Wesley Early, Alaska's Energy Desk - Kotzebue

The land along the road’s route near the highway and the village of Evansville is owned by Doyon, the state’s largest private landowner. The agreement is not a right of way and does not guarantee long-term access to the area by AIDEA or the road project. 

The private access Ambler Road would run roughly 211 miles from the Dalton Highway to the Ambler Mining District in the Northwest Arctic Borough. The funding from the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, or AIDEA, was matched by Ambler Metals, the company that hopes to use the road to access mineral deposits in the Ambler Mining District.

The federal government is extending the public comment period for proposed critical habitat for ringed and bearded seals.

As local, regional and state officials worked to solve the issue, the community of roughly 800 people was without running water and had to conserve power, relying on back-up generators while power was slowly restored. 

After being delayed for almost a decade, the federal agency proposed what’s called critical habitat designation last month in the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort Seas.

The proposed project would run roughly 211 miles from the Dalton Highway to the Ambler Mining District in the Northwest Arctic Borough.