Izembek National Wildlife Refuge

Wildlife refuge in Alaska, United States

Izembek National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Map of the United States
Location	Aleutians East Borough, Alaska, United States
Nearest city	Cold Bay, Alaska
Coordinates	55°15′N 162°45′W / 55.250°N 162.750°W / 55.250; -162.750
Area	315,000 acres (1,270 km)
Established	1960
Governing body	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Website	Izembek NWR

Ramsar Wetland
Official name	Izembek Lagoon National Wildlife Refuge
Designated	18 December 1986
Reference no.	349

The Izembek National Wildlife Refuge is the smallest of the National Wildlife Refuges located in the U.S. state of Alaska. It lies on the northwest (Bering Sea) coastal side of central Aleutians East Borough. Almost all of the refuge (307,982 acres (124,636 ha) out of 315,000 acres (1,270 km)) was designated as wilderness in 1980 under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (Anilca). The refuge is administered from offices in Cold Bay.

Izembek National Wildlife Refuge lies between the highly productive waters of the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska. Within the heart of the refuge is Izembek Lagoon, a 30-mile (48 km) long and 5-mile (8.0 km) wide coastal ecosystem that contains one of the world's largest eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds. More than 200 species of wildlife and nine species of fish can be found on the refuge. Millions of migratory waterfowl and shorebirds find food and shelter in the coastal lagoons and freshwater wetlands on their way to and from their subarctic and arctic breeding grounds. This extraordinary abundance and diversity of waterfowl has attracted international attention.

History

In 1986, Izembek National Wildlife Refuge and Izembek State Game Refuge, which encompasses the submerged land of Izembek Lagoon, was the first wetland area in the United States to be recognized as a Wetland of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention. In 2001, Izembek Refuge was also designated as a Globally Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society.

Attempts have been made to build a road through the refuge connecting the towns of King Cove to Cold Bay. One such attempt proposed a land transfer of 43,000 acres (170 km) of land owned by the state of Alaska and the King Cove Corporation in exchange for construction of a single-lane 17-mile (27 km) road which would pass through Izembek NWR. Environmentalists contended the road threatens the population of the migratory black brant and other species. This attempted land transfer was ultimately blocked by the Department of the Interior in 2013.

In January 2018 the Trump administration proposed a different land transfer agreement. Nine environmental groups sued the administration one week later, arguing that the four-year environmental impact statement commissioned by the Department of the Interior had already determined that the road was unnecessary and would irreversibly damage the refuge. A ruling on March 29, 2019 by the United States District Court for the District of Alaska once again blocked the land transfer, finding that the Trump administration's attempts to remove acreage from the refuge contradicted the existing environmental impact statement and made no attempt to explain why the statement was no longer applicable. A second judge rejected a revised plan in June 2020. In November 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth District, overruled a 3-judge panel of the court and scheduled a rehearing of the case against the Trump administration proposal. In an unusual action, former President Jimmy Carter filed a statement of support for the motion for the rehearing, saying the swap violated the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). The act "may be the most significant domestic achievement of my political life", Carter said at the time of his filing.

Fauna

Izembek Wilderness hosts a quarter-million migratory birds every fall, including the entire world's population of black brants and thousands of Canada and emperor geese, Steller's eiders, and various species of duck and shorebird. Izembek Lagoon contains one of the largest eelgrass beds in the world, providing food and shelter for the birds. Izembek NWR is also host to many resident bird species, such as Tundra swans, which live on the refuge year-round. Raptors which prey on the many species of rodents, birds, and fish in this area include bald and golden eagles, rough-legged hawks, gyrfalcons, and Peale's peregrine falcons. Hundreds of thousands of salmon return to streams in the refuge each year.

Land mammals that roam this refuge include brown bears, red foxes, wolves, and caribou from the Southern Alaska Peninsula herd. Marine mammals are common in the productive waters surrounding this refuge. Harbor seals, Steller's sea lions, and sea otters and even walrus inhabit nearby coastal waters and lagoons. Harbor seals frequently haul out on sandbars in the lagoons and along the coast. Orcas, gray whales, and minke whales can sometimes be seen as they migrate along the shoreline and occasionally inside of Izembek Lagoon.

Wetlands of Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in early spring
Lefthand Valley
Aghileen Pinnacles
Joshua Green River Valley in Izembek Wilderness

References

^ "Izembek National Wildlife Refuge". Fws.gov. Archived from the original on June 15, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
^ Yardley, William; Barringer, Felicity (September 27, 2008). "Swapping Land for a Road to Somewhere Divides Alaskans". The New York Times. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
"Izembek Lagoon National Wildlife Refuge". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
"Izembek Wilderness". Wilderness Connect. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
Fortuna, Carolyn (November 9, 2024). "Tribes Fight "Precedent-Setting" Alaskan Land Exchange Proposal". CleanTechnica. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
"Izembek-Moffet-Kinzarof Lagoons". audubon.org. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
^ "Secretary Jewell Issues Decision on Izembek National Wildlife Refuge Land Exchange and Road Proposal". Doi.gov. December 23, 2013. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
"Judge rejects Trump plan for road in Alaska wildlife refuge". Apnews.com. March 29, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
"U.S. judge scraps Trump order opening Arctic, Atlantic areas to oil leasing". Reuters.com. March 30, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
Ruskin, Liz (June 2, 2020). "Another judge tosses land swap for King Cove road". Alaskapublic.org. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
Fountain, Henry, "Court to reconsider Trump-era decision that favored Alaska road project", New York Times, November 11, 2022. Retrieved 2022-11-11.
^ Izembek National Wildlife Refuge - USFWS
Izembek Wilderness - Wilderness.net

External links

Official site
New York Times article on Land Swap
Important Bird Areas-National Audubon Society

Protected areas of Alaska

Federal

National Parks	Denali Gates of the Arctic Glacier Bay Katmai Kenai Fjords Kobuk Valley Lake Clark Wrangell–St. Elias
National Historical Parks	Klondike Gold Rush (Chilkoot Trail) Sitka
National Monuments	Admiralty Island (USFS) Aleutian Islands World War II (FWS) Aniakchak Cape Krusenstern Misty Fjords (USFS)
National Preserves	Bering Land Bridge Noatak Yukon–Charley Rivers
National Wildlife Refuges	Alaska Maritime Alaska Peninsula Arctic Becharof Innoko Izembek Kanuti Kenai Kodiak Koyukuk Nowitna Selawik Tetlin Togiak Yukon Delta Yukon Flats
National Forests	Chugach Tongass
Forest Service units	Mendenhall Glacier
Wilderness Areas	Aleutian Islands Andreafsky Becharof Bering Sea Bogoslof Chamisso Chuck River Coronation Island Denali Endicott River Forrester Island Gates of the Arctic Glacier Bay Hazy Islands Innoko Izembek Karta River Katmai Kenai Kobuk Valley Kootznoowoo Koyukuk Kuiu Lake Clark Maurille Islands Misty Fjords Mollie Beattie Noatak Nunivak Petersburg Creek–Duncan Salt Chuck Pleasant/Lemesurier/Inian Islands Russell Fiord Saint Lazaria Selawik Semidi Simeonof South Baranof South Etolin South Prince of Wales Stikine-LeConte Tebenkof Bay Togiak Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Tuxedni Unimak Warren Island West Chichagof-Yakobi Wrangell–Saint Elias
Wild and Scenic Rivers	Alagnak Alatna Andreafsky Aniakchak Beaver Creek Birch Creek Charley Chilikadrotna Delta Fortymile Gulkana Ivishak John Kobuk North Fork Koyukuk Mulchatna Noatak Nowitna Salmon Selawik Sheenjek Tinayguk Tlikakila Unalakleet Wind
National Conservation Area	Steese

State

State Parks	Afognak Island Chilkat Chugach Denali Kachemak Bay Point Bridget Shuyak Island Wood-Tikchik
State Forests	Haines Southeast Tanana Valley

Alaska Department of Natural Resources

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National Wildlife Refuges of the United States

v t e Ramsar sites in the United States
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Ramsar sites in the United States

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