(NewsNation) — Three Alaska Native Villages and a national conservation organization are suing the Trump administration over a plan that would enable the construction of a road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.
In the lawsuit, Native Village of Hooper Bay, the Native Village of Paimiut, Chevak Native Village and the Center for Biological Diversity argue that the land swap violates federal law by undermining the conservation and subsistence purposes that govern protected lands in Alaska.
If that deal were to go through, it would trade about 500 acres of wilderness at the heart of the refuge for 1,739 acres owned by the King Cove Corporation.
The villages allege in their lawsuit that they tried to schedule meetings with federal officials in the process, but those requests were either ignored or denied, according to Courthouse News Service.
“If the Izembek road happens, it will cause a lot of chaos for Alaska Native people in my region who still live off the land and sea. The birds we hunt may not be able to survive,” Chief Edgar Tall Sr. of the Native Village of Hooper Bay said in a statement.
A spokesperson with the Center for Biological Diversity said the deal sets “a dangerous precedent for all federally protected lands.”
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, more than 200 species of animals live in the Izembek refuge, and it serves as one of the world’s most critical stopover points for migratory birds.