The Biden administration’s rejection Friday of the proposed Ambler mining road in northwest Alaska is supercharging legal threats and political outrage from the project’s supporters on Capitol Hill.
The Interior Department’s record of decision officially blocks proponents of the 211-mile industrial road that would have cut through the Brooks Range of Alaska and the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve to reach copper, zinc and other mineral deposits. The gravel road would have traversed federally managed land and needed government sign-off.
The decision marks a victory for tribes and environmental groups that have said a federal decision in their favor would solidify their position as they gird for regulatory, legislative and legal fights.
Even so, challenges are mounting.
