DOI proposing new road in AK Wilderness Area
Posted: Dec 10 2017 6:34 pm
http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/10/politics/ ... index.html
The Interior Department, led by Secretary Ryan Zinke, is pushing a plan that would -- for the first time -- allow a new road through a federally protected wilderness area, according to internal government emails. Local authorities say the road is needed to transport residents of the tiny, isolated city of King Cove to hospitals in the event of medical emergencies.
Ugh. This stinks like old canned salmon. An absolutely unsconscionable precedent that should be fought in congress first (I believe they have a legal right in this case) and in the courts if necessary.They [critics] have also been skeptical because in the past, some officials have described the road as a way to help King Cove's Peter Pan Seafood company, owned by Maruha Nichiro Corp. in Japan. "The story has evolved over time to be about medical evacuations when it started about commercial purposes," Jewell said.
A 1994 King Cove city resolution stated the road would link "North America's largest salmon cannery in King Cove with one of the state's premier airports at Cold Bay."