Alaska river named a ‘most endangered’

Joaqlin Estus

ICT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — American Rivers has named the remote Alaska Kobuk River the eighth most endangered river in North America. The announcement comes at the same time the New York Times reports that the Biden Administration is planning to reject permits for what American Rivers calls the main threat to the river, the proposed Ambler Road.

The 211-mile Ambler road would begin at the Dalton Highway, the one road extending north to Prudhoe Bay, and head westward to cross the Kobuk River. The state of Alaska has said $7.5 billion is at issue in access to “a large prospective copper and zinc mineral belt with extensive deposits of critical minerals and other elements essential for a green economy and military effectiveness.”

Critics of the proposed road oppose providing access for the development of dozens of open pit mines in “a wilderness area that provides spiritual, cultural, and nutritional sustenance to the Iñupiat communities.”

The Times reported on April 16 that the Biden administration was set to announce there should be “no action” on the federal land where the road would be built.

American Rivers Northwest Region Director Sarah Dyrdahl, told ICT that the Kobuk, like the other rivers in the endangered rivers listing, face “substantial impacts to water quality, which includes things like clean drinking water for citizens and for communities. And so every single river on this list is intended to underscore how important clean water is to our communities and how we need to work together to protect that.”

Other top rivers in the list of the most endangered include rivers of New Mexico, the Big Sunflower and Yazoo rivers in Mississippi, the Duck River of Tennessee, and the Santa Cruz River in Arizona.

American Rivers in a prepared statement said the Kobuk made the list due to its abundant fish and wildlife that “provide spiritual, cultural, and nutritional sustenance to the Iñupiat communities.” The Ambler road, American Rivers said, would weaken permafrost and require crossings across thousands of waterways, “impacting the river’s water quality, migration patterns and habitat of the Western Arctic Caribou Herd, the second largest caribou herd in Alaska, as well as salmon and sheefish populations found in the Kobuk River watershed.

Caribou, such as these two bulls in Kobuk Valley National Park, are excellent swimmers. (NPS photo by Kyle Joly) Caribou, such as these two bulls in Kobuk Valley National Park, are excellent swimmers. (NPS photo by Kyle Joly)

“It is hard to overestimate the impact of this proposed road on the Kobuk River. The Kobuk River currently has no road connections to the rest of the world, which would make the Ambler Road the first to access what has remained a remote region up until now. The land, fish, and wildlife in the Kobuk River watershed are as pristine as can be found in the modern world. The Iñupiat have been excellent stewards of the Kobuk River for untold generations,” the statement read.

Speaking on the Kobuk’s designation, Angel Misigaq Stickman, Iñupiaq, told ICT, “I’m glad and I’m so happy that it’s being recognized as endangered because that’s where I grew up and that’s where I went fishing and camping. And that river’s really important to…not only the Indigenous people who live in the area, but also everyone else downstream, because whatever happens up here, flows down there. But water is life, we need water to sustain ourselves. Without water, we have nothing.”

The river is important to locals because fish there for subsistence and commercially, and use it as drinking water, Stickman said. “It’s like we literally need it to sustain our life. And I also, I want to go back home and bring my children back home to fish and to camp …because it’s our culture, it’s my identity, and I feel like if the river’s gone, the water’s gone, the land is gone, then that’s part of my identity taken from me.”

China Kantner is a member of Protect the Kobuk, an advocacy group of local residents and tribal members of the Northwest Arctic region who oppose the Amber Road.

She said the river feeds people across Alaska even into the populous Anchorage area. “People in the upper Kobuk, Ambler, and Shungnak area especially, will hunt caribou in the fall time or catch shee fish in the summertime and feed their own families, but also they’ll send those good local foods to people, to their relatives, to friends of family all over the state. Really, the Kobuk River is really important for feeding people in the region and beyond.

“Caribou are really, really important to the Inupiat in this region, and so caribou are at the forefront of most people’s minds when it comes to the Ambler Road, the Western Arctic caribou herd,” Kantner said. “Their habitat is all throughout the region and specifically their migration grounds and their wintering grounds are kind of right at that western end of the proposed Ambler road.

“So there’s a big concern that if that road goes through and if those multiple mines are built, that it would have a detrimental impact on the caribou herd. And already this caribou herd is declining… so now is the time to protect these caribou, to protect this food source, not to add yet another harm to caribou migration and caribou habitat,” she said.

Kantner said 88 Indigenous Governments oppose the proposed Ambler Road, including a dozen language groups in Northwest and Interior Alaska and First Nation communities in the Yukon and British Columbia of Canada.

As for the news the Times is reporting, that the Biden administration plans to reject permits for the road, Dyrdahl said she was not surprised, because to “anybody who’s read the supplemental environmental impact statement that the Department of Interior prepared, it is very hard to then expect the administration to approve the Ambler road project because of the way that the supplemental environmental impact statement documents the damages both to the environment and subsistence communities along the river.”

However, she said, “until we see that decision, I think it’s still important to shine a bright light on the issue and really underscore that this is something that needs to be stopped. And so we want the Biden administration to follow through with the decision and actually revoke all of the permits for Ambler Road.”

An access road runs between the community of Kobuk and the Bornite exploration camp. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

Speaking on the most endangered designation, the state corporation that is developing the proposed road said, “recent claims about the Kobuk River by a Washington D.C.-based group are unfounded and lack merit,” said Executive Director of the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority Randy Ruaro.

Ruaro said in a prepared statement that American Rivers’ views “do not reflect our rigorous environmental stewardship. The authority’’s collaboration with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, National Park Service, Department of Natural Resources, and the Subsistence Advisory Committee, which includes Alaska Native leaders closest to the Kobuk River, exemplifies our commitment to responsible development. These relationships ensure our projects, like the Red Dog Road (a similar authority-funded industrial access road project located in the Northwest Arctic Borough), not only meet but likely exceed environmental standards, proving that economic development and conservation can successfully coexist. The authority remains dedicated to advancing Alaska’s economic development while protecting its natural resources and respecting the cultural heritage of its communities.”

The authority “strongly urges the Department of Interior to comply with federal law and the promises made at statehood to allow access to state lands and minerals for the Ambler Access Road Project. Recent media reports indicate the Department of Interior plans to block access to the Ambler Mining District. This would violate several federal laws and promises made at statehood to allow development of state lands,” the statement reads.

The U.S. democratic system of government “contains checks and balances of power among the three branches of government,” the statement reads. “The Executive Branch is supposed to administer the laws set by Congress, not circumvent them for political purposes. If the Department of Interior issues a “No Action” decision, it would violate:

• The Statehood Act of 1958, where Congress promised Alaska title to 103 million acres of land, the minerals in the land, and rights of access to develop and remove those minerals to fund critical services such as education.
• Over 600,000 acres of state lands with active mining claims that the Ambler Access Road would serve. Congress did not intend for a federal agency to arbitrarily deprive the state of the value of those jobs and minerals for political gain.
• The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980. Section 201(b) explicitly states that the Secretary “shall” grant access from the Dalton Highway to the Ambler mining district. “

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy strongly criticizes the consequences of such a decision. He said in a prepared statement the denial of the Ambler Road would add insult to injury. “It shows just how out of touch the Biden administration is with Alaska. This potential decision not only contradicts the law but blatantly ignores the stringent environmental stewardship we uphold in Alaska. To hinder access to our responsibly managed resources and then force America to import minerals from countries with questionable environmental practices is not just ironic—it’s irresponsible and unacceptable,” the governor said.

Kituq Williams skips his snowmachine on the Kobuk River on Thursday, July 22, 2021 in Ambler. (Photo by Loren Holmes, Anchorage Daily News). (Loren Holmes / ADN)

“The Ambler Access Project, a private, industrial-controlled access road, is pivotal for accessing critical minerals necessary for America’s clean energy future. The development promises significant economic benefits, including over $1.3 billion in tax and royalty revenues and the creation of approximately 14,000 jobs, vital for the well-being of Alaskan communities,” the authority stated.

As for local input, the authority quoted the First Chief of the village of Allakaket, PJ Simon, Athabascan. His village of 174 people “wants a future of jobs and economic opportunities for our people; a legacy and future for our kids,” he said. “We deserve the same opportunities as the billion-dollar donors and conservation groups trying to lock us into a state of poverty with the highest food and energy prices in the nation. Without access to running water or sewer, how are we supposed to be healthy people? Projects like the Ambler Road help us to develop skills and secure jobs that empower our people, much like the Trans-Alaska Pipeline did in the 1970s.”

The authority urged the Department of the Interior to “follow the law and the promises made to Alaska at statehood. The Federal government does not have the right to stop the authority from accomplishing its mission to create jobs and economic development,” its statement reads.

“Denying access to the Ambler Mining District, which adheres to stringent environmental standards, would ironically force our nation to send jobs overseas, rely on critical minerals from China and countries with little or no environmental protections, while impoverishing local Alaska Native communities near the road,” Ruaro said.

The Bureau of Land Management is expected to issue a Final Supplemental Environmental Statement in coming months. It will outline alternatives ranging from approval, approval with mitigation measures, to disapproval of the Ambler road. The agency will announce its preferred alternative in an ensuing Record of Decision.

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