The Biden administration failed to rescind permits for the Ambler road proposal while refusing to acknowledge the full and long list of legal problems with the Interior Department’s approval process.
This means the applicant, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, can continue funding and working on the project with outside corporate mining interests.… Read More

Our work feels less frantic and chaotic than it did a year ago. Nonetheless, the divisive 2020 election that led to an insurrection slashed any hope of taking a break from staying vigilant about defending democracy, ensuring climate action, and sustaining the health of Alaska’s lands and waters.

Yes, a lot has changed in 2021, with real hope that climate policy will honor and prioritize frontline communities and Indigenous ways of life. Yet the Biden administration continues to defend Trump era decisions and actions that threaten Alaska communities, animals, and landscapes. … Read More

Seriously, I got really cold hands, along with an amazing birthday week journey to Katmai National Park with friends for a joyful experience of wind, rain, snow and the sight of bears with swinging bellies sleeping, playing, and snatching end-of-season salmon from the Brooks River. … Read More

Late last month the Interior Department requested a 60-day stay of action in two lawsuits that call out the illegal 2020 approval of the Ambler road proposal. The threat to people and land continues despite this pause, and a recent article delves into why. … Read More

Our August lawsuits charge Interior and federal agencies with derailing public input, denying and ignoring science, and plowing over human rights and local voices to give away sacred and public lands, and allow the devastation of wildlife and wildlife habitat for political gains and corporate profits.… Read More

Like a lot of you, I feel a sense of chaos and overwhelm more than usual these days. The feeling can make it hard to remember everything in the last three years that has challenged our ability as human beings to make the world just and livable for everyone. But it’s important to remember everything–all the pieces, and how they fit together in driving toward long-term outcomes.… Read More

We sued the Trump administration to challenge its illegal approval of the proposed Ambler road. The 211-mile state-subsidized industrial gravel road to benefit private mining companies would destroy and pollute Arctic land and water, further degrade permafrost, and harm the health of wildlife and people across a broad range of the southern Brooks Range.… Read More

A couple of weeks ago I had to take my dog to the vet. While waiting in the car for my turn to pass him to the vet tech, I noticed the long line of cars at the fast food … Read More

The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority used the Covid-19 crisis to hand $35 million to a proposed road to the Ambler Mining District that would benefit only private mining interests. Under the cloak of an “emergency” meeting held with little public notice, AIDEA’s board voted unanimously to funnel millions to a flawed proposal opposed by locals for years and stalled because of serious financial, environmental, and human health concerns. The meeting, held by phone because of the pandemic, drew a lot of outrage from opponents to AIDEA’s money grab. Virtually all the public testimony opposed the decision.… Read More