The Inevitable Ambler Road Project That Threatens Alaskan Wildlife

The massive Ambler Road project seems to be inevitable despite dozens, if not hundreds, of environmental experts and activists, go against it.

Before the former administration ended, it managed to fast track the approval to develop an infamous large proportioned project that is set to be constructed on the Alaskan lands.

In north-central Alaska, the Gates of The Arctic National Park serves as a genuine wilderness experience for the people who want to know what the Alaskan ecosystem truly is. But, it's not just an authentic Alaskan tourist destination; it also serves as a wildlife reserve for endemic animals that are local to the Alaskan wilderness.

(Photo : Hari Nandakumar)

The national park caters to the needs of tourists and wildlife alike-a real safe haven to anyone who wants to enjoy the experience of being in the tundra.

But, the park is facing a terrible threat. One that's not only endangering the environment upon its construction but also risks displacing the local ecosystem's natural balance-the Ambler Road Project.

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Gates of the Arctic National Park

The massive landscape does not have any roads or trails; it's free from any urban pollutants. Visitors get the opportunity to interact with an intact ecosystem where man and wildlife have been coexisting for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

Because the environment surrounding the area has been protected with vast amounts of efforts to keep it as pristine and optimal as it has always been, it has been home to a lot of Alaskan wildlife like bears, moose, wolves, and other creatures that needed the area's natural richness to survive.

Ambler Road Project

The Ambler Road project is a proposed building project that would construct a new 211-mile roadway on the south side of the Brooks Range, extending west from the Dalton Highway to the south bank of the Ambler River.

The road would be open only to mining-related industrial use; it would be closed to the public. The project would include bridges, material sites, maintenance stations, and related infrastructure and utilities.

How Will the Project Affect the Alaskan Wildlife?

First, the road project will obviously damage and fragment miles and miles of natural habitats. That itself would displace many land critters that knew the area as their homes for countless generations.

Aside from the displacement, unlucky species that are not easily adaptive to change might struggle, and their population will start dwindling down,

Second, aside from the destruction that the construction will create, the road is purposefully intended to make way for the creation of the Ambler Mining District.

The road literally leads to the development of a massive mine that will strip the interiors of Alaska.

It opens an area untouched by modern interference to the modern interference it worked so hard to avoid. No matter how clean a mining operation claims to be, it will always leave behind harmful waste and by-products that endanger the local habitat and wildlife.

Battle Against the Ambler Road

It's not just environmentalists and wildlife activists that are opposing the project.

As a matter of fact, the Alaskan natives themselves are entirely against the idea of even constructing a road that would destroy the area, let alone something that would lead to further destruction and possibly polluting the Alaskan ecosystem.

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