by Nancy Lord, Advocacy Committee Chair
First, for some positive news. Congress has agreed on a bipartisan 2026 DOI appropriations bill that rejects the deep cuts to the refuge system that had been proposed by the Administration and maintains a budget that will allow the refuges to continue essential work. It also ends the threat of a February shutdown. This bill will also fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund and increase funding for refuge system law enforcement. Alaska’s Senator Murkowski, chair of the Senate Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, was a leader on this effort. Please consider calling or writing to thank her. Senator Murkowski’s contact information is here.
We have not given up on the Arctic and Izembek Refuges. In both cases, we’re working with coalitions represented by the non-profit law firm Trustees for Alaska to pursue compliance with laws.
In the case of the Arctic Refuge, last month the Senate rolled back environmental protections to include only minimal ones, to expedite the oil and gas leasing program that mandates four lease sales within the next ten years. With allied groups, we’re suing the Department of the Interior on issues related to the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Wilderness Act, and the Endangered Species Act.
In the case of the Izembek Refuge land exchange and road, our lawsuit contends that the Department of the Interior failed to follow mandated steps for approving a transportation system (road) within a designated Wilderness area and, in addition, failed to address the requirement for a land swap to meet ANILCA’s conservation and subsistence purposes. The State is currently pursuing permits to build the road. Trustees commented on the application for a Corps of Engineers 404 permit on behalf of the coalition of groups involved in the lawsuit.
In other news, the Fish and Wildlife Service has begun conducting a fast-tracked review of the refuge system to, in the words of the Dec. 16 directive, “look for refuges or hatcheries established for a purpose that no longer aligns with the mission” of the agency, and for “opportunities to achieve efficiencies in the areas of governance, oversight, and span of control.” Our Friends group submitted comments on the review by the Jan. 5 deadline (later extended to Jan. 15) and will comment again when recommendations appear. One major concern for refuges is that lands may be targeted for sale or trade into private ownership or a public land status with lower conservation protections even though ANILCA prohibits the disposal of lands from Alaska refuges.
We are still working to try to end the government hiring freeze that does not allow even replacing retirees. Our refuges are suffering tremendously from staff shortages. For example, the acting manager/assistant manager at the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge is retiring in March, which will leave the refuge with neither a manager nor assistant manager. The long-time captain of the research vessel Tiglax has also retired. As another example, Kodiak Refuge now has only one maintenance person for the visitor center, staff housing, offices and other facilities in the City of Kodiak plus 10 remote public use cabins and a field camp. It’s not safe to go to the off-road refuge alone so the sole remaining maintenance worker must recruit help. Chartering a plane or boat is necessary to maintain remote facilities since the refuge lost its pilot and boat operator and sold the boat to save money. The one remaining biologist has the same problem getting to the field. The busy summer field season is not far off! Contact your legislators to urge that the hiring freeze be ended!
Find contact information for the Alaska delegation here. If you live in another state, please contact members of your own delegation. You can find get their contact information from the Capitol switchboard (202-224-3121)
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Photo Above: Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in fall colors. PC Mary Frische and Tom Collopy/Wild North Photography/Friends