Bob Marshall, writer, wilderness activist, and founder of the Wilderness Society said in his book Alaska Wilderness: Exploring the Central Brooks Range: “For me, and for the thousands with similar inclinations, the most important passion of life is the overpowering desire to escape periodically from the clutches of a mechanistic civilization.” As outdoor enthusiasts, and as fly fishers, we get what Bob was talking about 90-plus years ago, yet there is a deeper meaning to his words in this author’s opinion. The passion he describes in wanting to escape from the stresses of modern civilization, in turn, should be the same passion we express in protecting our precious wild places.  

Numerous industry partners including Fly Fisherman Magazine and Simms have joined Hunters & Anglers for the Brooks Range (HABR). A project of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP), the growing hunt-fish coalition consists of leading outdoor businesses, brands, and organizations united to spread awareness and support to keep the Brooks Range wild.

“The risks of the proposed Ambler Industrial Road far outweigh any potential benefits,” said Jen Leahy, Alaska Program Manager for TRCP. "During the recent public comment period, more than 8,000 hunters and anglers took action for the Brooks Range and told the Bureau of Land management that America's most remote fishing and hunting habitat should remain wild and unfragmented for future generations to enjoy."

Anglers played a key role in this advocacy effort, according to Leahy.

"The BLM heard loud and clear that anglers want to maintain the opportunity to float epic rivers in the Brooks Range without being disturbed by a semi-truck every few minutes. Anglers want their grandkids to be able to experience the thrill of hooking a trophy sheefish on the Kobuk River. And anglers know there's no need to build a massive private road through an undeveloped swath of the Brooks Range when our resources could be developed closer to existing infrastructure, in places with fewer impacts to habitat," said Leahy. 

The proposed Ambler Road would stretch for 211 miles across the vast unspoiled wilderness of the Brooks Range. Originating from the Dalton Highway and cutting through the southern foothills of the Brooks on its westward route, the industrial mining corridor would provide access to at least four large, proposed mines. It is unclear how many mines could ultimately be developed and for how many decades they may operate. However, it is clear the Brooks Range would be forever altered in the Ambler Road is approved. 

The industrial road would cross nearly a dozen major rivers originating in the Brooks Range that are home to many species that are important for recreation and rural subsistence. Caribou migrations would likely be affected as the project intersects their migration path and winter range. Chum and Chinook salmon, Arctic grayling, sheefish, and other native fishes may be impacted and have their migratory routes interrupted, or potentially impeded if proper maintenance fails to occur at the nearly 3,000 planned culverts and crossings. 

The Ambler Road is being proposed by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) to the Alaska Bureau of Land Management (BLM). AIDEA has a history, as a publicly funded corporation, of subsidizing large-scale pojects with poor performance. In its 35-year span, AIDEA has received $301 million of public money from the State of Alaska, while their development project that would support multi-national interests from Canadian and Australian mining companies. 

The potential impacts of the Ambler Road to fish, wildlife, and people are detailed in the BLM's draft environmental review. The BLM solicited public comments through December 22, 2023. The agency is currently considering that feedback and will issue a final environmental review in Spring 2024 before making a final permitting decision later in 2024. 

Jen Leahy of the TRCP said there's still an opportunity for sportsmen and sportswomen across the country to shape the outcome of the agency's decision. 

"Hunters & Anglers for the Brooks Range will be helping conservation advocates keep public pressure on the BLM until the decision is made, and we're prepared to defend a good decision. I'm confident we can secure a positive outcome for anglers and hunters if we continue to work together," said Leahy. 

“The upper Kobuk River has largely been off the radar to most people,” fly-fishing guide, Greg Halbach, owner of Remote Waters Outfitters, said. “It does not see a lot of human activity–even the local populations living further down river rarely venture into the upper stretches of the river. Up until now, that has helped to maintain the wildness and remoteness of the upper Kobuk. But, in a situation like this with the Ambler Road project bearing down on it, that becomes a double-edged sword. It doesn’t have the name recognition among fishermen of a Bristol Bay, or even other places in the Arctic like the Noatak River or Arrigetch Peaks. There is no better place to pursue sheefish with a fly rod than the upper Kobuk. In August and September, they really begin to stack up in the deep runs and tailouts, and when the river is running low and clear, watching them rocket out of the deep water to slash at a fly is pure excitement. There is no question that the Ambler Road would degrade the remote wilderness that makes this area so special.”

Dr. Kevin Fraley, Fisheries Ecologist, Arctic Beringia Program with the Wildlife Conservation Society, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers member, and avid fly fisher has been studying the potential fisheries and environmental impacts of the Ambler Road.

“The mining companies are after the large sulfide deposits with different metals within the Ambler Mining District of the Brooks Range,” Fraley said. “Recently the Biden Administration has prioritized green energy initiatives where we need these critical metals for things like electric car batteries. This could be a reason why the Ambler Road is being pushed now more than before. Copper, barite, zinc, iron, lead, and gold are the main elements being pursued.”

An estimated 168 truck trips per day would travel the road transporting ore, or potentially milled ore, which is a highly toxic refined material, fuel, and employees to and from the Dalton Highway. Ore would most likely be transported south to the trainyards in Fairbanks for international shipping.

“The road would cut through the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve crossing five rivers deemed Wild & Scenic Rivers through the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System,” said Fraley. “Culverts and streams crossings with thousands of acres of wetlands would be filled in to allow four large mines to be operated.”

Another potential pollution factor is toxic dust escaping from trucks that can seep into the land and water. Aquatic macroinvertebrates will retain these toxic heavy metals, fish feed on these food sources, and subsequentially retain the toxins in their bodies faster than they can expel them. These toxic metals then pass up the food chain to humans that may harvest these fish. On December 1, Dr. Fraley presented a seminar to the University of Alaska Fairbanks Fisheries Department focusing on the potential impacts to fisheries and rivers if the Ambler Road is constructed.  

Your participation can help conserve the Brooks Range for generations to come. Just as anglers have been successful in helping defend Bristol Bay from the proposed Pebble Mine, we have an opportunity to once again safeguard some of the most wild, remote, and pristine fishing grounds remaining in Alaska. Taking action is quick and easy with this online petition, and make sure to follow Hunters & Anglers for the Brooks Range for updates on this important issue.