The Interior Department's decision to block construction of a road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Alaska violated federal law, tribes and local governments alleged in a June 4 complaint (Agdaagux Tribe of King Cove v. Jewell, D. Alaska, docket number unavailable, 6/4/13). Interior Secretary Sally Jewell declined Dec. 23 to participate in a land swap that would have allowed the construction of a nearly 20-mile gravel road through the refuge. Her decision affirmed a Fish and Wildlife Service Feb. 5 final environmental impact statement that blocked the land swap because the service found that the road would cause irreparable environmental harm and cut the refuge for wildlife in half, which goes against its mission.
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