High Priority Objectives
Our current program priorities are:
- opposing the proposed Ambler Road and continuing to defend the Department of Interior’s 2024 No Action Alternative decision, which eliminated the Bureau of Land Management’s permits for the project and prevents development of the road;
- supporting Interior grassroots group Advocates for Safe Alaska Highways in their organizing against the Manh Choh ore haul
- collaborating with local Fairbanks group Save Our Domes for protection of Interior Alaska neighborhoods and beloved recreation areas against incompatible mine development
We also aim to:
- elevate the work of organizers and community members across the Seward Peninsula who are confronting multiple proposed mining projects;
- and uplift in-region organizing in opposition to the proposed Donlin gold mine in the Kuskokwim River watershed
Opposing the Ambler Road
Photo: Jayme Dittmar
Program Overview
Throughout Alaska, mining activities and their impacts are becoming a widespread issue. Mines, mining roads, and other related infrastructure destroy wildlife habitat, disrupt ecosystems, diminish water quality, and disturb subsistence opportunities for rural and Indigenous communities. They further contribute to climate change through energy-intensive extraction practices.
While mining can produce minerals that are important to our society, the Northern Center maintains a strong position on mining—one that reflects the ways in which we believe mining should be pursued in order to provide the strongest protections for people and the environment, while minimizing the amount of extraction required to support our society.
Northern Center upholds that the public and our government agencies have the right to say no to projects, and to demand certain standards and compensation in return for development, especially when those projects create long-term impacts to water and air quality, degradation of land, and harm to nearby communities.
We maintain that:
- When the benefits of a mine do not outweigh the risks, it is within the right of a community to reject that mine and prevent its development.
- When mines move forward, the public should be compensated for those minerals removed from public land, with royalties structured to generously deliver compensation.
- Mining companies must prove that their practices will not degrade water quality, wildlife habitat, or disproportionately impact undeveloped areas. This can be done by collecting baseline data far in advance of mining and utilizing the best environmental standards.
- Mining companies must provide proof of financial security, and guarantee that monitoring, compliance, and reclamation will be paid for in full by the company.
- Mining should not negatively impact quality of life for nearby communities, and the public should be informed of, and efforts taken to mitigate, any potential effects of mining such as noise, light, air or water pollution, and land closures.
- Companies should also pursue transparent communications about hiring practices throughout the planning and operating process.
- Mining should not take precedence over important cultural or ecological resources, such as historic or cultural sites, or subsistence resources or areas.
Our program protects communities and lands across the Interior and Arctic Alaska by monitoring operations at existing mines and tracking exploration projects. We advocate for community protections from environmentally and socially irresponsible mining.
Making it Happen
We work to achieve our objectives through on-the-ground organizing, direct action, participation in state and federal planning and comment periods, communication to our membership and local community members about opportunities for public participation, and engaging in litigation when necessary.
We connect with fellow organizers and advocacy groups across the state and prioritize uplifting the voices of community members most closely affected by mining proposals and development, especially Indigenous community members. We uphold Free, Prior and Informed Consent—a principle ensuring people have the right to self-determination, and securing communities’ abilities to make educated and collective decisions to freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.
To aid these efforts, we are fighting state and federal legislation that would reduce or eliminate existing environmental regulations. The Northern Center challenges false narratives about the role of mining in the energy transition. We promote alternatives to new mining such as recycling, use of synthetic materials in place of minerals, and using systems that maximize metals and minerals reuse and minimize new demand. We support only the most rigorous industry standards to push mining operations towards practices that abide by the principles of a just transition.
