The Brooks Range Council:
In Defense of Alaska's Brooks Range
NEW: click here to see our supporters!
The Brooks Range Council is made up of Alaskans who came together to defend from industrialization the lands that define us, that we rely upon, and that we hope to enjoy long into the future. We're taking action because the state of Alaska and powerful mining interests have placed a dollar sign on what is irreplaceable, and if they get their way, we may lose what's most important to us -- our heritage, our way of life, and possibly even the fish, moose, and caribou that feed and sustain many of us. We can no longer sit idle, wondering when the state may be serious enough to build an industrial road through this country and open an entire mining district to large scale development with permanent environmental, social, and economic impacts. That time seems to have come already under Governor Parnell's administration, and the mining companies are hard at work encouraging the state to send bulldozers over 220 miles of wetlands, tundra, rivers and mountains that remain mostly wild today. Things will never be the same if that happens.
The magnitude of the development proposal is staggering, and we're already seeing more helicopters, survey crews, and scientists in the field than ever before. The proposed road to the Ambler Mining District from the Dalton Highway, in the western arctic, is longer than the width of many states in the lower 48 and will cost Alaska at least a half billion dollars. And unlike the mining company executives and government officials who live in big cities like Anchorage and Vancouver, many of us live here. Many of us grew up here, and we will have to deal with the negative impacts this road will bring. Whether it's the pressure on game populations from increasing amounts of hunters using these lands, the realities of acidic water runoff from the mines, or the business that air taxi operators and remote lodge owners will lose when clients no longer wish to visit a landscape in which the wildness has been tamed, we have come together to put an end to this road proposal. We know this is a complex issue, so we encourage you to browse our materials and learn more about it. You can take action or join the BRC by clicking here.
Click here to join the Council and sign the letter to the Governor
Mission Statement
“The Brooks Range Council is committed to maintaining the current land use of the Central Brooks Range. We educate lawmakers and activate the public about the threats to the region’s environment, wildlife, and heritage brought on by the proposed roads to the Ambler Mining District.”
