Amazing! Even as the press is uncovering Palin's lies about the Bridge to Nowhere, the Senate moved forward Thursday to approve another Palin endorsed, Murkowski, Stevens and Young sponsored, pork-laden, boondoggle, new Road to Nowhere in Alaska. http://ap.google.com/...
On Thursday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved S. 1680, Izembek and Alaska Peninsula Refuge and Wilderness Enhancement Act of 2007. It is nothing but another sham bill to create a road from King Cove, population 900, to Cold Bay, population 88 to provide a means of transportation for the folks in King Cove to get to the airport in Cold Bay for emergency medical evacuations. Building this road is an issue because it would go right through the heart of a world-recognized area for wildlife and a wilderness area. Link here for a map of the proposed road and the refuge. http://www.defenders.org/...
Congress told Alaska NO to this road ten years ago and spent 37.5 million bucks to provide other alternatives that are faster and safer. They even upgraded the local medical facilities. Problem solved, case closed. Nope. The Alaska special interests are back again represented by Steve Silver who was Palin's porky earmark guy when she was mayor of Wasilla. The well paid, friend of jail bird Abramhoff, is back to deliver another Palin approved road.
This bill completely disregards the importance of the National Wildlife Refuge and paves the way for a road to be constructed through the heart of the Congressionally designated wilderness. Why go to the trouble of designating wilderness and protecting very important wildlife areas if you are going to shred them later?
Even with the current state of protections in the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, the caribou herd has shrunk from 4,100 strong to 1,000. In fact, those good wildlife loving folks like Palin ordered the wolf, I mean, predator control folks, to the Izembek area in helicopters to shoot up the wolves to help protect the caribou. Wolves eat baby caribou. Unfortunately, killing all the adult wolves meant they had to kill the wolf cubs in their dens, or let them die of starvation. No state would ever go to such lengths to protect the caribou population if they didnt care about the wildlife, right? http://newsminer.com/...
This horrible bill weakens all Congressionally designated wilderness across out country by setting a horrible precedent. It will work like this - if you want to drill for gas in the middle of a wilderness, just ask the Senate to set up a land swap where you want to drill. Make sure you ask for enough land to build your road, set up your pipelines, and drill pads. We'll leave the rest of it as wilderness, and offer you many more acres of mediocre lands as compensation for the swap. Don't mind the taxpayer or interest of the public good. That is how S. 1680 is set up. It sets up a lovely formua for any kind of development you desire. How about a nice mega-resort? Maybe a coal, gold or uranium mine?
It seems like the only hope to prevent this bill from going forward is to get the press to link it with the Palin lies about Bridges to Nowhere. Nothing but the worst moose poop stink on this bill is going to keep the Democrats from pushing it forward.