A project to build a road through a national wildlife refuge in Alaska has been put on hold. The land swap that was approved by the Trump administration will be rehearsed.
The decision by the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to reopen the case, announced in a brief order Thursday, is at least a temporary victory for those opposed to the project. Allowing a land swap would gut a decades-old law that protects tens of millions of acres of public lands in Alaska.
In March, a panel of three judges ruled on a case. Arguments in the case will be heard in December.
Peter Winsor, executive director of the Alaska Wilderness League, said in a statement that they were happy with the court's ruling. Nine people petitioned the court to hear the case again.
Carter had filed a brief in support of the groups. He said that the earlier decision misinterpreted the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which he had championed and was enacted in 1980.
The people are being tracked. Climate TRACE uses data from satellites to track emissions from power plants, oil fields and cargo ships. A hyperlocal Atlas of the human activities that are altering the planet's chemistry has been created by the group.
Climate threats in the U.S. The effects of climate change are already far-reaching and worsening throughout the United States, posing risks to virtually every aspect of society. The United States has warmed more quickly than the rest of the world over the past 50 years.
Glaciers are disappearing. According to a report from the United Nations' cultural agency, many of the world's most visited glaciers are expected to disappear by the year 2050. The travel industry contributes a lot to global carbon emissions.
The priorities have changed. The resource won't last forever. While promising to preserve the area, the country's officials are turning to the jungle for revenue. The approach to strike a balance between the needs of a nation and those of a world facing a climate crisis seems to be working.
More than 100 million acres of land were protected by the law. According to Mr. Carter, the most significant domestic achievement of his political life may be Anilca.
Residents of King Cove, an isolated community near the Aleutian Islands, and state political leaders have been trying to build a 40-mile gravel road to connect King Cove with a large all-weather airport in another community. There are 300,000 acres of wetlands in the Izembek National Wildlife refuge that are ideal for geese and other migratory birds.
King Cove residents and others say the road is needed so that villagers can get adequate urgent medical care in Alaska's largest city. The project is about transporting fish from King Cove's major business to another location.
An agreement to exchange land owned by a local Native village corporation for a corridor of land within the refuge was approved by the Interior Secretary in 2019.
The deal was rejected by a federal district court. The decision was reversed by the three-judge panel. Two Trump-appointed judges voted in favor of the motion. Mr. Bernhardt acted appropriately in approving the land swap after considering the economic and social benefits of the road to King Cove against any environmental harm it might cause, according to the majority opinion.
The interior secretary did not have the discretion to consider economic and social value according to Mr. Carter. The groups said that the land swap would allow future interior secretaries to change the boundaries of public lands at will.
The land swap was supported by the Biden administration because it argued that the interpretation of Anilca would restrict the Interior Department from conducting land swaps.
The case was being reviewed by the Interior Department.
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