From Hunters & Anglers for the Brooks Range :
Today, Hunters & Anglers for the Brooks Range celebrated a successful conclusion to the Bureau of Land Management’s 2023 comment period concerning the proposed Ambler Industrial Road in Alaska’s Brooks Range.
Supported by 40 leading outdoor businesses, brands, and organizations, the coalition helped conservation-minded hunters and anglers deliver nearly 8,000 comments urging the BLM to deny the road’s permit and highlighted the invaluable fly-in and float hunting and fishing qualities of the Brooks Range.
“Hunters, anglers, and conservationists stepped up for important habitat and their outdoor traditions during this comment period,” said Jen Leahy, Alaska program manager for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “The BLM has heard from our community and the message couldn’t be clearer: the risks for the proposed Ambler Road are significant and the project permit should be denied so future generations of hunters and anglers can know America’s most wild and remote hunting and fishing grounds.”
Known as the Ambler Road, the proposed private industrial corridor would partially bisect the home range of the Western Arctic Caribou Herd, one of Alaska’s largest remaining herds.
The 211-mile industrial corridor would cross 11 major rivers and require nearly 3,000 culverts, degrading habitat and potentially impeding fish passage for species such as Arctic grayling and sheefish.
“We are fortunate to have partners across the outdoor space who believe in maintaining quality places to hunt and fish,” said Joel Webster, TRCP’s VP of Western conservation. “We appreciate that so many leading hunting and fishing brands, Alaska-based small businesses, and other conservation partners understand the urgency of this issue and the need to convince the BLM to revoke the permit for this risky project.”
The BLM is expected to issue a final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement during the first quarter of 2024, with a final permitting decision to follow in the second quarter of 2024.
“Although the comment period has concluded, Hunters & Anglers for the Brooks Range will continue to elevate the voices of the hunt-fish community until the final decision is made,” continued Leahy. The group’s online petition opposing the Ambler Road permit can be found HERE.
For more information and to become involved with Hunters & Anglers for the Brooks Range, please contact Jen Leahy at [email protected].
About Hunters & Anglers for the Brooks Range: Hunters &Anglers for the Brooks Range, a project of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, is a collective of seasoned hunters, anglers, conservationists, and leading outdoor brands. We are committed to defending the wild and remote character of Alaska’s Brooks Range—a world-class hunting and fishing destination—from the proposed Ambler Industrial Road.
