A Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) is a document that updates or enhances an existing Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). A SEIS is prepared when there is new information or circumstances that are relevant to environmental concerns, or when there are changes to the proposed action that could result in significant environmental impacts that were not evaluated in the EIS.This SEIS builds upon the original analysis and presents the supplemental information by highlighting the new text in yellow.

In the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, Congress directed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to evaluate the impacts of a proposed land exchange with the State of Alaska and the King Cove Corporation for the purpose of constructing a single-lane gravel road through Izembek National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) between the communities of King Cove and Cold Bay, Alaska. The Service completed the EIS and in December 2013, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell issued the record of decision declining to enter into a land exchange. 

On July 3, 2019, Secretary Bernhardt signed a memorandum approving a different land exchange between the Department of the Interior (Department) and King Cove Corporation. The 2019 Exchange Agreement did not prohibit commercial use of the road, authorized gravel mining within the Refuge, and had far less land coming to the Refuge in the exchange. A federal district court in Alaska vacated the 2019 exchange due to several legal flaws, including that Secretary Bernhardt failed to properly justify his change in policy and rejection of Secretary Jewell’s prior conclusions. That decision was reversed by a three-judge panel of the ninth circuit court of appeals. And that decision was subsequently vacated by the full court of appeals following the Secretary’s actions described below.

On March 14, 2023, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland issued a decision memorandum withdrawing the Department from a 2019 Exchange Agreement with King Cove Corporation. The memorandum identified concerns with the analysis of the potential impacts of the exchange on subsistence and highlighted shortcomings in the record regarding the NEPA and Endangered Species Act analyses. In addition, the memorandum expressed concerns with the terms of the 2019 Exchange Agreement and the nonpublic manner in which the exchange agreement was accomplished.  In April 2023, Secretary Haaland directed the Service to develop a SEIS to address the procedural and substantive issues with prior decisions. The Service commenced a scoping process and on May 18, 2023, published the Notice of Intent to prepare a SEIS that requested public comments.

The Service has prepared the Draft SEIS to consider the effects of a newly proposed potential land exchange of certain lands owned by the King Cove Corporation with certain lands owned by the U.S. Government. King Cove Corporation would use the acquired land for a road corridor, for health and safety and subsistence purposes and only for noncommercial use, through the Refuge and the Izembek Wilderness Area. Section 1302 of ANILCA provides authority for the exchange.

The Draft SEIS updates information used in the Service’s 2013 analysis on the impacts of a then-proposed land exchanges and proposed road corridors and the viability of alternatives to provide safe and reliable transportation between the City of King Cove, Alaska, and the airport at Cold Bay, Alaska. The action alternatives reviewed in this Draft SEIS include the 2013 EIS alternatives and an additional new alternative. The range of alternatives includes 5 pre-existing alternatives (1 (No Action), 2, 3, 4, and 5) and one new alternative, alternative 6. While alternatives 2 and 3 were brought forward from the 2013 EIS, they are no longer viable alternatives, and as such, they were included for comparison purposes only.

The Service has conducted government-to-government consultations with the Agdaagux Tribe and the Native Village of Belkofski, in addition to the Native Village of Hooper Bay. The Service has also consulted with the Sea Lion Corporation and King Cove Corporation. The Service will continue to offer and engage in consultations in this NEPA process. The FWS plans to have a state-wide consultation with Tribes, and another with ANCs, in December. Tribal governments and ANCSA corporations can request consultation at any time.

The publication of this Draft SEIS initiates a public comment period that ends on December 30, 2024. During this time, the public can submit comments by any of the following methods:

• Online: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS–R7–NWRS–2023–0072.  
• U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS–R7–NWRS–2023–0072; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W; 5275 Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041–3803. 
• Public Meetings: Comments will also be accepted at the in-person and virtual public meetings via public testimony. No written comments will be accepted at the meetings. 

You can find the meeting locations, dates, and times and additional information at Land Exchange Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement Information and Documents.

The Service is seeking substantive comments that will help us improve the SEIS by providing new information related to the proposed action or an alternative in the analysis; a different way to meet the need; points out a specific flaw in the analysis; suggests alternate methodologies and the reason(s) why they should be used; makes factual corrections, or identifies a different source of credible research which, if used in the analysis, could result in different effects.

A substantive comment identifies an issue you have with the document, says why it’s a problem, and offers other factual and unbiased information for consideration.

Qualities of a substantive comment:

• References document pages, chapters or sections and uses objective information.
• Uses facts to question the adequacy, accuracy, methodology, or assumptions of the analysis.
• Presents traditional or ecological knowledge.
• Proposes a reasonable new alternative or revision to the alternatives presented.
• Identifies a passage in the document that is unclear. 

Tips for making a substantive comment: 

• Include any knowledge, experience or evidence as it relates to your observations and comments.
• Provide GPS readings or landmarks, if possible, when referring to specific locations.
• Present new information.
• Share issues relevant to the environmental analysis.
• Suggest alternatives to the proposed project and the reason(s) why they should be considered.
• Avoid comments like “I don’t like this” or “I do like this”.
• Remember that identical comments are treated as one comment, including form letters.

Things that do not qualify a comment as substantive and won’t be addressed: 

• Stating that you want your comment recorded as “substantive.”
• Crafting an emotionally compelling story without facts.
• Stating only that you agree or disagree with a policy, resource decision, analysis finding or presented alternative. 
• Asking vague or open-ended questions. 
• Commenting on unrelated projects.
• Commenting on social media.

During the public comment period, the Service will hold ANILCA Section 810 Subsistence Hearings in the vicinity of communities that meet statutory criteria, where comments will be taken for the record.

You can find the meeting locations, dates, and times and additional information at Land Exchange Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement Information and Documents.

The Service will review the comments received and revise the Draft SEIS, as appropriate, to prepare the Final SEIS. Once the Final SEIS is ready, it will be released to the public. A record of decision may be signed and released after a minimum 30-day waiting period.

Based on input received during the comment period, the analysis may be augmented to include additional new information received from the public or other stakeholders. The Service will respond to all substantive comments received during the comment period and will include those responses in the Final SEIS.