In another resounding victory, a second judge has thrown out a land exchange agreement intended to build a road through the sensitive wetlands of the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

The Izembek Refuge sits on a narrow isthmus between the village of King Cove and the all-weather airport of Cold Bay. Residents of King Cove, along with the Alaska Congressional delegation, have been fighting for years to build a road through Izembek, regardless of its sensitive wetland habitat, which is an internationally recognized Ramsar wetland. Alternatives to a road have been proposed and implemented over the years, but residents have rejected all of these choices and demanded a land exchange so they could build a road.

The Obama Administration declined to approve a land exchange, saying the ecological damage to the area would be too great. The Trump Administration forged ahead anyway, approving a land exchange with the King Cove Corporation. However, last year, a U.S. District Court judge threw out the Interior Department’s attempt, saying they reversed the Administration’s policy on Izembek NWR “without providing any reasoned explanation for this change.”

Interior Secretary David Bernhardt immediately inked a new agreement with the King Cove Corporation after the first decision. The Interior Department’s second attempt has now been thrown out. Judge John Sedwick has declared Secretary Bernhardt’s decision to be arbitrary and capricious.

This decision is a huge victory for the Izembek Refuge and the National Wildlife Refuge System!