Interior Secretary Sally Jewell won’t allow a road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
The state of Alaska was pushing for a land exchange with the Interior Department in order to build the road. The state argued the road was needed so the community of King Cove would have access in emergencies to an all-weather airport at Cold Bay.
The refuge is home to millions of migratory waterfowl.
“After careful consideration, I support the (U.S. Fish and Wildlife) Service’s conclusion that building a road through the Refuge would cause irreversible damage not only to the Refuge itself, but to the wildlife that depend on it,” Jewell said in a written statement Monday.