Interior chief to visit Alaska amid road fight, filing says
by Becky Bohrer, The Associated Press
Posted Jul 20, 2021 8:43 pm EDT
Last Updated Jul 20, 2021 at 8:56 pm EDT
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is expected to visit Alaska in September, according to a court filing in a long-running dispute over a proposed land exchange aimed at building a road through a national wildlife refuge.
Haaland committed during her confirmation process to meeting with residents of King Cove, a community at the center of the dispute, according to the filing from Justice Department attorney Michael T. Gray. Those meetings aren’t possible before an appeals court is set to hear arguments in the case Aug. 4 because people in the community will be busy with the subsistence fishing season, Gray said.