The Ambler Road Project Creates Immense Challenges for Wild Fish Part 6 [1]
June 2026 – Gale K. Vick [2]
Science unsure of cause for salmon decline in Yukon River, Bob Weber, Associated Press, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, August 2, 2016 (chart based on Washington State wild Chinook salmon but is applicable to Interior Alaska river systems, except for the immense distance Alaska salmon must navigate) Other salmon species similar except for timing and average number of eggs.
What’s the big deal about protecting wild fish in Alaska? Simple. Wild fish, notably anadromous salmon, feed people, animals, entire ecosystems. When salmon health is jeopardized, so are entire watersheds and the populations within.
Salmon need laws and lots of them to protect the long migratory passages they must travel in their life cycle. But laws and regulations are only as good as intent, organizational ability and funding to be able to carry them out. And therein, so often, lies the rub. Laws and regulations require scrutiny, application and monitoring. Where, when and how a law is applied and who enforces it are key components of achieving what the law intends.
What is intended to protect Alaska’s wild fish and how does that relate to the proposed Ambler Road Project?
The proposed Ambler Road project is subject to a number of state and federal laws, regulations and policies regarding fish. The federal clearance for the Ambler Road Project given in October 2025 to proceed with necessary authorizations adds urgency to all the questions that need to be answered to protect both anadromous and non-anadromous fish. Salmon is the biggest concern.
Alaska became a state largely because of salmon. Alaska had enough of Outside control of its fisheries, depleting vast resources with limited benefit to Alaskans. “The biological agenda was conservation and sustained yield; the social and economic agenda was to provide jobs and livelihoods for Alaskans, not for “Outside Fish Trusts.” [3]
The framework for Alaska wild fish protection begins with the Alaska Constitution. Article VIII [4] mandates a “Sustained Yield” management:
4. Sustained Yield— Fish, forests, wildlife, grasslands, and all other replenishable resources belong to the State shall be utilized, developed, and maintained on the sustained yield principle, subject to preferences among beneficial uses. [5]
At Statehood in 1959, Alaska was just beginning a long road to understanding the true value of salmon to the subsistence of its people and ecosystems. In the subsequent years, we have built on our constitutional mandate. Intrinsic to this are three Alaska fish policies: [6]
The Sustainable Salmon Policy (SSP) 5 AAC 39.222.(c)(5) Includes framework for Precautionary Measures. Adopted into state regulation in 2000, it states that “while, in the aggregate, Alaska’s salmon fisheries are healthy and sustainable largely because of abundant pristine habitat and the application of sound, precautionary, conservation management practices, there is a need for a comprehensive policy for the regulation and management of sustainable salmon fisheries.” ..“The goal of the policy is to “ensure conservation of salmon and salmon’s required marine and aquatic habitats, protection of customary and traditional uses and other uses, and the sustained economic health of Alaska’s fishing communities.”
The SSP is related to the Policy for the management of mixed stock salmon fisheries Section 5 AAC 39.220 and the Policy for statewide salmon escapement goals Section 5 AAC 39.223
Laws and regulations, policies and practices that are meant to protect the passage, spawning and rearing habitat of salmon applicable to the Ambler Road Project include, but not limited to [7]:
Applicable U.S. Federal laws include:
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) [8] signed into law in 1970, is a foundational U.S. procedural law requiring federal agencies to evaluate the environmental impacts of major proposed actions (such as highway construction, permitting, and land management) before moving forward.
Clean Water Act [9] (33 USC 1344/ 33 U.S.C. §1251 et seq. (1972) Maintenance work affecting natural streams or wetlands requires coordination and permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (under Section 404) to manage the discharge of dredged or fill material.
Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 USC 403) is the oldest federal environmental law in the U.S. It protects navigable waters from unauthorized obstruction, filling, and alteration by requiring permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) [10] (1980 Public Law 96-487, 94 Stat. 2371) requires federal agencies to evaluate the project’s impacts on subsistence hunting, fishing, and gathering.
Specifically, four Alaska state laws must work together to protect salmon spawning and rearing habitats:
The Anadromous Fish Act (AS 16.05.871- .901) requires individuals and government agencies to obtain a Fish Habitat Permit from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) before altering, crossing, or conducting construction within specified waterbodies that support anadromous fish like salmon, trout, and char. The act exists to protect vital freshwater spawning, rearing, and migration habitats, ensuring the long-term sustainability of the state’s invaluable fisheries. Fish Habitat Permits: “ADF&G has the statutory responsibility for protecting freshwater anadromous fish habitat and providing free passage for all fish in fresh water bodies [11]
The Alaska Statute Fishway Act (AS 16.05.841) requires individuals, commercial entities, or government agencies to provide and maintain efficient fish passages. Any dam or structure built across a stream frequented by salmon or other fish must include a durable fishway and devices for downstream migrants.
The Alaska Forest Resources and Practices Act [12] (AS 41.17), specifically 11 AAC 95.305 – Culverts and other water crossing provisions 11 AAC 95.305 outlines the mandatory standards for culverts and surface water crossings on forest roads in Alaska. These regulations dictate flow capacity minimums, installation alignments, fish passage requirements, and sediment control measures intended to protect water quality and aquatic habitats during timber and land operations.
The Alaska Water Use Act (AS 46.15) enacted in 1966, establishes that all surface and subsurface waters in Alaska are public resources belonging to the state. It mandates the Doctrine of Prior Appropriation, requiring developers to obtain water rights from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) before diverting or using water. [13]
The Anadromous Waters Catalog (AWC) [14] Critical to identifying the location of salmon spawning and rearing habitat but incomplete, relying largely on voluntary input. Because fish are fluid with varying run times and site selections, the AWC is subject to constant change. This presents an enormous problem for fish bumping up against rigid and fixed concepts of where they are, have historically been or might be. An Alaska Department of Fish and Game publication on Culvert Inventory and Assessment For Fish Passage states: “At every site that is not already included in the Anadromous Waters Catalog (AWC), baited traps should be set upstream and downstream of the culvert in a quiet pool or other suitable trapping area where they are unlikely to be disturbed during the assessment. The fish data sheet is used to record the results of any trapping or other fish-identification effort. Trapping-effort data is also logged on the Culvert Data Sheet. When time allows, AWC streams should also be trapped to help supplement, expand, and back-up existing fish data at those streams.” [15]
Alaska Highway Drainage Manual [16] The Alaska Highway Drainage Manual has been published to outline the basic principles of hydraulic design as they affect highway drainage problems. This manual is not meant to be a textbook for all aspects of drainage problems, but rather a guide to be used with sound engineering judgment to obtain safe and economical designs.
Alaska Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan Guide (SWAPP) [17] requires a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan if disturbing one acre or more of land for new construction, demolition, grading, and land clearing. A Notice of Intent must be filed and must have an approved SWPPP before work starts. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation issues permits under the Alaska Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, or APDES. This state-run program replaced the federal EPA’s NPDES program in Alaska.
Among the many fish passage and habitat regulations is particular concern for fish-friendly culvert installation and constant maintenance. Culverts must be maintained for the life of their functionality, particularly in any stream which contains fish, whether anadromous or not, which means most of the streams and rivers in Alaska. If not maintained for proper water flow and fish passage, a culvert becomes worse than useless; it becomes an impediment.
Therefore, culvert design, maintenance and repair are one of the major considerations for anadromous fish in the Ambler Road project. Because the 211-mile project corridor crosses lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the National Park Service (NPS), the project must adhere to the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) [18] mitigating measures to minimize the environmental impact of nearly 3,000 planned culverts.
But culvert maintenance over time falls into something of a gray area. Under the Alaska Forest Resources and Practices Act (11 AAC 95.315), for road construction, operators must keep culverts, flumes, and ditches continuously functional to ensure proper water flow and protect downstream water quality. “ A temporary culvert and the adjacent roadway must be constructed to pass or withstand the 25-year flood without damage; a permanent culvert and the adjacent roadway must be constructed to pass or withstand the 50-year flood without damage; any adjustment to these design standards must be determined in the field considering the characteristics of the drainage, the design life of the road, the importance of downstream resources, the type of construction techniques, and the likelihood of culvert or road failure;” [19]
There may be an implied “no sunset” on this requirement but it is not clear in regulation. The actual performance of culvert maintenance is normally a function of the State or local municipalities, depending on whether the culvert drains into fish-bearing waters and whether it falls on public or private land. This is often determined by scheduling, manpower and available funding.
References
[1] This is a revision of the original title of “wild salmon” to acknowledge all the other fish species in the Ambler Road Project area
[2] G.K. Vick is a 57-year resident of Alaska with a long history of research and commentary on fisheries policy for various organizations. This is researched opinion and should not be considered definitive. Original sources should always be consulted and verified.
[3] https://www.conservationgateway.org/content/dam/tnc/conservation/cg-documents/s/o/southeastern-alaska-salmon-industry-overview-current-status.pdf
[4] The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), recognizing the general authority of the State to manage wild fisheries, supports State protections for fish and wildlife on federal lands.
[5] https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=process.commissioner
[6] The Commercial Salmon Fishery in Alaska John H. Clark, Andrew McGregor, Robert D. Mecum, Paul Krasnowski and Amy M. Carroll 2006 Reprinted from the Alaska Fishery Research Bulletin Vol. 12 No. 1, Summer 2006
[7] These are just some of the laws and regulations applicable to any road construction across Alaska waterways.
[8] https://www.epa.gov/nepa/what-national-environmental-policy-act
[9] https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-clean-water-act
[10] https://www.nps.gov/locations/alaska/upload/ANILCA-Electronic-Version.PDF
[11] https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=uselicense.fish_habitat_permits
[12] https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/alaska/11-AAC-95.305
[13] https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/lands/planning_management/pdfs/WaterExport.pdf
[14] https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/sf/sarr/awc/
[15] Culvert Inventory and Assessment for Fish Passage in the State of Alaska: A Guide to the Procedures and Techniques used to Inventory and Assess Stream Crossings 2009-2014, ADF&G Special Publication No. 14-08 2014; By Mark Eisenman and Gillian O’Doherty, https://www.alaskarailroad.com/sites/default/files/procurement/SP1408ADFG%20Protocol.pdf
[16] https://dot.alaska.gov/stwddes/desbridge/hwy_drainage_manual.shtml
[17] https://proswppp.com/construction-industrial-swppp-requirements-in-alaska/
[18] https://eplanning.blm.gov/Project-Home/?id=9ba0fa87-a7f2-f011-8407-001dd803d067
[19] https://regulations.justia.com/states/alaska/title-11/part-6/chapter-95/article-3/section-11-aac-95-305/