All roads to Ambler lead back to D.C.—take action to keep Ambler out of budget reconciliation!

by | May 19, 2025

Nine people and a child stand in front of the United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C. during a No Ambler Road advocacy trip. Two people are holding signs that say "Defend the Brooks Range" and "Stop the Ambler Mining Road".

Featured Image: Indigenous leaders and conservation allies stand in front of the United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C. during a No Ambler Road advocacy trip in 2023. Photo by Jayme Dittmar.

Update: Permitting for the proposed Ambler Road has been removed from budget reconciliation. Read our full update here.

The House Natural Resources Committee recently included language in the budget reconciliation bill that would force approval of the Ambler Road. Tribes, Defend Brooks Range Coalition, and allies have tirelessly advocated for the protection of this incredible region, achieving the “No Action Alternative” selected by the Department of the Interior in 2024. Despite the revocation of permits last June, President Trump and some members of Congress are trying to force the road’s development through executive orders and backdoor deals. 

They aim to permit the Ambler Road by amending the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) and requiring each federal agency involved in the permitting process to approve all permits and authorizations necessary to establish the road. The Department of the Interior would be forced to grant access across National Park Service (NPS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would likely be required to approve the Clean Water Act 404 permit as well. Shockingly, all approvals would be excluded from judicial review, and would be pushed through within 90 days of the budget bill going into effect.

The Northern Center won’t stand idly by as the Trump administration looks to increase their power, limit oversight, and blatantly disregard the communities of the Brooks Range who have said over and over again that they do not want this road.

 

Here is how you can help

 

We know that there are a lot of issues that require our attention. If you would like to help on this issue, please take a few minutes to call and/or email your personal representative(s) and leadership in the House, as well as members of the House Natural Resources Committee. Not all representatives accept emails from outside their district, so calling is always the best option! We have listed the phone numbers below and when you reach out to these Representatives, remind them that…

 

  • The Ambler Road doesn’t help our bottom line, or our national security.
      • The Ambler Road will not make America richer: In 2019, the road’s estimated cost to the state of Alaska was $1.4 billion, with the cost only growing since then. The road isn’t federally financed, and with no mines in the area permitted, there are no national expense or revenue implications. It has no place in the budget reconciliation negotiations. 
      • The Ambler Road will not make our nation safer: After years of exploration, mining reports fail to show meaningful quantities of minerals that would economically or politically justify the road’s construction. Additionally, any critical minerals mined from the area would be sent overseas for processing, doing little to secure domestic supply chains. 
  • The road is NOT guaranteed by Congress or past law.
      • Congress has NOT already guaranteed the road: ANILCA does not guarantee the road. Section 201(4) refers only to the portion of the road that crosses Gates of the Arctic National Preserve, not the entire corridor. Further, Section 201(4) cannot override ANILCA Section 810, which requires tribal consultation and prioritizes protections of subsistence use and resources in permitting projects, including Ambler. ANILCA Title XI also requires a joint permitting process for transportation systems through conservation units, meaning all relevant agencies must be engaged and cannot be overridden by Congress. 
      • This effort (to force permitting of the road) would override the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA): BLM was required by law to undergo the NEPA process and selected the “No Action Alternative” based on its findings that the road would have significant adverse impacts to subsistence and other resources across the Brooks Range. 
      • Congressional attempts to permit the road would also override the Clean Water Act: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) suspended the Clean Water Act 404 permit due to serious failures and gaps in existing analysis of the road’s impacts to waterways and wetlands. USACE was in the final stages of revoking the 404 permit in January when President Trump issued his January 20 executive order that included forcing the Ambler Road forward.
  • Tribes, Alaskans, and Americans don’t want the road.
      • There is widespread opposition to the proposed Ambler Road, including Alaskans, Tribes, and 135,000 Americans across the nation: Tens of thousands of Alaskans spoke up during the comment period, saying no to the road.
      • Any claims that this language puts the Ambler Road decision back in the hands of Alaskans is disingenuous: Alaskans have already made their decision. Eighty-two percent of the public testimonies submitted in 12 separate in-person hearings across Alaska were opposed to the Ambler industrial mining road, calling for the road permits to be revoked.
      • The 2024 decision to revoke permits and right-of-ways was based on extensive government-to-government consultation with Tribes, numerous public hearings across Alaska, and included extensive data about cultural and subsistence impacts, much of which was provided directly by Tribes: Eighty nine Alaska Native Tribes and First Nations have signed resolutions opposing the road. 
  • The Brooks Range is not the place to develop industrial roads and mines.
    • The Brooks Range is an unreasonable place to mine for copper: The extreme Arctic environment creates major challenges to road construction and mining, and poses substantial threats to food security for the dozens of rural and Alaska Native villages who rely on subsistence. Alaska’s hardrock standards fall behind other states in the U.S., creating further concern for the social, environmental, and economic impacts of the project. 
    • The U.S. has other options to reduce demand for minerals, including recycling, redesign, and recovery from existing mines and tailings: In 2023, recovered scrap copper provided 33% of supply in the U.S. We should be prioritizing recycling and recovery instead of industrializing one of the world’s largest and wildest remaining intact ecosystems.
  • House Natural Resources Committee Office: (202) 225-2761
  • House Natural Resources Committee Members
    • Rep. Bruce Westerman, Chair, Phone: (202) 225-3772
    • Rep. Rob Wittman, Vice Chair, Phone: (202) 225-4261
    • Rep. Jared Huffman, Ranking Member, Phone: (202) 225-5161
    • Rep. Nick Begich, Alaska delegation, Phone: (202) 225-5765 (DC), (907) 251-4560 (Fairbanks)
  • House Leadership