(UnitedVoice.com) – The Department of Interior recently moved to protect 28 million acres of public land in Alaska. The agency rejected plans for a massive road project. The decision by President Joe Biden’s administration means there won’t be any mining on the land.
At the end of June, the Department of Interior (DOI) released a Record of Decision (ROD) rejecting a proposal for the Ambler Road project. The proposed 211-mile road would have cut across a wildlife habitat used by Native American communities along the Brooks Range.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) found the road would have crossed 3,000 streams and adversely impacted the declining Western Arctic caribou herd and sheefish. Both are critical food sources for the Tribal communities in the region. The analysis also showed the road would cause irreparable damage to the permafrost.
According to the DOI, there aren’t any mines in the area where the road project was proposed, and “no mine plan proposals pending before the federal government.” However, reports indicate Ambler Road was proposed because it would be crucial for the operation of a planned zinc and copper mine.
The DOI also announced that the BLM released its Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) regarding the proposed revocation of protections for 28 million acres of federal land. The government consulted with Tribal authorities and analyzed the environmental and socioeconomic impacts that revoking the protections would have.
The BLM found that removing protections and opening the land up to mining would harm 44 to 117 communities that use the land for hunting and fishing. It would also have “lasting negative impacts on wildlife, vegetation and permafrost.” The BLM heard from the public during 19 community meetings and a comment period, including many Alaska Native Tribes, Corporations, and Tribal entities.
Biden released a statement bragging about the action to protect “28 million acres in Alaska from mining and drilling.”
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