Last fall, President Trump authorized construction of Alaska's Ambler Mining Road, which will run from the Dalton Highway near Wiseman to the Ambler mining district, a distance of about 150 miles. The goal is to facilitate the extraction and transportation of known mineral resources in the Ambler area, which are significant and include some strategic rare earth minerals.
Now a possible obstacle to this path has been removed. A study led by Yale-educated biologist Matthew Cronin found that the large Western Arctic caribou herd (WAH) would not be affected. along the planned road.
With approximately 150,000 individuals, WAH is the largest caribou herd in Alaska. This herd spends the summer and gives birth to calves on the western North Slope of Alaska and migrates south during the winter to the Yukon River in western Alaska.
The herd's population has fallen from a peak of 500,000 caribou in 2003, causing concern among Alaska Natives in the western regions of the state who depend on the herd for their livelihoods. Biologists blame climate change, predation and human harvesting as the main factors in caribou declines over the past two decades.
The western half of the proposed 211-mile Ambler Road crosses the WAH migration area.
A study conducted by Cronin, a researcher with the Northwest Biological and Forestry Company, found that Ambler Road's estimated impact area is less than 0.005% of the 92.2 million-acre WAH and traverses territory that is rarely crossed during migration.
If you didn't know, Alaska is a very, very big place. There is caribou habitat and a mining road. And the biggest impact on caribou populations in any case is not human activity:
Other key findings from the report include:
- The main migration routes of WAH were to the west and north of the proposed road.
- The Ambler Road and its associated mines are located more than 150 miles from the primary calving grounds of Western Arctic caribou.
- Caribou have successfully crossed the Dalton Highway and other roads in Alaska and Canada during migrations over the years.
- Predation by bears and wolves, especially on calves, as well as winter weather and icing are major factors affecting the WAH population.
Icing is especially dangerous for herbivores and animals such as caribou and moose. Last winter, when south-central Alaska experienced a long period of freezing rain and ice, vegetation was locked in ice and roads and driveways where moose travel were as slippery as spit on a doorknob; It is my understanding that Alaska Fish & Game is still working to determine the impact on the south-central elk population.
Read more: This is huge: Trump approves a key mining road in Alaska
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When it comes to caribou, bears and wolves pose a much greater threat than roads. Caribou regularly cross Alaska's existing highways and byways with impunity (not that we have many of them). But predation by bears and wolves can account for half of the cubs in any year.
So, a possible stumbling block has been removed. It is not yet known when construction on Ambler Road will begin, and it is not yet known whether the general public will be allowed to use the road for recreational purposes. But it's still a victory.
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