Ambler Road agreement to foster communication
Range, headed west toward mineral deposits away from the existing North Slope oil-field access road, the Dalton Highway. Observers on both sides of the is- sue have been keenly watching NANA and Doyon’s positions on the project. Both landowners initially allowed AIDEA to conduct preliminary work on their lands. But they then chose to discontinue permits when they felt like the state’s efforts weren’t suffi - ciently accounting for local interests. Last year, state officials intensi - fied efforts to win the corporations’ support. The project also got a huge boost from the Trump administration, which undid Biden-era restrictions and reinstated the project’s federal permits. The new agreement “does not con - stitute a final determination about the Ambler Road, its construction, or any commitments from the signatories,” Lincoln, the NANA executive, said in his statement. Rather, Lincoln added, it “is meant to foster constructive conversation and shared understanding.” “Everyone involved remains fo- cused on thorough analysis, open communication and honoring the needs and perspectives of the com - munities that could be affected,” Lin - coln said. Other signatories include Ambler Metals, a company seeking to devel - op twin mineral deposits near the end of the proposed road; K’oyitl’ots’ina Ltd., another Indigenous-owned cor - poration in the region; the U.S. De - partment of the Interior; and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
said in a statement to Northern Jour - nal. In recent years, the Native corpo - rations have criticized the state’s ap - proach to the project and restricted access to their lands, with NANA say - ing that the agencies pushing the road were not adequately consulting with residents along the route. The new agreement does not re - flect a formal change in NANA’s posi - tion or a decision to support the road, a NANA executive wrote in a Jan. 16 letter to shareholders obtained by Northern Journal. But it does appear to mark a mile - stone in negotiations between the corporations and state officials. State officials and other signatories would not release a copy to Northern Journal. A public records request with the state agencies involved is pend - ing. The agreement includes certain requirements aimed at protecting re - gional interests if the road advances, including jobs for Indigenous share - holders, strong subsistence protec - tions and limiting future road access to private and industrial use, accord - ing to NANA’s shareholder letter. The road’s boosters say that access would be limited to private and indus - trial traffic. But some of the project’s critics worry that it could eventually draw urban hunters who would com - pete with locals for caribou and other harvests. NANA’s letter to shareholders says the agreement “begins the process” of forming a legal entity that could hold permits, easements and other rights associated with the road project. The project would stretch across the southern foothills of the Brooks
Corporations, state focus on future of project Even after the Ambler Road got a green light from the Trump admin - istration last year, the contentious state-proposed mining haul route across northern Alaska hasn’t been a sure bet. For one thing, the 211-mile road still needs substantial financing — to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, if not more than $1 billion. It also needs approval from two private companies that own some of the land the route would cross: the Indigenous-owned regional corpo - rations for Northwest Alaska and the Interior, known as NANA and Doyon, respectively. The relationship between those businesses and the Alaska Industri - al Development and Export Authority (AIDEA), the state agency pushing the road, has been among challenges for the project. But an agreement quietly reached between the two corporations and Alaska state agencies signals that those dynamics could be shifting. NANA and Doyon signed a non - binding memorandum of understand - ing with the industrial development agency, known as AIDEA, and a few other stakeholders in early December. The agreement, which hasn’t been previously reported, reflects “a mutu - al interest in creating a clear frame - work for future discussions about how to best advance” the Ambler project, John Lincoln, NANA’s chief executive,
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THE LINK: The Official Magazine of the Alaska Support Industry Alliance | SPRING 2026
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