On June 17, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority board met to discuss several major projects with serious implications for Alaska’s lands, waters, wildlife, and communities. Northern Alaska Environmental Center joined the meeting to call for what Alaskans have been asking for again and again: transparency, accountability, and an end to public resources being used to push risky industrial megaprojects over the concerns of communities.
During public comment, NAEC raised concerns about AIDEA’s continued investment in projects like the Ambler Road, a private mining access road that faces deep public opposition and would threaten caribou, fish, wetlands, and subsistence resources across the Brooks Range region. Communities have raised concerns about this project for years. AIDEA should be listening to them, not spending resources to dismiss or override them.
We also called on AIDEA to release all non-private, non-privileged financial and project information related to Ambler and its other major projects. Alaskans deserve to know how much money has been spent, what funding sources are being used, what contracts are in place, and what risks the public is being asked to carry.
Those concerns were echoed by other Alaskans who testified at the meeting. Several commenters raised alarm about AIDEA’s recent communications and marketing efforts, including the use of footage from public testimony in a way that commenters said misrepresented and attacked members of the public. Public testimony is a critical part of democratic process. It should never be twisted into political messaging or used to discourage people from participating.
After public comment, the board moved into executive session to discuss a long list of matters behind closed doors, including Ambler Road, Arctic Refuge oil and gas leasing, Port MacKenzie, AIDEA financials, legislative matters, and legal issues. When the board returned, it stated that no action had been taken during the executive session.
The board then approved an amended resolution authorizing up to $34 million from AIDEA’s revolving fund as part of the match for an Alaska Railroad federal grant application related to the Port MacKenzie Rail Extension. AIDEA described the project as a partnership with the Alaska Railroad and the Mat-Su Borough.
AIDEA also provided updates on several major projects. The agency said it is continuing to advance Arctic Refuge oil and gas leasing, including seismic and drilling plans, while also fighting litigation in federal court. AIDEA reported that Ambler Road field work is moving forward, including geotechnical drilling for bridge sites and work on cost estimates, bridge design, and financing. It also discussed movement on the West Susitna Road and other infrastructure projects.
AIDEA’s response to public concern was largely to defend itself. During director comments, AIDEA argued that its funds are not state treasury funds and that the agency is fulfilling its statutory role to promote economic development. But that framing leaves out a much larger question: even if AIDEA’s funds sit inside a public corporation, what has AIDEA cost Alaskans, and who benefits from its investments?
A 2022 report, AIDEA Cost & Financial Performance – A Long, Hard Look, directly examines that question. The report found that since 1980, AIDEA received a net $301 million in public funds to subsidize economic development, and estimated that if those funds had instead been placed in the Alaska Permanent Fund, the fund would have been $11.4 billion richer by June 30, 2021. The report estimated the difference between that amount and AIDEA’s $1.4 billion net worth as a $10 billion cost to the state.
The report also found that AIDEA’s average annual return since 1980 was 3.8 percent, compared with 9.4 percent for the Permanent Fund. It further found that from FY 1987–2021, AIDEA’s project investments had an average annual return of negative 2.6 percent, while cash and loans performed better.
AIDEA continues to justify controversial projects by pointing to economic development. But the 2022 report raises serious questions about whether AIDEA’s investments have delivered benefits that justify their costs. It found that AIDEA projects have lost a total of $233.3 million over 35 years, that $294 million had been written off as worthless by AIDEA’s board, and that further write-offs were possible.
The report also recommended stronger independent review, including third-party audits to determine whether projects would have happened without AIDEA, how many jobs were actually created, whether those jobs went to residents or nonresidents, where the jobs were located, the true subsidy and opportunity costs, and who received the benefits.
That is exactly the kind of accountability Alaskans deserve now.
When AIDEA moves into executive session to discuss Ambler Road, Arctic Refuge leasing, finances, legislative matters, and legal issues, the public is left with more questions than answers. When AIDEA approves tens of millions of dollars for infrastructure priorities while continuing to push projects with serious environmental, financial, and community risks, Alaskans deserve more than broad assurances. We deserve the numbers. We deserve the contracts. We deserve the risk analysis. We deserve to know who benefits and who bears the cost.
The message from AIDEA was clear: the agency is moving quickly to advance major industrial projects but speed is not the same as responsibility.
When projects carry major risks for caribou, fish, wetlands, public lands, and subsistence ways of life, Alaskans deserve full disclosure and meaningful public process. AIDEA’s role should not be to push controversial megaprojects forward at all costs. Its decisions affect real places, real communities, and future generations.
AIDEA’s next board meeting is scheduled for July 8. This is another opportunity for Alaskans to speak up and demand transparency, accountability, and responsible decision-making.
Members of the public can submit comments to AIDEA by emailing:
Tell AIDEA what you think. Ask them to release non-private, non-privileged financial and project information. Ask them to stop advancing risky projects behind closed doors. Ask them to respect public testimony, community concerns, and the lands, waters, wildlife, and ways of life that Alaskans depend on.