Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee released the following statement on Secretary's land-exchange agreement in Alaska:

"Secretary Zinke’s secretly-negotiated deal to give away the heart of the publicly-owned Izembek National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness shows his continued willingness to ignore the law. This proposed land exchange is not consistent with the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act and is contrary to the Department of the Interior’s own findings after a lengthy and transparent environmental review that the exchange is not in the public interest. I expect today’s decision, like many of Secretary Zinke’s other attempts to give away the public trust, will be challenged and overturned in federal court."

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