to Jewel when she was here was that we will not give up until we have this lifesaving road.
As a resident who has lived in King Cove all of my life, I can say that we live in one of the most remote locations which can get its transportation problem solved by completing the construction of the road to Cold Bay. This will not set precedent because there is not another rural Alaskan village that is a few miles from an “All Weather” airport that does not already have a road. We are so close to the third largest airport in the State of Alaska and can see it from the end of an existing road, which makes this situation frustrating and unusual. Our weather by means of high winds or fog on a frequent basis causes cancellations of medevacs and puts the lives of people in danger trying to save lives. People have died trying to save lives in the past and too many times people’s medical condition is worsened by the wait trying to get to Cold Bay to get to emergency medical attention.
Congress, the State Legislature and Alaska Federation of Natives have all agreed that this is a most unusual situation and needs to be solved. Further the Wildlife Refuge wilderness which is causing all of the debate was put in place by the federal government with no consultation with our local Aleut people. People who had cabins within the wilderness to hunt, trap and fish were burned down by Fish and Wildlife personnel without any word to the people who used them. They were destroyed to prevent us from using them.
The King Cove Corporation and the State of Alaska are willing to put up lands in exchange for this road, 61,000 acres in exchange for 206 acres.
We have lived here for decades and will continue to do so, this is our home. Technically a home where you can look out our back door and see a life saving airport. Too many people in this community are afraid to fly between the two communities.
This is about making transportation safe, reliable and affordable for our children, grandchildren, elders and everyone that lives in this community. I am only one of many people who have endured many long nights and the stress of your whether or not your family member will survive the means of transport to Cold Bay. I am a mother who watched her daughter’s plane crash land at this airstrip and let me tell you that it is not something I want anyone to ever experience. Fortunately the three State workers coming in to do work for the City, pilot and my daughter survived this with minimal harm.
In a time when there is much attention being put on “Obamacare” in this nation, King Cove feels more like “ObamaDon’tCare” administration. This will not set any precedent, it is a simple solution to an age old problem for the health and safety of our Aleut people and the people who make King Cove their home. It has taken us 35 years to get to this point, and the message to Jewel when she was here was that we will not give up until we have this lifesaving road.
What I’m gathering is that it’s not “why should these people be given a road” it’s “why the federal gov’t shouldn’t stop them from building one.” Big difference, and I think the reasoning would apply everywhere who wanted to build a road for their community.
The Aleut people of King Cove have lived in this area for thousands of years. This is their home. However, before the federal government designated the Izembek area as wilderness, they had discussed having a road corridor because they knew they would need it someday. When the federal government decided to cut off their access, the Aleut people were not informed nor consulted about this decision.
At that point, it would require an act of Congress to allow a road. Several years ago, Congress had approved a bill allowing a massive land exchange (56,000 pristine acres of State and King Cove Corporation land that would go back to the federal government in exchange for access to 206 acres for a small, single-lane gravel road to the Cold Bay Airport). Forty-three thousand acres would have gone into wilderness status. The President signed this bill. However, Secretary Sally Jewell rejected the road in favor of protecting the birds in the area, birds that migrate there six weeks out of the year, and then leave for Mexico.
This would not have set a precedent to build a road through the refuge. During World War II, thousands of soldiers traversed the area. Many of the roads created then still exist today, but they’re not connected. Only 11 miles need to be completed to finish the connection.
It’s true that many Alaskan communities also have an access problem. But this one is so easily solved because the all-weather Cold Bay Airport is located only 25 miles away. The Aleut people have respectfully co-existed with the wildlife in the area for thousands of years. That wouldn’t change. However, allowing a small, gravel road to be built could save hundreds of lives, especially during frequent severe weather and medical emergencies when it’s too dangerous to travel by boat or plane.
The same argument to not build this road could have been made in the last century regarding present day California before the transcontinental railroad was built.
The lives of the residents of King Cove should not be a political football. This is yet another example of Federal insensitivity and arrogance. Let them build this road. When politics needlessly contributes to the death and suffering of our people, it is disgraceful! Our system is desperately broken and in need of some major repairs.
The main difference in this situation as compared to more than 100 remote communities across the state is that King Cove is so close to the state’s second-largest runway at Cold Bay. A simple solution to their emergency medical needs is at hand – the only thing standing in the way is the US government. It’s true that we can’t fix every problem in rural Alaska, but it’s cruel to refuse to address a problem that can be easily solved with a little compromise simply because environmentalists think it sets a bad precedent. Protecting people should never be considered bad precedent.
Especially when the precedent has already been set. There are thousands of miles of roads on refuge land across the country, including in wilderness designations. And remember, the people of King Cove are offering nearly 60,000 acres of their ancestral land in exchange for the 206 acres needed for the road, including 40,000 acres of new wilderness added to the refuge. What the law does is move the border of the wilderness area slightly to allow the road to be on non-wilderness land. In return, the refuge’s wilderness area is greatly expanded.
And it’s true that trails historically connected the communities of King Cove and Cold Bay. The US Fish and Wildlife Service blocked off the portion of the road on the King Cove side when residents started asking to improve it. There are more than 50 miles of roads in the refuge built by the US Military during WWII. Most of those roads are maintained and used regularly by the US Fish and Wildlife Service employees and hunters who pay thousands of dollars to hunt waterfowl in the refuge. So there’s no legitimate reason to deny the people of King Cove road access to Cold Bay.
Robert Dillon
US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
Your question, albeit seeming sincere, is a bit cold hearted. Basically, a trail already exists. It is my understanding that a vehicle could pass through the Refuge today. Allowing this is emergency situations seems like a responsible and humane approach. King Cove isn’t an area that people are moving to. Most of the residents were likely born there. The State of Alaska has been improving rural communities extensively since the founding of Prudhoe Bay. Also, I think an emergency allowance for travel is reasonable. The federal government should consider funding some road improvements as reparations for the WWII internment of the Aleuts in King Cove and Cold Bay.