king cove road

For decades, King Cove’s roughly 800 residents have called for a road they say could save lives in emergencies. Neither city has a hospital, so residents rely on medical evacuations to reach Anchorage for urgent medical care. The Biden administration last week endorsed the proposal, recommending a land exchange with King Cove’s Native corporation so the road can be built. But that road would go through a federally protected wilderness area. While residents argue it’s a matter of life and death, environmental advocates say the road could threaten vital wildlife habitat — and set a dangerous precedent.

King Cove often makes headlines for its long-fought battle over a proposed road that would connect it to the all-weather airport in Cold Bay. The remote Aleutian community says the road is key to saving lives because medevacs have a hard time landing on the small, gravel airstrip. With such limited healthcare, it’s a big deal when the community gets new medical equipment. And when they get something big, like the new ambulance that arrived in August, that can be cause for celebration.

Lawyers for King Cove are pushing back against a Thursday decision from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that effectively permits the U.S. government to withdraw from a land swap that would have allowed for construction of the controversial King Cove road. The Eastern Aleutian community of around 750 people has wanted to build a road to the airstrip in Cold Bay for decades, which they say would provide access to emergency medical care. But different conservation groups have pushed back, because the road would pass through a national wildlife sanctuary.

U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason has thrown out the Interior Department's land exchange agreement for the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge — the…

The Aleutians East Borough plans to join the legal battle over a land exchange that would allow construction of a controversial road between King Cove and…

The city of King Cove says it has reached a deal with the Trump administration to build a road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. King Cove…

The city of King Cove is working closely with the Trump administration to find a way to build a road to Cold Bay through the Izembek National Wildlife…