(SitNews) King Cove , Alaska - For months, King Cove residents have been eager to show U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell why a road corridor leading from remote King Cove to Cold Bay’s all-weather airport is the best option to solve their transportation access problem, especially during medical emergencies. This Friday, August 30th, they’ll get that opportunity. Jewell, accompanied by Senator Lisa Murkowski, will spend five hours on the ground talking with residents, schoolchildren and local officials. The Secretary has the final say in determining whether access to a small single-lane gravel road corridor (206 acres) through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge would be in the public interest. As part of the exchange, the federal government would get 56,000 acres of pristine land from the State of Alaska and the King Cove (Native) Corporation.

“We are so grateful that the U.S. Interior Secretary is coming to King Cove to get a real sense from residents of why this road corridor is the most reliable option and why it’s so crucial to this community. There are so many heart-wrenching stories from residents who have experienced difficult medevacs on small planes or boats during dangerous, stormy weather,” said Della Trumble, spokeswoman for the Agdaagux Tribal Council and the King Cove Corporation. “On August 30th, she’ll be able to meet these residents, both young and old. It’s important for her to look them in the eye and hear what they have to say before she makes her final decision.”

Earlier this summer (June 28, 2013), Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn visited King Cove and presided over a tribal consultation and a community meeting. His role was to evaluate the trust responsibility the federal government has to the local Native people. He was also assigned the task of assessing the medical evacuation benefits from the proposed road.

“After hearing testimony from residents, Assistant Secretary Washburn told us he’s confident the road would be much safer in those times when it’s not safe to travel by sea or air,” said Aleutians East Borough Stanley Mack. “He also said he would tell Secretary Jewell that it shouldn’t be a matter of luck as to whether a medevac patient can get to the hospital or not. We were very encouraged by Washburn’s comments.”

After his visit, rapidly changing weather conditions – heavy fog and rough seas – during Washburn’s visit forced him to take a boat back to Cold Bay. Once in Cold Bay, he had to climb the same 20-foot ladder at the dock that many medical evacuees have to ascend, sometimes inside a crab pot when they are too sick to climb. USFWS National Director Dan Ashe had a similar experience due to poor weather conditions when he visited last summer.

Jewell’s visit to King Cove on Friday (August 30th) will include a tour of the community, a look at the clinic to discuss its capabilities and limitations, a visit with schoolchildren, and a meeting with residents where she will hear testimony regarding the access issues and the need for the road.

Jewell will hear stories such as the one from Agdaagux Tribal president Etta Kuzakin, who at 34 weeks of pregnancy, went into early labor last spring. Because of harsh weather conditions, she had to rely on the Coast Guard for a medevac. After several attempts, the Coast Guard was finally able to get into King Cove and bring her to an Anchorage hospital where Kuzakin’s daughter was delivered by cesarean section.

“She would have died, and I would have, too, because there was no one in our community that could have given me a cesarean section,” said Kuzakin. “This happened just five months ago. It’s fresh, and it still hurts. This road is for people like me and for my children because I want my children to feel safe.”

“Taking the human factor into consideration is what this is all about,” said Jim Kenezuroff, president of the Native Village of Belkofski. That wasn’t done when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued its findings earlier this year during the final EIS (environmental impact statement). Birds are important, but so are the lives of our people. It’s imperative that Jewell understand that we will continue to be good stewards of the land, just as we have been for thousands of years while living in this area.”

After visiting with community residents, Jewell and staff members are planning to fly over the area where the road would be connected to existing roads in the wilderness built by the military during World War II. She will also see the land the State of Alaska and the King Cove Corporation are giving to the federal government (56,000 acres of pristine land, including areas with high oil and natural gas potential) in exchange for the road corridor.

“If Secretary Jewell decides in our favor, this would also be an incredible deal for the federal government,” said King Cove Mayor Henry Mack. “Most importantly, it would solve our transportation access problem by saving lives. That’s what is at the heart of this issue.”

If the Interior Department does approve the land exchange and road construction, the federal government would receive more than 56,000 acres of pristine land (43,093 acres of state land and 13,300 acres of land owned by the King Cove Corporation). As part of the land swap, 206 acres would be conveyed to the State of Alaska for a small, single-lane gravel road leading to the all-weather airport in the neighboring community of Cold Bay. The State of Alaska would also receive 1,600 acres from the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge on Sitkinak Island south of Kodiak.

Sources of News: 

Agdaagux Tribal Council and King Cove Corporation

King Cove City Administrator

Aleutians East Borough

 

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