US Interior Secretary Sally Jewell sent a letter to the residents of King Cove this week. Although she didn’t offer any insight, she did stick by her guns, refusing to reconsider her ruling.
In a letter addressed to the King Cove Group, Secretary Jewell explained that she would not change her mind on the Izembek Road. This letter comes after a event last month where Alaska House Majority Leader Lance Pruitt says Jewell said she wished Alaskans would “get over” the road-- a statement the Secretary's office denies her ever saying.
The road is something the people of King Cove have been fighting to get for many years. It would connect the isolated community to the Cold Bay all weather airport to provide a safer and more direct route in case someone needs to be medivacked to a hospital. The road would go through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. It would be an 11 mile, gravel, one lane road.
Spokesperson for the King Cove Corporation Della Trumble says she wasn’t surprised by Jewell’s response.
“I think first and foremost, we are saddened by her decision. By some degree we’re not surprised that’s what the decision was, but it certainly was a big blow to this community. You’d hope for better.”
In her letter, Jewell points out the two letters she received from the community group-- but does not mention the letter Senator Lisa Murkowski sent last month or the trip community members took to Washington, DC in March to meet with Jewell.
Jewell says “while the Department of the Interior stands by the decision and will not reopen the Record of Decision, I want to reiterate our commitment to continuing to work with you, as well as across the relevant Federal agencies, to evaluate and develop other transportation improvements for the residents of King Cove and Cold Bay.”
Trumble says not all is lost. She is hopeful that Governor Sean Parnell’s lawsuit, filed in June, to intervene in support of the road will be successful.
“We still have the lawsuit, that’s still out there. And I believe we will continue to fight this fight. As we explained to her in the past and when she visited King Cove, we aren’t going away. We are going to continue to fight this. We have been a part of this fight for 35 years and we aren’t letting up on it.”
There has still been no mention of Jewell’s ideas for a solution for the people in King Cove.