President Donald Trump, in his executive order relating to Alaska resources, has reversed the Biden Administration’s decision to revoke federal permits for the road to the Ambler Mining District, a state-owned parcel that has right-of-way across federal land for an industrial-use road.
In August, the Biden Bureau of Land Management locked up 28 million acres of lands and waters and prevented the Ambler Road from being able to be built, even though access to that area was guaranteed by Congress.
Ambler Road would link the Ambler Mining District to Alaska’s highway system, but the 211-mile road needs to cross the Gates of the Arctic National Wildlife Park and Preserve so that mining could produce gold, silver, zinc, copper, and rare earth mineral for America’s national security. There is no other way to access the state land set aside for mining.
This reversal of the Biden decision was among the requests of Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy in his transition report to the Trump Administration.
“The Ambler Mining District has extensive deposits of critical minerals and could be a secure, reliable U.S. supply-chain resource, essential for our Nation’s tech-focused economy, green energy products, and military effectiveness,” Dunleavy said in his report to the Trump team.
Read the executive order relating to Alaska at this link.
The order says, “place a temporary moratorium on all activities and privileges granted to any party pursuant to the record of decision signed on June 27, 2024, entitled “Ambler Road Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement Record of Decision,” which is referred to in “Notice of Availability of the Ambler Road Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, Alaska,” 89 Fed. Reg. 32458 (April 26, 2024), in order to review such record of decision in light of alleged legal deficiencies and for consideration of relevant public interests and, as appropriate, conduct a new, comprehensive analysis of such deficiencies, interests, and environmental impacts; and reinstate the record of decision signed on July 23, 2020, by the Bureau of Land Management and United States Army Corps of Engineers entitled “Ambler Road Environmental Impact Statement Joint Record of Decision,” which is referred to in “Notice of Availability of the Record of Decision for the Ambler Mining District Industrial Access Road Environmental Impact Statement,” 85 Fed. Reg. 45440 (July 28, 2020).”