1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

To the Honorable Members of the United States Congress, I urge Congress to take immediate action to permanently halt the funding and development of the Ambler Road Project. This 211-mile industrial corridor in Northern Alaska is intended solely to access the Ambler Mining District, yet its true financial and environmental costs far outweigh any speculative economic benefit. Constructing this road would inflict irreversible damage on one of North America’s last truly wild places, contradicting the conservation mandate applied to our protected lands. We must prioritize the long-term health of Alaska’s unique ecosystem over short-sighted industrial goals. The environmental and financial risks of the Ambler Road are unacceptable. The route will traverse the fragile Brooks Range ecosystem and impact wildlife near the Gates of the Arctic National Preserve. Crucially, the road will sever the migration path of the Western Arctic Caribou Herd, a keystone species vital for regional ecology. Furthermore, the project heavily relies on taxpayer funding through the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA), diverting public resources to a high-risk venture that primarily benefits private, foreign mining interests. Congress has a clear fiscal and ecological duty to stop this wasteful spending and protect these critical resources. Finally, the project poses a profound threat to the subsistence culture and sovereignty of Native Alaskan communities. Generations of people along the Koyukuk and Kobuk Rivers depend on the caribou and clean water that this road endangers. Its construction would disrupt ancient traditions, degrade sacred sites, and violate the rights of these communities over their homelands. I implore you to use your authority to defund this misguided project. By doing so, you will uphold environmental stewardship and honor the requests of Indigenous peoples, ensuring the Arctic’s integrity remains protected for future generations.