AIDEA’s two day meeting that was held in Fairbanks,  ended with a public hearing Wednesday (12/17/14) with dozens of tribal and village leaders, business owners, and residents of the Brooks Range  speaking out against the road to Ambler and the impact the proposed road would have on their way of life.

Julie Robert-Hyslop, vice president of the Tanana Chiefs Conference stated: “We need to stop being controlled by foreign investments, they’re coming into our land, tearing up our land and leaving what? They take the dollar with them. When is the government going to start listening to our voice and what we want? Not what they want, but what we want.”

Veteran Alaska guide and bush pilot Art Mortvedt said the road could destroy wilderness. “There are some things on which one cannot put a price. The wilderness integrity of an intact, unadulterated Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, along with the preservation of a very unique subsistence lifestyle, are two of these things on which one cannot put a price,” he said. “Rather than build another road to nowhere, let’s stop this project now,” he said.

Irene Henry of Allakaket was accompanied by three grandchildren — Jessica, Flora and Megan — who held up signs that showed the importance of fish and game, berries, open spaces and Native culture. She stated that the road and the mine would lead to irreversible destruction.

Read the full article about the meeting here.