Court to reconsider Trump-era decision that favored Alaska road project

A federal appeals court has vacated a ruling that would have helped to clear the way for a project to build a road through a national wildlife refuge in Alaska. The court said it would rehear the case, which involves a land swap that was approved by the Trump administration.

The decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reopen the case, announced in a brief order Thursday, is at least a temporary victory for conservation groups that oppose the project. They and others, including former President Jimmy Carter, also fear that allowing such a land swap would effectively gut a landmark decades-old law that protects tens of millions of acres of public lands across Alaska.