Mr. Young Wants Another Road

[maddezmom]

Mr. Young Wants Another Road
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Published: April 26, 2008
Under normal circumstances, building a one-lane, nine-mile gravel road would not seem much of a problem. You have to be suspicious, though, when its chief sponsor is Representative Don Young, second only to Senator Ted Stevens in bringing pork-barrel projects to Alaska. And you’d be right. This road would bisect an extraordinary wildlife refuge in the middle of federally protected wilderness.

In a moment of carelessness last week, the House Natural Resources Committee approved the road by a voice vote — reversing a 1998 law expressly prohibiting the road and clearing the way for up to $50 million in wholly unnecessary spending. The Senate should kill it.

Mr. Young says the road — which would run from the isolated village of King Cove to the town of Cold Bay, which has an airport — is needed so King Cove residents can be ensured of ground transport in medical emergencies. The road would cause havoc in the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, one of the richest wildlife feeding and breeding grounds in America. Further, it would set a bad precedent that could lead to road building in other protected wilderness areas.

For these reasons, Congress killed the idea in 1998. It also provided more than $30 million in federal aid to various local projects, including an improved airstrip, a new medical facility and a state-of-the-art hovercraft to move people to Cold Bay in emergencies.

more:http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/26/opinion/26sat3.html?ref=opinion

[Blue_In_AK]

1. He'll get nowhere with this...

And he's not going to get re-elected, either. Alaskans are on to him. He won't make it out of the primary this year.