From Backcountry Hunters & Anglers:
MISSOULA, MT.— Backcountry Hunters & Anglers and 34 other conservation organizations are speaking out against a proposed private road that would break up one of the most pristine and intact habitats left in Alaska.
The proposed Ambler Industrial Road has posed unacceptable risks to Alaska's Brooks Range for the last decade since the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) has pushed for the road's development. BHA's stance on this issue has been, and remains, that the Bureau of Land Management should maintain the Brooks Range by denying the right-of-way for the proposed Ambler Industrial Road.
To that end, BHA has entered into the Hunters and Anglers for the Brooks Range, a coalition that is committed to conserving the most wild and remote hunting and fishing grounds left in North America. The collective—which includes guides, outfitters, and transporters who operate in the Brooks Range—is urging the Bureau of Land Management to deny the permit for the private industrial corridor.
"For those who think this is going to be a quiet, clean project - think again. It's going to require massive landscape manipulation, helicopters, huge earth movers, etc. to even make it accessible. Caribou migrations have been shown to be easily disrupted in Arctic areas by simply the presence of humans; so let's not fool ourselves into believing that the Ambler Road project won't have an impact on these patterns," said BHA AK Chapter Board Member Brad Hurd.
The 211-mile stretch of road would segment the Brooks Range foothills, America's most wild and scenic hunting and fishing grounds, permanently altering the wild character of the Brooks Range and diminish the best fly-in and float hunting and fishing opportunities remaining in Alaska. The proposed Ambler Industrial Road—and the resulting mining district—present unacceptable risks to fish and wildlife.
As advocates and stewards of our public lands, waters, and wildlife, the risks to caribou, Dolly Varden, Arctic grayling and other important species to hunters and anglers are too great to allow this road to be built.
"There's just no place like the Brooks Range, anywhere. The Brooks is an untamed expanse that is a backcountry hunter's dream. And, in that expanse, there simply is not space for this road," said Mary Glaves, BHA's AK Chapter Coordinator.
Without strong response from the hunting and angling community, one of the most valuable places to hunt and fish in Alaska could be lost forever. We need your help to make our voices heard—take action today here and help keep the Brooks Range a paradise of our public lands, waters, and wildlife!
Learn more about Hunters and Anglers for the Brooks Range here.
Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is the voice for our wild public lands, waters and wildlife.
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