Draft EIS on Alaska Native corporation land swap

Wednesday, January 23, 2008  

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be taking public comments on a proposed land swap in the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge of Alaska.

The agency is releasing a draft environmental impact statement for the swap. The document examines the positive and negative impacts of exchanging 110,000 acres of refuge land, plus mineral rights on an 97,000 acres, for 150,000 acres owned by Doyon Ltd., an Alaska Native regional corporation.

The Doyon lands are considered important to wildlife conservation. The refuge lands are considered valuable for oil and gas development.

The Gwichyaa Zhee Gwich’in Tribe and some Doyon shareholders oppose the swap. Environmental groups say drilling it would hurt the area.

Get the Story:
Feds tally the impacts of Yukon Flats swap (The Fairbanks Daily News Miner 1/23)

$rl Doyon Ltd. - http://www.doyon.com
Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge Proposed Land Exchange - http://yukonflatseis.ensr.com
Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge - http://yukonflats.fws.gov

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Alaska Native corporation land swap proposed (10/22)
Stevens rider allows land swap with Native corporation (09/17)
Norton's intervention won't help Native corporation (09/16)
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Purchase of Native allotment clears Congress (07/23)
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