Alaska Journal of Commerce reported on the recent decision by Governor Walker to release the funds to begin an Environmental Impact Statement. After Governor Walker’s decision, Chair of the Brooks Range Council, John  Gaedeke, urged the AIDEA board to stop the project. During public testimony, John reminded the board that the proposed road to Ambler would benefit a Canadian mining company while area villages oppose it. The article further states: How the mine would impact water quality in the Upper Kobuk drainage and how the road would affect the migration of caribou relied upon for subsistence have been among the concerns raised by locals.“To spend millions more on scoping now suggests that we wasted the last two years (of public meetings) or you’re not listening to the villages and their residents,” Gaedeke said during the public comment period of the Oct. 22 AIDEA board meeting.