Federal judge blocks land swap for proposed King Cove road through wildlife refuge

In Anchorage, U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason invalidated a 2022 land swap that would have transferred 484 acres of federal land to the King Cove Corporation for a road linking Cold Bay and King Cove. The ruling cited violations of the Endangered Species Act, the Alaska National Interests Land Conservation Act, and procedural flaws in a biological opinion issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Environmental groups and the Native Village of Hooper Bay argued the deal failed to limit commercial or recreational traffic, threatening migratory birds and other species in the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.

Gleason emphasized that the Department of the Interior could not sidestep conservation statutes by removing the corridor from federal ownership. Although she recognized the long-standing need for improved medical transport for King Cove residents, she ordered the land exchange vacated, stopping the road’s legal foundation. Defenders of Wildlife warned the state continues to build a short road segment and plans to seek further court orders to stop construction.