VOLUME 3 | ISSUE 1 | MARCH 2026
PACT ON AMBLER ROAD TO FOSTER DISCUSSIONS
But some of the project’s critics worry that it could eventually draw urban hunters who would compete 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, ease- ments and other rights associated with the road project. The project would stretch across the southern foothills of the Brooks Range, headed west toward mineral deposits away from the existing North Slope oil-field ac- cess road, the Dalton Highway. Observers on both sides of the issue 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 discon- tinue permits when they felt like the state’s efforts weren’t sufficiently accounting for local interests. Last year, state officials intensified ef- forts 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 consti- tute a final determination about the Am- bler Road, its construction, or any com- mitments 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 focused on thorough analysis, open communica- tion and honoring the needs and perspec- tives of the communities that could be af- fected,” Lincoln said. Other signatories include Ambler Met- als, a company seeking to develop twin mineral deposits near the end of the pro- posed road; K’oyitl’ots’ina Ltd., another Indigenous-owned corporation in the re- gion; the U.S. Department of the Interior; and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
“Everyone involved remains focused on thorough analysis, open communi- cation and honor- ing the needs and perspectives of the communities that could be affected.” — John Lincoln President and CEO, NANA
Nonbinding agreement by corporations, state focuses on the future BY MAX GRAHAM 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 corporations for Northwest Alas- ka and the Interior, known as NANA and Doyon, respectively. The relationship between those busi-
pushing the road were not adequately con- sulting with residents along the route. The new agreement does not reflect a formal change in NANA’s position or a de- cision to support the road, a NANA exec- utive wrote in a Jan. 16 letter to sharehold- ers obtained by Northern Journal. But it does appear to mark a milestone 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 pending. The agreement includes certain re- quirements aimed at protecting regional interests if the road advances, including jobs for Indigenous shareholders, strong subsistence protections and limiting fu- ture road access to private and industrial use, according to NANA’s shareholder let- ter. The road’s boosters say that access would be limited to private and industrial traffic.
nesses and the Alaska Industrial Develop- ment and Export Authority (AIDEA), the state agency pushing the road, has been among challenges for the project. But an agreement quietly reached be- tween the two corporations and Alaska state agencies signals that those dynamics could be shifting. NANA and Doyon signed a nonbind- ing memorandum of understanding with the industrial development agency, known as AIDEA, and a few other stakeholders in early December. The agreement, which hasn’t been pre- viously reported, reflects “a mutual inter- est in creating a clear framework for future discussions about how to best advance” the Ambler project, John Lincoln, NANA’s chief executive, said in a statement to Northern Journal. In recent years, the Native corpora- tions have criticized the state’s approach to the project and restricted access to their lands, with NANA saying that the agencies
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ALASKA RESOURCE REVIEW MARCH 2026
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