Alaska Land Exchange Dispute Moot After Secretary’s Withdrawal

A land exchange dispute over a potential road through Izembek National Wildlife Refuge was tossed by the Ninth Circuit Thursday, ending a tumultuous case that grappled with how to interpret a law that gave federal protection to 100 million acres of wilderness in Alaska.

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland withdrew the land exchange in March, which mooted the issue, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said.

The dispute stems from Trump administration Interior Secretary David Bernhardt’s approval of a land swap allowing King Cove Corp., an Alaska Native corporation, to build a 12-mile-long gravel road through ...