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Note to readers: The Brooks Range is the most impressive stretch of wild country left in North America. It is unforgiving, hungry country that has swallowed experienced outdoorsmen. Buck Nelson has made plenty of epic and unique solo adventures in tough landscapes and spent years considering and planning this trip. If you’re planning an excursion in the Brooks, Nelson joins us in cautioning you to do your utmost to be prepared, be safe, and be realistic about the challenges you could potentially face.

For many, a trip to the Brooks Range is an adventure of a lifetime. Stretching from Canada in the east to near the Chukchi Sea in the west, it is Alaska’s most arctic mountain range. Buck Nelson, a retired smokejumper who has called Alaska home for more than 40 years, has made more than twenty trips to the Brooks. This last summer he made good on a longtime dream of going there and living off the land.

This wasn’t his first long stint living off the land in the backcountry — in 2014, Nelson spent 70 days doing so in Southeast Alaska’s Admiralty Island. This time around he planned to spend 50 days foraging, fishing, and hunting in the Arctic before using a packraft to paddle out to meet a plane.

“I wanted a challenge,” Nelson said. “I was familiar with the Brooks Range ecosystem and knew that food sources would be limited, but there were still some surprises.”

Into the Arctic Wild

On July 20, 2024, Nelson flew into a small river in the western Brooks Range. He brought no food, stove, hatchet, or canner, the latter of which was instrumental during his time on Admiralty Island. He brought the bare minimum of gear and clothing. His one luxury was salt and pepper. For getting food, he brought along a fly rod, a shotgun, and a plant guidebook called, Plants That We Eat: Nauriat Nigiñaqtaut – From the traditional wisdom of the Iñupiat Elders of Northwest Alaska.

This trip was quite different from most of Nelson’s adventures. More often, he covers lots of country, like when he traversed the entire length of the Brooks Range in 2006. This time, he got to know just a few square miles while searching for food. Fish — primarily grayling and char and, to a lesser extent, chum and pink salmon — were his most important food source.

Since Nelson camped near a salmon stream, he knew there would be a lot of grizzly bears using the area. Bears messed up his cooking area and solar panel, which he used for charging camera gear. On two occasions, they ran at him but veered off before making contact.

“It was exciting, but I don’t think either bear was actually trying to get me,” Nelson said.

He brought a shotgun in the hopes of hunting grouse, ptarmigan, and waterfowl. He saw plenty of ducks and geese until the season opened; then didn’t see any within range. As luck would have it, he didn’t see a single ptarmigan or grouse. So game birds were never on the menu. Nelson did enjoy plenty of blueberries and cloudberries and some crowberries, bearberries, cranberries, and nagoon berries.

Weight Loss

During the first weeks, Nelson dropped around twenty pounds. His rapid weight loss did not alarm him. From past trips, particularly from lessons garnered from Admiralty Island, he understood his weight loss would level off.

“Your body learns to adjust. Initially, you are just shedding all the pizza weight you got from town,” Nelson said.

Having chosen to leave behind his canner, he could not keep meat for more than a day or two. This prevented him from ever having a surplus of fish. While he was not approaching starvation, he was not able to gain back any of the weight he had rapidly lost at the beginning.

“I never had preserved fish for lean times but, thankfully, it was an incredible blueberry year, so I always had something to eat,” Nelson said.

Heavy Rain

In August, it began pouring rain and things became significantly more challenging. On average, the region gets just 12 inches of rain annually. Nelson estimates it rained 13 inches in two weeks. The Arctic landscape, with permafrost just below the surface, does not absorb rain well. Overnight, rivers and creeks can rise several feet and go from trickles to flood state. Nelson was unable to catch fish for a week and had to subsist on berries, roots, and leaves.

One of the more interesting foods he learned to forage for was Eskimo potatoes. He had noticed several areas where grizzlies had dug the roots along the river gravel bars. Consulting his plant guidebook, he learned that the bears were digging for Eskimo potatoes. A source of vitamin C, protein, and fiber, the “potato” roots offered an important addition to Nelson’s diet.

41 Days Alone

Nelson hoped to spend all 50 days without seeing another person, but on the 41st day he ran into two anglers.

“After I told them how long I had been out, they said something to the effect of, ‘Man, I bet you’re glad to see us.’ They were nice guys. I didn’t tell them the truth,” Nelson said.

The short Arctic autumn arrived swiftly, turning the tundra red and the willow leaves gold. During summer, there is no night in the Arctic. Now, the hours of darkness grew longer each night. Winter was not far off. Nelson met his goal of 50 days of living off the land and, on September 9, 2024, he inflated his packraft, loaded up his gear, and began the paddle to where he would fly out.

The Proposed Ambler Road

Nelson says people frequently ask if his epic trips provide him with any epiphanies. He’s not sure he’s garnered any that will solve any of life’s many mysteries, but he encourages people to “make hay while the sun shines” and make a dream trip a reality.

“It’s always easy to find an excuse not to go,” Nelson said.

Nelson does have a big takeaway specific to the Brooks Range. He sees the proposed Ambler Road as a threat to this area, its wildlife, and opportunities for future generations to adventure, fish, and hunt. If built, the Ambler Road would be a 211-mile private industrial corridor across the southern Brooks Range, with its only aim being the development of an unknown number of open-pit mines.

“It would cut through the middle of one of the greatest remaining wilderness areas in the United States,” said Nelson. “I could not have had an experience like I just had if the Ambler Road were built. That project would amount to the loss of such a wide swath of wilderness. Wilderness is what makes Alaska, Alaska.”

There are several rivers the planned road would cross that Nelson hopes to paddle someday. He points out that the road would affect a lot more acreage than it lies on. For the sake of future hunters, anglers, and dreamers, Nelson does not mince his words when he expresses his feelings about the Brooks Range.

“This wilderness belongs to us all. We must preserve these last, best places.”

Check out Nelson’s adventures, videos, and books at bucktrack.com.

Tori Hulslander is living her wildest dream. She grew up on a ranch in Oklahoma, married an Air Force fighter pilot, and moved to Fairbanks. Hulslander works for the Alaska Gear Company, maker of the beloved cold-weather expedition Arctic Oven Hot Tents. A lifelong hunter and a pilot herself, she and her husband take advantage of exploring and hunting the best wild country that Alaska has to offer. She is especially captivated by the Brooks Range for its unparalleled beauty, remoteness, and backcountry opportunities. 

Hulslander sees how the proposed Ambler Road threatens the land, wildlife, and our outdoor heritage. She points out that land is precious and cannot be created again — and that it’s important we safeguard one of North America’s greatest remaining pieces of wilderness.

Here is her story.

Describe the types of activities you’ve enjoyed in the Brooks Range.

My husband and I love flying up in our Super Cub, just the two of us, and exploring the untouched wilderness. We typically spend anywhere from a week to two weeks at a time in the Brooks, particularly hunting moose and Dall sheep from early August through September.

Share one particular memory that stands out to you.

The memory that stands out the most is when my husband and I packed out a bull moose I shot 3 miles from our Super Cub. If you know the Alaskan tundra, then you know that one mile feels like ten. I killed my bull on Monday, and we didn’t get out with it until Friday. It was a grueling and daunting adventure.

There was a special moment when we were pack-rafting a river with my quartered-up moose during a downpour of rain. The temperature had dropped, and we knew we were in trouble. Both soaking wet from falling into the river, and still a long way from the plane, we rounded the bend in the river only to see more trouble with the river diverting from the original course. We were exhausted, but the rain suddenly stopped and, amidst the chaos, a rainbow appeared over the mountains. It was a sweet reminder of the beauty of the wilderness and the allure of danger you can only find in places like the Brooks Range.

Think of your first trip to the Brooks – what was different than you expected?

It was the first time that I looked down from the plane and saw nothing for miles: no trails, no roads, no signs of man anywhere as far as I could see. The most special thing about the Brooks is that it doesn’t feel safe. It’s truly the last great frontier where you can go places where no one has ever been.

Share at least one piece of essential gear you’d recommend packing or advice you’d share with someone going to the Brooks for the first time.

There are people who prepare and people who can live without. And the Brooks Range teaches you to live without. I like to carry a Smith & Wesson 10mm on my chest 24/7. Also a good pair of boots, extra socks, and a mini-Bible.

How do you think your experience in the Brooks would change if the Ambler Road was built? What do hunters and anglers stand to lose?

The proposed Ambler Road could have devastating environmental impacts. The road, spanning 211-miles along the south slope of the Brooks Range, threatens to disrupt the delicate patterns of wild species, including the caribou migration and the different Arctic fish species that rely on free habitat connectivity.

What aspect of the proposed Ambler Road project concerns you most?

If constructed, the road would open access to at least four major mining areas. Besides the impacts of the road itself, each mine could lead to widespread environmental degradation. This development could mark the beginning of the end for the Western Arctic caribou herd’s migration and pave the way for more industrial infrastructure, posing a significant threat to the ecosystem.

What might you say to someone who said, “I don’t understand why this road is such a big threat?” 

Land, once lost, can never be reclaimed. The untouched beauty of the Brooks Range will never be the same if it’s tarnished by greed.

Why is it important that hunters and anglers across the nation speak up against the proposed Ambler Road? 

It’s imperative because we are the primary witnesses to the impact that infrastructural development like the proposed Ambler Road has on our wildlife and public lands. Our identities as advocates and conservationists are rooted in our dependence on wildlife, which serves as our sustenance and a resource we are committed to preserving for the benefit of future generations and the health of the environment.

Billy Molls grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin dreaming of hunting and exploring Alaska. At 19, he answered the “call of the wild” and went north to make good on that dream. He’s spent the last two and a half decades guiding hunters across Alaska for everything from brown bears on the Alaska Peninsula to Dall sheep in the Brooks Range. Molls is also a film producer, author, public speaker, and hunting consultant. He has a deep appreciation for wild country and wildlife and has seen firsthand how good they are for the soul.

The Brooks Range is still, today, the wild Alaska that Molls grew up dreaming about. He calls it “The Last Frontier of the Last Frontier.” He believes the Brooks is a national treasure that needs to be kept the way it is. That’s why he’s against the proposed Ambler Road. If built, the project would stretch 211 miles along the southern flanks of the Brooks Range to support the development of an unknown number of foreign-owned mines — to the detriment of hunters, anglers, and every other person who dreams of experiencing wild places.

Here is his story.

Describe the types of activities you’ve enjoyed in the Brooks Range.

I’ve spent at least a month in the Brooks each year for 23 years guiding Dall sheep, grizzly, and caribou hunters.

Share one particular memory that stands out to you.

A new client was just dropped off. The Super Cub wasn’t even yet out of earshot when the hunter—who I’d known all of 4 minutes—blurted out, “It’s been eating me up inside that I’m having an affair on my wife!” Over the course of the hunt, he asked me for advice on how to best dissolve his marriage of more than 20 years. Knowing less about women and relationships than most rocks, I was reluctant to offer advice. What I did tell him was to utilize the time he had in the mountains away from all distractions—more specifically not to use my satellite telephone. He obliged.

Months later that hunter called me. He thanked me for a great adventure and for the advice. He said, “Before I left the Brooks Range, I knew I wanted to restore my marriage. Those 10 days changed my perspective 180 degrees.”

Think of your first trip to the Brooks – what was different than you expected?

My first trip to the Brooks was in 2000. Even by Alaska standards, it was untouched. I felt like I was the only person who’d ever been there.

What is most special about this place?

The wilderness immersion: It is pristine, untouched, with no man-made distraction. The Brooks Range is a national treasure that needs to be preserved and left wild.

Share at least one piece of essential gear you’d recommend packing or advice you’d share with someone going to the Brooks for the first time.

A book. My favorite is the Bible.

Please share a favorite hunting or fishing memory or story from your time in the Brooks Range.

After 17 days of hard hunting in snow, rain, wind, and you-name-it, my client finally connected on a 10-year-old Dall ram. Excited to cook ribs over the fire the following day, we woke up to a grizzly eating the meat. We managed to scare him off, but he came back. Fortunately, pilots were able to come shortly after. As we loaded the planes, the bear came back out to investigate. My client said, “Nothing comes easy in these mountains, does it?” I smiled and said, “Nope, and that’s exactly why we do it!”

How do you think your experience in the Brooks would change if the Ambler Road was built? What do hunters and anglers stand to lose?

The Brooks Range is certainly one of the wildest places left on this planet. Road access would ruin the timelessness and wilderness experience of the Brooks Range. One’s value system, thoughts, experience, worldview, and life itself is changed in the Brooks Range because it is as God made it. Once that is compromised, there is no going back. We live in a consumptive society. Once the dam is broken, the flood will ensue.

I call the Brooks Range, “The Last Frontier of the Last Frontier.” The Brooks Range is arguably the wildest huntable wilderness in the United States. As hunters, if we lose this one, then nothing is safe.

Why is it important that hunters and anglers across the nation speak up against the proposed Ambler Road?

As hunters, we must unite to protect hunting opportunities in wild places. The Brooks Range exemplifies and still is the wild Alaska I grew up dreaming about. Corporate greed will never cease. But the Brooks Range is a place that dreams are made of for outdoorsmen. And, as I always say, a life without a dream is a nightmare.

Today, the Bureau of Land Management released its Record of Decision that will prevent the proposed Ambler Industrial Road in Alaska’s Brooks Range.

“Today’s decision is a victory for the local residents, Alaska Native Tribes, and the nearly 14,000 conservation-minded hunters and anglers from across the country who championed for the enduring, wild qualities of the Brooks Range,” said Jen Leahy, Alaska senior program manager for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “We thank the BLM for recognizing the importance of these public lands to hunters and anglers, and for basing this critical decision on the best available science and robust public engagement.”

The ROD follows the agency’s final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, released April 19, in which the BLM selected the “No Action” alternative indicating the agency’s intent to prevent the proposed industrial corridor.

Known as the Ambler Road, the proposed private industrial corridor has received national opposition. The 211-mile corridor would have partially bisected the home range of the Western Arctic Caribou Herd, one of Alaska’s largest herds.

“The recent decision to deny the proposed Ambler Road permit is an unequivocal win for the declining Western Arctic Caribou Herd that will keep, at least temporarily, its home range intact,” said Jim Dau, retired Western Arctic Caribou Biologist, Alaska Department of Fish & Game. “Caribou rarely use their entire range in any one year; however, over the course of decades, they use – and need – their entire range. This is increasingly important in a rapidly warming Arctic. What’s good for caribou is also good for the people who value or depend on them.”

“This decision is a great step towards ensuring that current and future generations have the opportunity to experience this majestic, unbroken landscape,” said Lewis Pagel, owner of Arctic Fishing Adventures in Kotzebue, Alaska. “The Brooks Range truly is a place like no other.”  

The project would have also crossed 11 major rivers and required nearly 3,000 stream crossings, degrading habitat and potentially impeding fish passage for important subsistence and sportfishing species such as sheefish.   

“Brooks Range rivers will remain remote and wild because of this decision,” said fly fishing guide Greg Halbach of Remote Waters in Anchorage, Alaska. “We needed hunters and anglers from all over the country to speak out against the Ambler Road and they did. Because of this collective effort, I will continue to have the privilege and opportunity to immerse my clients in a wild landscape unlike any other.”   

The proposed Ambler Road prompted strong resistance from the hunting and fishing community. In 2023, more than 40 Alaska-based businesses, leading outdoor brands, and conservation organizations launched Hunters & Anglers for the Brooks Range. The collective—which includes guides, outfitters, and transporters who operate in the Brooks Range—urged the Bureau of Land Management to deny the permit for the private industrial corridor. To date, the coalition has delivered nearly 14,000 individual letters to the agency opposing the Ambler Road.

As expected, development interests have wasted no time attacking the BLM’s decision.

Ambler Road proponents have reportedly included an amendment in the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act that would rescind the Bureau of Land Management’s decision and force the Department of Interior to permit the Ambler Road. This effort will be met with strong resistance as conservation-minded hunters and anglers defend the BLM’s decision.

“With this victory comes a renewed sense of commitment from the hunting and fishing community to safeguard America’s most remote hunting and fishing grounds,” said Leahy. “The Brooks Range is a treasured destination for hunters and anglers, and we will stand guard to defend this iconic and wild landscape from emerging and future threats.”

Follow Hunters & Anglers for the Brooks Range on Facebook and Instagram to see reactions to today’s news from our community of advocates.

Alaska likely has more bush pilots and small-plane air taxi companies than anywhere else in the country. Odds are, if you’re going on a hunting or fishing trip to the 49th state, you’ll need to charter with one of them.

The Brooks has some of the best fly-in-and-float hunting and fishing in the world, but its remoteness demands that you be able to trust your pilot and anyone else supporting you. Chartering into the Brooks Range is similar to flying in other parts of Alaska’s backcountry, except that it’s a lot bigger. There is no real hub north of Fairbanks, so your pilot has to consider things like fuel, weather, and other logistics very carefully.

Fortunately, the Brooks Range has some of the best bush pilots in the state. We caught up with three of them to learn more about what it’s like to fly in the Brooks and why they love this place so much.

Ben Childs lives in Fairbanks but he flies for Ram Aviation out of Kotzebue. He predominantly flies caribou hunters in the Western Arctic.

“It’s the most Alaskan part of Alaska,” Childs said, speaking of the western Brooks Range. “I like the feeling of flying in an area that is maybe not completely undiscovered, but it can definitely give you that impression. It’s remote. It is still truly wild. You feel like you could get lost out there. It feels like adventure is still possible.”

When asked how first-time clientele react to being dropped off, Childs laughed.

“Shock. It’s almost a traumatic experience to be flown over an hour over really rugged territory, dropped off in generally inclement weather, and then listen to the airplane fade off into the background,” he said.

That shock quickly turns to awe and, often, the trip of a lifetime.

Taj Shoemaker has flown, hunted, and guided hunters through much of the Brooks Range. In 2012, Shoemaker started North River Air, a small on-demand aircraft company able to fly nearly anywhere in Alaska. Often, Shoemaker assists biologists with wildlife surveys, radio tracking, capture projects, and servicing field camps. For instance, Shoemaker will spend a month and half this summer flying Dall sheep surveys over much of the Brooks. He also guides brown bear and moose hunts on the Alaska Peninsula with his family business, Grizzly Skins of Alaska Inc.

When asked what it is about the Brooks Range that makes it so special, Shoemaker talked about how remote, big, and untouched the place is.

“It’s hard to put into words,” Shoemaker said. “On one sheep hunt, a client and I watched two rams sparring high in the mountains near the continental divide. It was well after midnight in August. Season was open and at least one was legal – we just watched those rams square off in the dusky light.”

When asked about his first time flying to the Brooks Range, he laughed. “That’s a story,” Shoemaker said.

When Shoemaker was 18, he was scheduled to make his first trip to the Brooks to guide sheep hunts. He’d worked on his plane all summer to try to get it ready to fly from Fairbanks up to basecamp on the north side of the range. Not long after taking off, he had engine problems and was forced to make an emergency landing.

At the Coldfoot air strip on the south side of the Brooks Range, he borrowed tools from Danielle Tirrell and Dirk Nickish of Coyote Air. Danielle and Dirk were just at the beginning of their careers in the Brooks. Their names have since become synonymous with flying in the area.

Once he got the engine working all right, Shoemaker planned to follow the Dalton Highway over Atigun Pass and, from there, it wasn’t far to where his outfitter’s basecamp was located. Shoemaker had been warned that a heap of planes had been wrecked at Atigun Pass. The weather seemed good enough in Coldfoot, so the teenage pilot took off thinking it would be no big deal. As he approached the top of the pass, the mountain and road suddenly disappeared into fog.

“My mistake was sticking my nose in there in the first place,” Shoemaker said. “I knew enough to know that trying to turn around in a canyon is how people die. I stayed low, maybe 10 feet off the road. The canyon narrowed to the point that I thought a wing might hit. A moment later, I popped out of the clouds onto the north side of the Brooks Range.”

“Since then, I only fly over Atigun Pass on clear days, but I still get a little bit of an adrenaline rush.”

Once Shoemaker made it to sheep camp, he realized that in all the distraction of getting his plane ready, he’d forgotten to pack warm clothing. It soon snowed two feet, which stuck for the entire season. Early on, Shoemaker blew out the crotch of his one pair of Carhart pants. At the end of the season, he was able to fly back to Fairbanks, where he promptly condemned his plane’s engine and began to thaw out.

We chatted with Danielle Tirrell of Coyote Air in Coldfoot, while she was waiting for the weather to improve enough to pick up a group of anglers on the Kobuk River. She and her partner Dirk have been based out of Coldfoot on the Dalton Highway for the last two and half decades, flying hunters and other recreationists all over the Brooks.

“Most of our clientele are repeats who come here year after year fishing, hunting, and recreating, because it’s just such a special place. It gets under their skin,” Tirrell said. “I just picked some folks up who were out hunting. They come every year. They don’t always get an animal, and that’s not necessary for them. They saw wolves and sheep and caribou and bears and sat on a lake watching loons. It draws them back, because there’s just no place like it in the world.”

Tirrell, Childs, and Shoemaker share a similar aversion to the proposed Ambler Road for what it would do to the wildlife and outdoor opportunities the Brooks Range offers. The 211-mile industrial road would cut across the southern flanks of the Brooks Range to prospective mines in the Western Arctic. All three pilots recognize the importance of the mining industry but believe there is a lot more to be lost than gained from the Ambler Road.

We asked Tirrell on a scale of 1 to 10 how concerned she was about the project, and she didn’t waste a breath before saying 10.

“It’s not just the road. It’s the impact it will have beyond [the road.] It would cross so many rivers. It would cross all the headwaters of the Kobuk River. We’re already seeing [some impact] in the helicopter exploration that’s going on over, you know, 30 miles, 50 miles north of the proposed route,” Tirrell said.

Child expressed similar concern that, if built, the Ambler Road wasn’t going to just be one road. Numerous other roads and infrastructure would grow from it across the Western Arctic.

“My biggest concern would be the spidering effect,” Childs said. “It isn’t just the Ambler Access Road; it’s the potential for that to develop into a larger network of roads and infrastructure. A huge draw to this part of Alaska is being able to go out and not see people and infrastructure. To float a wild and scenic river, to fish, to go hunting, to get away from the over-industrialization that is everywhere else. That appeal would go away.”

Shoemaker had the same concern but also offered a balanced perspective.

“I’m not opposed to mining. I grew up partly in Circle Hot Springs, which is an old mining district,” he said. “There are two sides to every story, but the Ambler project is pretty cut and dry. I don’t like it. My take on it is that there are very few places without roads. The rest of the world is cut up with roads, mines, and infrastructure. I’m not opposed in principle, but good Lord, leave some places alone.”

It’s up to hunters and anglers across the country to make sure the Brooks Range remains the wildest swath of country for future generations to hunt and fish — and fly. Take action to defend the Brooks Range and its unrivaled backcountry experiences.

Today, the Bureau of Land Management released the final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement concerning the proposed Ambler Industrial Road in Alaska’s Brooks Range. The development proposal has gained national attention for its potential to permanently alter the remote character of Alaska’s largest remaining swath of wild country.

After months of analyzing the potential impacts of the major industrial corridor on fish, wildlife, rural subsistence, and outdoor recreation in the region, the BLM selected the “No Action” alternative in the final SEIS, which indicates the agency’s intent to deny the permit for the Ambler Industrial Road later this year.

“Today’s announcement is a big step toward an enormous conservation win for all Americans who value the unbroken landscapes, exceptional habitat, and opportunities for solitude in this awe-inspiring region,” said Lewis Pagel, owner of Arctic Fishing Adventures in Kotzebue, Alaska.

“By selecting the ‘No Action’ alternative in this final environmental review, the BLM is acknowledging that the risks of the proposed Ambler Road far outweigh the rewards,” said Jen Leahy, Alaska senior program manager for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.

“This milestone is the result of broad opposition to this project, led by local residents and Alaska Native Tribes, and supported by thousands of conservation-minded hunters and anglers from across the country,” continued Leahy, who lives in Anchorage, Alaska. “Those sportsmen and sportswomen have helped turn the tide of public opinion against the Ambler Road, and we appreciate the BLM recognizing this in their preferred alternative.”

Known as the Ambler Road, the proposed private industrial corridor would partially bisect the home range of the Western Arctic Caribou Herd, one of Alaska’s largest remaining herds. The 211-mile industrial corridor would cross 11 major rivers and require nearly 3,000 culverts, degrading habitat and potentially impeding fish passage for species such as Arctic grayling and sheefish.

“Brooks Range rivers are beautiful, wild, and there are few other places like them in the world,” said fly fishing guide Greg Halbach of Remote Waters in Anchorage, Alaska. Halbach’s small operation offers guided wilderness floats on the Kobuk River, one of the only places in North America to target sheefish—also known as “tarpon of the north.”

“Roads are the very opposite of remote and wild,” Halbach said. “A single road can fragment habitat, disrupt wildlife migrations, and introduce chemical pollutants on a scale much wider than the narrow strip of gravel that we see. A float down the Kobuk River that included passing under bridges and listening to the hammering of engine brakes from tractor-trailers would be a radically different recreational experience.”

The proposed Ambler Road has prompted strong opposition from the hunting and fishing community. In 2023, more than 40 Alaska-based businesses, leading outdoor brands, and conservation organizations launched Hunters & Anglers for the Brooks Range. The collective—which includes guides, outfitters, and transporters who operate in the Brooks Range—is urging the Bureau of Land Management to deny the permit for the private industrial corridor. To date, the growing coalition has delivered nearly 10,000 individual letters to the agency opposing the Ambler Road.

“While the BLM’s ‘No Action’ finding is a cause for celebration, our most important work is still ahead,” said Leahy. “Until the agency issues a final decision, hunters and anglers will remain engaged to help ensure a positive outcome and defend the Brooks Range from future threats.”

Sign the petition opposing the Ambler Industrial Road here.

Lewis Pagel is an Alaskan outdoorsman for all seasons. Pagel moved from the Midwest to northwest Alaska in 2007 to live out his hunting and fishing dreams in the Brooks Range. He loves pursuing sheefish, grizzlies, musk ox, and all the other game this wild country has to offer.

He lives in Kotzebue, Alaska, where he’s a chiropractor and owner of Arctic Fishing Adventures, which offers all-inclusive guiding and do-it-yourself sheefish ice fishing packages. He is also state chairman for Alaska Ducks Unlimited.

Pagel knows firsthand what’s at stake for local and visiting hunters and anglers with the proposed Ambler Road. He has spoken up on why maintaining North America’s most wild swath of country is vital to our outdoor heritage.

Here’s his story.

What do you love most about living, working, and/or growing up in the Brooks Range?

What I love most about this region is the lack of obstructions. There are no fences, no barriers, no roadways, and no electrical poles to obstruct the beautiful scenery. You can experience nature the way it was created.

What types of activities do you enjoy in the Brooks Range?

My family and friends enjoy camping on the sandbars along the rivers that traverse this beautiful landscape. I spend lots of time hunting this region for food and fur. In the spring, I get to share the bountiful frozen waters with guests from all over the world as an ice fishing guide for sheefish.

Are there particular species of fish, wildlife, or plants that are especially important to you?

Sheefish are especially important to my ice-fishing guide business. There are very few places in the world where sheefish can be found, and the waterways of the Brooks Range produce the largest sheefish. Grizzly bears are my favorite animal to hunt, and this region supports a healthy population.

What makes the Brooks Range so special or unique? Why should people in the Lower 48 care about the future of this region?

Simply put, there just isn’t much untouched land left. I’ve traveled across this planet over the years and this is the only place I’ve been where you can travel for miles, literally hundreds of miles, and not see a house, car, road, powerline, or anything man made. Often, I won’t even see another person. It’s nature as nature was intended to be.

What do you think most people would be surprised to know about the Brooks Range?

It’s actually the northernmost extension of the Rocky Mountains.

What’s one piece of essential gear you’d recommend to someone planning their first wilderness trip in the Brooks?

Bring the best camera you can afford. Twice I’ve found myself in the middle of the caribou migration. Hundreds of thousands of caribou walking just feet away. The first time it happened, I only had a little Kodak film camera. I had just experienced something truly majestic and didn’t have the right gear to capture it. The next day I ordered a real camera. The second time it happened, I only had my phone camera. It was snowing and the pictures didn’t turn out great, but I did get a little video.

Is there a part of the Brooks Range that you haven’t had the chance to explore but would like to?

I have not crossed over to the north slope of the range. I got to the top and looked in that direction and was in awe of the vast openness of the landscape. I could only imagine the wildlife and adventure that laid ahead of me. Unfortunately, I needed to get back home. Maybe one day I’ll drop down the north slope of the range and see some animals that have never seen humans before.

What’s your favorite hunting or fishing memory or story from your time in the Brooks Range?

There are so many! Several years ago, I was hunting muskox. It was the second to the last day of a season that didn’t give any great days for hunting. I figured I better venture out anyway since I may never draw the tag again. It was 20 below in Kotzebue when we left, but in the area my tag was good for, the temp was around 40 below zero. We were about 80 miles from Kotzebue, snowmobiling all over and looking for musk ox. I was ready to turn back and head home when my hunting partner said we should check over the next ridge before we call it a day. Sure enough, 32 muskox stood in a little valley. Then, the adventure started.

(Note: Muskox hunting opportunities in the Northwest Arctic are extremely limited. A small number of permits are awarded each year to local subsistence hunters only through highly competitive state and federal processes.)

What concerns you most about the proposed Ambler Road and/or the associated mines?

I think water quality is my biggest concern. Mining activities could be detrimental to the waterways near the mine sites, and the roadway itself will alter hundreds of streams and rivers. Anything that ends up in that water will make its way through the Kobuk River system and into Kotzebue Sound. Dust from the road is also a major concern. There are high levels of natural asbestos in many of our village roadways and it has caused medical issues for decades. This will certainly be an issue with a 200-plus-mile road through the region. And that is in addition to what standard roadway dust is known to do to the adjacent vegetation, waterways, and wildlife that nest and feed in those areas.

How might you, your community, and/or your business be impacted if the proposed Ambler Road were built?

The road will not have any positive effect on my business. I run an ice fishing guide service for sheefish on Kotzebue Sound and the Noatak and Kobuk River deltas. These rivers are the spawning grounds for sheefish and any disruption to those waterways could be detrimental to a fish species that has such a small geographical range. Also, the city of Kotzebue is downstream from the proposed road and mine. Any pollutants will eventually make their way into the city’s water source.

What’s the biggest misconception you’ve heard about the proposed Ambler Road, and how have you responded?

The biggest misconception is that the local people are in favor of this project. The truth is that much less than half the people who live in this region are in favor of this project. This area is in need of job opportunities. That’s no secret. But there is no guarantee that locals will be hired for the road construction. And even if they are, the number of jobs is not large enough to justify a scarring of the landscape of this proportion.

What might you say to someone who said, “I don’t understand why this road is such a big threat?”

Well, its proposed path is almost entirely through wetlands. So, it’s a huge threat. Wetlands are the environment’s filtration system and in addition to hosting all the wildlife in this region, wetlands help prevent erosion of the land, keep the water and air clean, and provide food for the people and other animals of this region.

Why is it important that hunters and anglers across the nation speak up against the proposed Ambler Road?

If they don’t, then someday there either won’t be any places left to hunt and fish or there won’t be any animals left to hunt and fish. Hunting and fishing access is already limited in this region. It’s a difficult and expensive place to get to. But when you see it? Damn, it’s worth the effort. I wish every outdoorsman and outdoorswoman could have the opportunity to experience the greatness of the Brooks Range. It truly is a unique place where wildlife rules the landscape.

Kelly Reynolds is a pilot, hunter, trapper, adventurer, and photographer who lives in Fairbanks.
A lifelong Alaskan, she lives to explore the wild north. There is no place wilder than the Brooks Range, so Reynolds tries to get in as much time as she can chasing game and adventures up there. And her love of this area comes through in her impressive photography.

Reynolds believes that, as hunters and anglers, it is our duty to be good stewards of the wild places and wildlife we love. She points out that the proposed Ambler Road threatens this core principle. If built, the 211-mile industrial corridor across the Brooks Range, aimed at supporting the development of an unknown number of open-pit mines, would diminish the quality of the region’s land, wildlife, and outdoor experiences.

Here is her story.

What do you enjoy doing in the Brooks Range?

I love exploring the Brooks Range, especially from the air. My primary purpose up there is usually hunting, but I also cherish the moments I spend there for other recreational purposes.

Can you share a favorite memory from your time in the Brooks Range?

One of the most memorable experiences was a sheep hunt with my husband. While we had both explored the Brooks Range before, this was the first time we flew ourselves. Piloting our own plane from Fairbanks into the Brooks to go hunting felt like a dream come true. We saw the most gorgeous views both from the air and on the ground during that trip. The weather varied greatly, from warm days to lots of rain, yet the beauty remained constant.

I remember watching morning fog slowly roll over mountains like a river, caribou running across the tundra, the river transforming throughout a rainstorm, and discovering fish in unexpected streams. We listened to the wind snug in our sleeping bags and watched a white wolf hunt along a hill while ewes and lambs ate and played.

The experiences are easy to describe, but what’s truly hard to convey is how beautiful the land is and how it makes you feel when you’re in it.

What would you love to do there next?

I have plans to go this summer, hopefully for a float trip. I will be hunting there in the fall, as well.

Think of your first trip to the Brooks – what was different than you expected?
The Brooks Range is so diverse. Any direction you look, the land looks different from where you just came from. It’s amazing to see.

What is most special about this place?

The Brooks Range is so special because it’s so untouched. That is truly magical to me. I live and recreate in Alaska because I love to explore remote locations, particularly where no human has seen or set foot before. The beauty of the Brooks Range is truly hard to describe. It just makes me want to keep coming back and keep exploring new places.

What’s one piece of essential gear you’d recommend packing or advice you’d share with someone going to the Brooks for the first time?

My one piece of advice for someone visiting the Brooks for the first time would be to have a flexible schedule. Allow yourself plenty of time to explore. If you’re driving up the Dalton Highway and you think it will take you X number of hours, give yourself more time, because you’ll want to stop and take in the sights. If you’re hunting, ensure you give yourself extra time on each end of your trip in case of weather delays.

The one thing I can’t go without in the Brooks Range is a plane! It’s truly the best way to take in the Brooks, in my opinion.

How do you think your experience in the Brooks would change if the Ambler Road was built? What do hunters and anglers stand to lose?

The construction of the Ambler Road would likely bring about significant changes to the way hunters, anglers, and all outdoor enthusiasts experience the place. I foresee impacts including disruption to wildlife habitat that could lead to a potential decline in game populations and hunting opportunities. Additionally, the environmental consequences – like land erosion, water pollution, and damage to vegetation – could impact the overall health of the ecosystem and diminish the quality of fishing experiences.

For me, hunting and fishing is not my biggest concern. We are fortunate enough to have the privilege of harvesting animals from the land and maintaining our traditions in that way, but a sustainable future that protects wildlife and the land is more important.

What aspect of the proposed Ambler Road project concerns you most?

Mainly that the construction of the Ambler Road could greatly diminish the quality of experiences in the Brooks Range for everyone. While I support the responsible use of natural resources, I believe that the Brooks Range is not the appropriate location for such development.

I’m concerned about severe impacts on the land, both at the mine sites and along the road, as well as the negative effects on wildlife, such as changes in migration patterns. The increased traffic on the Dalton Highway would be another major concern. These impacts are irreversible and go against our responsibility as Alaskans to protect our land, especially considering the scarcity of untouched areas today.

Preserving our outdoor experiences and ensuring the sustainability of our land is not only important for us but also for future generations. I am deeply troubled by the potential consequences if the Ambler Road is constructed and mining activities commence. It raises serious questions about the future of the Brooks Range.

What’s the biggest misconception you’ve heard about the project?

One prevalent misconception I’ve encountered is the notion that it’s solely a road development initiative. There’s a crucial aspect often overlooked — multiple substantial open-pit mines are integral to this project. The footprint of a road is one thing, but the development of these open pit mines is another. And that can never be reversed.

Furthermore, the public won’t have access to this road for a very long time, possibly not even within my lifetime. Instead, it’s the foreign corporations engaging in land development in Alaska that will exclusively benefit from accessing these areas.

Another major misconception that I’ve heard is that wildlife will not be impacted by the traffic traveling the Ambler Road. It was eye-opening to see the studies done by Fish and Game on the impact on the caribou migration from the Red Dog Mine’s road. There will unfortunately be some wildlife casualties on the road, but the major issue is the impact on these animals’ migration patterns. I would encourage everyone to look at that data, which clearly illustrates that there have been tremendous impacts on wildlife by a much smaller road and mine.

Why is it important that hunters and anglers across the nation speak up against the proposed Ambler Road?

I believe as hunters and anglers it is our duty to protect the outdoors. We are first and foremost stewards of the lands and wildlife that we enjoy so much. Whether someone has seen it or has never been to the Brooks Range, it is important to speak up against the proposed Ambler Road. If this plan advances, it sets a precedent for further development that could compromise so much more of the Brooks Range.

Feature photo courtesy of Kelly Reynolds

When the snow is deep in the Brooks Range, caribou will often use the high mountain ridges for easier access to forage and to better evade wolves. I killed a bull high up on one such ridge years ago. Instead of gutting the caribou right away, I sat next to him and stared out across the mountains and valleys that stretched as far as the eye could see in every direction.

To enjoy a moment like that is the most basic yet soul-filling reason that I hunt wild country.

The Magic of the Brooks

As a lifelong Alaskan and hunter, I’ve encountered few, if any, places that better embody the “spirit of the hunt” more than the Brooks Range. And this feeling is shared by just about everyone I’ve met who has spent time hunting its mountains and valleys.

The Brooks Range is Alaska’s northernmost mountain range. It stretches more than 700 miles across Alaska, from the border of Canada’s Yukon territory almost all the way to the Chukchi Sea. The north side of the range is open country, while much of the south is a mixture of boreal forest and tundra.

All mountain ranges are inspiring but there is something extra unique, even magical, about the Brooks. Trying to describe that magic is difficult, but most who’ve been there say it has to do with the remoteness, the incredible wildlife, and a sense of timelessness that you can’t really find anywhere else in the world.

But for the last several years, the proposed Ambler Road has hung over the future of the Brooks Range like a shadow.

If built, the Ambler Road would be a 211-mile private industrial corridor designed to help foreign-owned companies develop at least four open-pit mines in the western part of the range. It would damage fish and wildlife habitat, negatively altering the place for local and visiting hunters, as well as other outdoor recreationists.

This is why hunters and anglers recently celebrated the Bureau of Land Management’s final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, which indicates the agency’s intention to prevent construction of the Ambler Road. While this is great news, it’s not the final step in the process, and sportsmen and sportswomen await the BLM’s binding decision later this year. In the meantime, the outdoor community needs to continue to stay engaged to keep the Brooks Range a place where dream hunts can come true.

Like a Fever Dream

The Brooks Range offers many opportunities to hunt animals like moose, Dall sheep, and grizzlies, but, more than any other species, it’s caribou that embody the arctic wilderness. Most visiting hunters come with the hope of taking a nice animal but, once in the field, realize the killing part is only a small aspect of what makes a hunt in the Brooks Range exceptional.

Jim Dau is a retired caribou biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. He has lived in Kotzebue in northwest Alaska since 1988, serving as the area biologist for 15 years, then, for ten years, as the biologist for the Western Arctic Caribou herd. Dau points out how vital caribou are for people, a wide range of dependent wildlife, and even the land.

“I can’t overemphasize the importance of caribou to people, especially subsistence users out here,” Dau says. “For a lot of nonlocals, hunting the Western Arctic Caribou herd is the trip of a lifetime. But a big surprise for people from the Lower 48 is how wild the place is. It’s so hard to find solitude these days. Here, you can.”

Bill Vanderheyden, owner and chief engineer of Iron Will Outfitters, which makes broadheads and archery gear, has hunted the Brooks Range three times and says there is no place on earth like it.

“I’ve hunted a number of wilderness areas in the Lower 48, but nothing nearly this remote,” Vanderheyden says. “The feeling of being truly remote and alone was unexpected, but also fed my soul.”

Vanderheyden encountered wildlife including muskox, wolverines, bears, wolves, and caribou. One experience that really stands out for him was while he was stalking a group of caribou.

“Two big white wolves cut in and proceeded to chase the caribou over a ridge,” he says. “It felt timeless, like man had been sharing the landscape with these wild animals, hunting caribou with a bow and arrow alongside the other predators for thousands of years.”

Ryan Sapena, the marketing manager for Seek Outside, says the Brooks Range is in a class of its own. When his great uncle – the family’s most revered hunting mentor – passed on, Sapena and his dad and brother used a portion of the inheritance to make a fly-in caribou hunt to the Brooks Range in his honor.

“You can’t compare the Brooks Range to another place,” Sapena says. “The trip was crazy. It’s hard to explain it to someone. It was kind of like a fever dream.”

The first morning, Sapena was outside his tent, waking up with a cup of coffee. Suddenly, a cow and calf caribou came charging across the tundra toward camp. A wolf was chasing them. The three animals were within 75 yards when the wolf smelled the men. The wolf stopped and stared at Sapena and his brother.

“The wolf looked almost disappointed that we hadn’t helped in slowing his quarry down,” Sapena says. “Then it was almost as if it sighed and continued after the cow and calf. I remember feeling more a part of the natural cycle than I had ever been. It was something that I will probably never get to experience again.”

At All Costs

Toward the end of my conversation with Sapena, we talked about the challenges of conserving wild places as civilization and its desire for resources extracted from the land continues to grow. There are no easy solutions to achieving a decent balance between the two. But he believes that the Brooks Range offers far more value left the way it is than it would if it were turned into a mining district.

“The Brooks Range is a place that, at all costs, should be protected,” he says.

When I reflect on my hunts and wanderings in the Brooks Range, they do feel like dreams. I remember the night after I killed the bull on the ridge, four wolves visited my camp. In the morning, their tracks showed that they had come within a few yards of the tent. Without breaking their stride, they ran a circle around the bull and another dead caribou we had stashed nearby, before heading in a straight line toward a valley where a herd of caribou had been the day before.

I didn’t think much of it at the time. It was just business as usual for the Brooks Range.

To maintain the Brooks Range as a dream hunting mecca for hunters and anglers, we need to stay engaged and continue to let the BLM know that sportsmen and sportswomen oppose the Ambler Road before the agency makes its final decision later this year.

Sign the petition to defend the Brooks Range’s unrivaled hunting opportunities.

Greg Halbach lives in Anchorage, Alaska, and is the owner of flyfishing guide company Remote Waters, which offers wilderness float trips targeting sheefish and other species in the Brooks Range. He had already explored a lot of the best fishing opportunities in Alaska before he made his first solo float down the Kobuk River in 2018. There, he learned that the pursuit of the near-mythical sheefish with a fly rod was not only worth it, but that he wanted to be guiding in the Brooks Range from then on.

Halbach is a staunch opponent of the proposed Ambler Road. He questions the project on many levels, but what concerns him most is the likely negative effects it would have on fish populations and the wild character of the Brooks Range.

Here is his story.

What do you love most about the Brooks Range?

There are so many great things about having the opportunity to guide float trips on rivers in the Brooks Range. These rivers are beautiful, wild, and there are few other places like them in the world. The remoteness of the region is certainly one of the most appealing parts about my job up there. It’s always a little bit of a letdown to get out into the wilderness and then run into more people than you expect – it can start to feel a little crowded. That’s never been an issue on the Kobuk. We rarely run into anyone on the river, and when we do, it’s mostly locals running the river to their fish camps.

What sort of trips do you offer in the Brooks Range?

I offer guided float trips on the Kobuk River and on the Ivishak River in the Brooks Range. My trips are fully guided, 7- to 10-day trips built around some of the best flyfishing that Arctic Alaska has to offer. Each trip is tailored to the group, and there are great opportunities for photography, bird watching, and wildlife viewing, too. On the Ivishak, the options for getting out of the boats and exploring on foot are virtually limitless.

Are there particular species of fish, wildlife, or plants that are especially important to you?

On the Kobuk River, sheefish are the focus of my trips. They are a really unique fish – the largest species of whitefish in the world. The Kobuk has the best run, both in terms of numbers and size of fish. Especially for fly anglers, sheefish represent an opportunity beyond the standard trout or salmon or char routine found across much of Alaska. Even for me, it still kind of blows my mind when a client in a river way up in the Arctic hooks a huge anadromous fish that looks an awful lot like a tarpon. I think that’s what keeps me coming back as much as anything else.

What makes the Brooks Range so special or unique? Why should people in the Lower 48 care about the future of this region?

If we look at some of the most successful conservation efforts over the last century, one of the most important factors that determines which way the pendulum swings is whether or not there is a critical mass of people who care about the issue or the place. Up here in Alaska, Bristol Bay is a great example of this. The battle to preserve Bristol Bay hasn’t been waged just by people living in the Bristol Bay region, or even in Alaska. If that had been the case, that battle likely would have been lost long ago. What helped turn the tide was people from all over the country getting behind the idea that Bristol Bay is too fragile and too important as an ecosystem to put at risk with the Pebble Mine. Hunters and anglers throughout the country slapped “No Pebble Mine” bumper stickers on their vehicles and added their voices to the mix. Some have never been anywhere near Bristol Bay.

The challenge the Brooks Range faces is that because it is so remote and sparsely settled, the voice of opposition coming out of the region just isn’t loud enough. We need hunters and anglers from all over the country to voice their opposition to the Ambler Road. The area that the road would traverse is every bit as fragile as anywhere in Bristol Bay. It’s home to some of the last large and intact sub-Arctic and Arctic wilderness in North America.

What do you think most people would be surprised to know about the Brooks Range?

Where it is! When I talk with people about fishing the Kobuk, I’ll usually show them a map to orient them a bit. Virtually every time, their eyes go wide and they say something along the lines of, “Oh, it’s WAY up there!”

I think once they realize how far away it is, people get some sense of how remote and difficult to access so much of the region is. But I don’t think they have a real sense of how fragile it is. It can seem so big and remote that it’s easy to think it’s kind of untouchable. The reality couldn’t be further from the truth. The harshness of the climate means that scars inflicted on the land heal incredibly slowly – if at all.

What’s one piece of essential gear you’d recommend—or a piece of advice you’d share—with someone planning their first wilderness trip in the Brooks?

Leave as many devices behind as possible. It’s pretty hard to abandon them in our day-to-day modern lives, but they are much less essential once you get out into the wilderness. Definitely take what you need to be safe out there, but every look at a screen pulls you away from experiencing the incredible place you’ve traveled so far to reach.

Is there a part of the Brooks Range that you haven’t had the chance to explore but would like to? Where would you go and what would you do?

Ha, most of it! I branched out onto the North Slope for the first time last year, when I took a group down the Ivishak River in search of big char. I’m itching to get back on the North Slope; it is such an incredible landscape with huge mountain valleys opening out onto an expanse of coastal plain. I’ve also had my eye on the Marsh Fork of the Canning River for a few years. Hopefully, I’ll be able to make a trip down it sooner than later.

What’s your favorite memory from all your time hunting or fishing in the Brooks Range?

One of my favorite memories comes from the Kobuk River. I was guiding a group of two. We had been on the river for six days and it had been raining non-stop the entire time. The river had blown out and fish were nowhere to be found. It felt like we were floating on the Mississippi.

On the afternoon of day seven, we reached the Pah River and the sun came out. We tied the boats off to some alders, stripped off our rain gear for the first time in days, and stretched out to soak up the sun. An hour later, we pushed off, rounded the first bend below the Pah, and floated right into a huge group of sheefish holding in an eddy. The next hour and a half were the best fishing I’ve ever seen on the Kobuk. Fish on almost every cast, the sun shining, and smiles so big they hurt. One of the best trips I’ve ever run.

What concerns you the most about the proposed Ambler Road and/or the associated mines?

There is no shortage of data on the impacts of roads and industrial development. Regardless of how well projects are designed, constructed, and maintained, their footprint extends beyond the immediate surroundings of the developed area. In the case of the region that the Ambler Road would be built through, that footprint would represent the introduction of something completely new into a fragile landscape.

The potential for negative impacts to fish populations in the Kobuk River – particularly the upper part of the watershed, where sheefish spawn – are a major worry. There are countless examples throughout the Lower 48 where degraded water quality associated with silt and runoff from roadways and mining operations have had significant adverse impacts on native fish populations. I suspect you’d have to look long and hard to find instances where roads and industrial development resulted in improved water quality and healthier fish populations.

How might you be impacted if the proposed Ambler Road were built?

A big part of what I offer on my trips is an opportunity for my clients to immerse themselves in a landscape that is wild and remote in a way that very few places still are. Roads are the very opposite of remote and wild.

A single road can fragment habitat, disrupt wildlife migrations, and introduce chemical pollutants on a scale much wider than the narrow strip of gravel that we see. A float down the Kobuk River that might include floating under a bridge and listening to the hammering of engine breaks from tractor-trailers would be a radically different experience.

What’s the biggest misconception you’ve heard about the proposed Ambler Road?

The biggest misconception I’ve heard about the Ambler Project is that it makes any economic sense. This isn’t about halting all industrial development and road building throughout the state. We live in a world with 8 billion people, and we do need resources that extractive industries provide. There’s no reasonable argument against that. But not every project makes sense.

This is a project where the State of Alaska would be subsidizing the development goals of foreign mining companies, while also exposing one of our most fragile and unique ecosystems to significant environmental risk. It seems like a no-win situation from the Alaska side of things.