WASHINGTON-In late January, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke signed an agreement with the Alaska Native King Cove Native Corp., which is made up of tribal members from the local Agdaagux and Belkofski tribes, to build a life-saving road between the Native village and the nearby all-weather airport in Cold Bay.

For three decades the Aleut residents of King Cove Native Corporation in Alaska have tried to get federal approval for a 12-mile single-lane road corridor to connect their isolated area in the Aleutian peninsula to an existing road system in the Izembeck National Wildlife Refuge and a large runway. In a community with no hospital or doctor, the residents must fly 600 miles to Anchorage for most medical procedures. Eighteen deaths have been attributed to the lack of road access, either in small plane crashes or the inability to receive timely medical treatment.

The corridor will provide the village with its first and only dependable ground transportation for medical emergencies.

"Above all, the federal government's job is to keep our people safe and respect our treaty commitments with Native Americans and Alaska Natives," said Zinke. "Previous administrations prioritized birds over human lives, and that's just wrong. The people of King Cove have been stewarding the land and wildlife for thousands of years and I am confident that working together we will be able to continue responsible stewardship while also saving precious lives."