Last year
US Person told you of a proposed road in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. Alaskan politicians were lobbying Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell to ignore the findings of a three-year US Fish & Wildlife study that concluded the road through the middle of the refuge would harm habitat critical to the migration of Black Brant, Steller's Eiders, Golden Plovers and Bar-tailed Godwits. Road supporters claimed the road was needed to connect a tiny Alaskan village to an all-weather airport on the far side of the lagoon. Conservationists including the Audubon Society have been working for two decades to protect Izembek's globally important wetlands. Secretary Jewell visited the refuge in response to the controversy surrounding the road and spend several months reexamining the study. On December 23rd the Secretary signed a final decision to protect Izembek and prohibit building the road. Another victory for wildlife thanks to committed citizens expressing their concern for the preservation of Nature.
