The Native Village of Hooper Bay in Alaska needs your help to protect its community from irreparable harm that could result from an unnecessary land exchange and road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness Area: [link removed]

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Dear Friend,

The federal government has proposed an ecologically destructive land swap and road in Alaska that would slice through a critically important refuge for migratory bird species that are essential for food security and the cultural practices of Native Village of Hooper Bay tribal members.

Allowing this land swap and road to move forward is likely to cause severe and irreparable harm to the Native Village of Hooper Bay and many other tribes who oppose the project.

A 45-day comment period is now open that allows the public to weigh in on the draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS). The federal government needs your input. The Izembek National Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness Area provides crucial habitat for several animal species, including Pacific black brant and emperor geese. Both migratory geese species stopover in Izembek to refuel before continuing to their summer nesting grounds on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, where, since time immemorial, these geese and other migratory birds have been a critical food source and are essential to continuing traditional ways of life for tribal communities in the region, including the Native Village of Hooper Bay. [link removed]

Any loss of these species in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta could have devastating impacts on communities already stressed by climate change, the salmon crisis, and by significant socio-economic and health challenges, including high rates of poverty and the highest suicide rates in the nation. Western science and Indigenous knowledge agree that preserving subsistence and traditional practices is key to combating these impacts in Alaska Native communities.

Earthjustice is representing the Native Village of Hooper Bay in this fight to prevent harm caused by this proposed road construction – and we need you to lend your voice as well. Public hearings will be held in communities across Alaska and virtually through December 16. Visit this website for a list of meetings and to register. [link removed]

The Native Village of Hooper Bay, along with other tribes, is asking the agency to consider a compromise that would provide safe and reliable transportation between the two communities this road would connect while avoiding harm to Western Alaska tribal members and other tribes who oppose the land swap and road.

A marine ferry alternative has previously been described by federal agencies, including the Army Corps of Engineers, as a reliable alternative that would meet the stated need for proposed project while avoiding harm to key species and Western Alaska tribes. The Department of the Interior previously rejected the land swap because of the harm it would cause, it was against the public interest, and other viable options exist that would avoid the harm. Despite these earlier findings, the agency has plowed forward with the land exchange and road, now naming it as its preferred alternative. Instead of supporting the reasonable compromise, the agency has chosen to move forward with haste and without due regard for the serious impacts this project could have to the people of Hooper Bay, and to other communities across the Yukon-Kuskokwim region.

Tell the federal government to select the no action alternative because the marine option would achieve the stated need for the project while avoiding harm to a precious ecosystem and to tribes across Western Alaska. This would help prevent harm to the Native Village of Hooper Bay and other Alaska tribes who have passed resolutions opposing the project. [link removed]

Sincerely,
Ian Dooley
Senior Associate Attorney

TAKE ACTION: [link removed]

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