Grijalva Celebrates Final Ambler Road Decision, Calls for Rejection of Harmful Senate Defense Bill Language
WASHINGTON – House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today issued the following statement on the U.S. Department of the Interior’s final Record of Decision to reject the proposed Ambler Road project, an industrial mining road that would have been constructed through 211 miles of the Brooks Range and Gates of the Arctic National Preserve.
“Today’s final decision reflects the voices of the many Alaska Native communities who took a firm stand against the impending destruction of the proposed Ambler Road,” said Ranking Member Grijalva. “Ambler Road would have decimated the fragile Arctic ecology and wildlife that many communities depend on for their subsistence way of life — all for a speculative, high-risk mining interest. I am grateful to the Biden administration for finalizing this decision and putting the wellbeing of Indigenous communities over corporate greed.
“But I’m afraid the fight against Ambler Road isn’t over; Senate Republicans recently inserted a provision to override the Biden administration’s decision into their version of the defense funding bill. I urge my House colleagues to stand with Alaska Native communities, stand against corporate exploitation of the Arctic, and strongly reject this harmful provision.”
The Biden administration also announced today that it would maintain protections for more than 28 million acres of public lands in Alaska that are important to subsistence resources for Alaska Native communities.
Background
For years, Alaska Native communities have strongly opposed the Ambler Road; 89 tribes and First Nations have passed or signed onto resolutions voicing their opposition.
Earlier this month, during the Senate Armed Services Committee markup of the FY25 National Defense Authorization Act, Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) attached an amendment to the bill that would reverse the Biden administration’s decision to reject the Ambler Road project.
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