Presidential Order Reverses Ambler Roadblock

The route would run through a 25-mile corridor of Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve. In 2021, the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) granted a fifty-year right-of-way over federal lands. A year later, the Department of the Interior suspended that decision, pointing to deficiencies in BLM’s analysis of impacts to subsistence uses under Section 810 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act and its consultation with tribes pursuant to the National Historic Preservation Act Section 106.

In 2024, the Biden administration formally denied re-approval of AAP.

The presidential order removes BLM as a roadblock, but AAP still faces other hurdles. Plaintiffs represented by Trustees for Alaska still have a lawsuit pending in US District Court in Anchorage against the 2021 right-of-way.

Furthermore, two Alaska Native regional corporations with land holdings along the AAP corridor are withholding permission to build the road. Doyon, Limited owns more than 10 miles of the proposed route, and NANA owns more than 20 miles. Last year, the board of NANA decided to not renew a permit for further access to its lands in the Ambler mining district.

While unhappy with the Biden administration’s decision to block the AAP, a statement from NANA said the decision to withdraw “reflects unmet criteria, insufficient consultation, and a lack of confidence in the project’s alignment with our values and community interests.” The statement said AIDEA did not sufficiently address specific criteria that NANA established to consider supporting AAP—including controlled access, protection of caribou migration routes and subsistence resources, job creation, and community benefits. NANA also raised concerns with BLM’s final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, saying it went beyond the law in several aspects and threatened Native corporations’ responsibility to advance the socioeconomic interests of shareholders.

In a special late-September meeting, AIDEA’s board voted to authorize limited negotiations with the landowners.

Meanwhile, the Tanana Chiefs Conference stated its opposition to the AAP. The group of thirty-nine Interior villages and thirty-seven federally recognized tribes said Monday it was “deeply disappointed by the decision.” Chief and Chairman Brian Ridley vowed to oppose the road project, saying, “This decision is a direct affront to the voices of Alaska Native people.”

The mining industry welcomed the presidential reversal. “We want to thank President Trump for overturning the harmful 2024 decision on the Ambler Road Project and prioritizing access to Alaska’s critical minerals,” says Deantha Skibinski, executive director of the Alaska Miners Association. “With stable policies in place, Alaska now stands ready to supply the nation with the minerals critical to our national security and our economy.”

Alaska Representative Nick Begich echoes that sentiment. “President Trump’s decision to grant AIDEA’s appeal under section 1106 marks a history day for Alaska’s self-determination and will get Ambler access back on track,” he says. “Mine in America starts with mine in Alaska.”