Tag: Sheefish

Mat Brunton lives in Valdez but his work as a guide and educator, as well as his love of hunting, has allowed him to experience much of wild Alaska. He points out the Brooks Range is unique even by Alaska standards. Whether it’s guiding visitors on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure or hunting caribou for his table fare, Brunton says the Brooks is “beyond words special.” 

Brunton opposes the proposed Ambler Road. If built, the Ambler Road would be a 211-mile industrial corridor through the southern flanks of the Brooks Range that would open the region to mining and other industrial development. It would mostly benefit foreign interests’ short term economic gain and leave Alaskans and visitors who love wild places to pay the cost.  

Here is his story.  

Where was your first trip to the Brooks Range? 

My first time to the Brooks Range was guiding a backpacking trip in the Arrigetch Peaks region. The famed granite spires are located off the Alatna River, one of the 3,000 rivers and creeks the proposed Ambler Road would have to cross. I was very excited and felt especially blessed to visit such an iconic area.  

The Brooks is a very diverse mountain range. That southern part has much more forest and vegetation on lower elevations than the vast, seemingly endless tundra of the northern Brooks. Words can’t adequately express how special it is. Many of the clients I guide come with lifelong dreams to visit places like Gates of the Arctic. Often the experience greatly exceeds their dreams. 

Share a favorite memory from the Brooks 

I’ve had some magical experiences hunting caribou. I’ve used skis and a pulk sled for hauling meat in the spring (which is more efficient than on foot with no snow and a backpack in the fall). My first hunt was a total beatdown: a five-mile (one way) ski from the Dalton Hwy and no caribou in this area. My next hunt played out wonderfully. It was bulls only, which required careful glassing since the bulls don’t have antlers at that time of year. It was April and I harvested two bulls on a long sunny day in a majestic area. The distant mountains were so enticing that I came back later to climb the most prominent peak on a long backpacking trip. 

How is the Brooks Range different from other places in Alaska? 

There’s the endless daylight during the Brooks’ short summer. It’s also the farthest point in Alaska from modern civilization to the south. Yet, for being so vast and remote, you can still drive and access the Brooks via the Dalton Highway. The Ambler would offer no such access. Words can’t adequately express how special and unique it is. You must visit the Brooks to understand. Further industrial development could change that “beyond words” sacred character.  

What’s one piece of advice you’d give someone heading to the Brooks for the first time? 

Avoid summer bugs when and where they’re bad! 

How do you think the Brooks Range experience would change if the Ambler Road was built?  

For one, it’d make the most affordable and easy way to experience the Brooks, driving up the Dalton Hwy, a much less enjoyable experience due to increased industrial traffic. This would come without the benefit of expanding access since the proposed road would be closed to the public. 

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

The precedent. Once we accept that something like the proposed Ambler Road is allowed in one of the last intact landscapes in North America, what’s next? 

Industrialization will only spread to our other last, best wild places. Roads like Ambler invite more development, more pressure, and more justification for use. The concern isn’t just environmental impact; it’s the cultural shift that says wild places must prove their economic value to exist. 

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

That it’s “just a road.” Roads are powerful forces. They reorganize how the land is used and change human and wildlife behavior. Another misconception is that opposition to Ambler is anti-hunter or anti-Alaska. Many people who oppose the road do so precisely because they’re very “Alaskan” and value subsistence, hunting, fishing, and long-term stewardship — not short-term extraction that will result in permanently damaging effects. 

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

Roads make decisions for us long after they’re built. You don’t get to choose later what a road means. The impacts of this project on the land would be permanent, not to mention that we can’t foresee all the consequences that would result if it were to be built.  

Why is it important that hunters, anglers, and other folks who care about wild public lands across the nation speak up against the proposed Ambler Road?  

Ambler isn’t just about Alaska. It’s about whether public land still includes places where restraint is a management strategy. If the Ambler Road is built, it would mean that no landscape is off limits to being industrialized. 

The Brooks Range doesn’t need to be opened to more industrialization. Short-sighted development will permanently damage the land, the experience, and the opportunity for more innovative and sustainable uses in the future.

_{Photo credit: Mat Brunton}

Daniel Skarzynski moved to the Brooks Range after hearing a friend share how it was the wildest place left on Earth. Getting to experience the wild freedom of Alaska’s most-arctic mountain range was a dream come true. Getting to live there full-time was even better. Skarzynski resides in Coldfoot where he works as a trapper, dog musher, and guide.  

Skarzynski is deeply opposed to the proposed Ambler Road. If built, the 211-mile industrial corridor, designed to support the development of an unknown number of mines, would cut through the southern Brooks Range. It would irreparably harm Skarzynski’s and other rural people’s lifestyle and the opportunity for visiting hunters and anglers to experience some of America’s last wildest public lands. 

Here’s his story. 

How long have you had a connection to the Brooks Range?  

I’d not heard of the Brooks Range until a friend who’d spent a couple summers doing academic field work there told me about the place. The way he talked about it made the Brooks sound like the last wild place on earth, somewhere beyond the end of the map. I had to see it for myself. So I found a job as a tour guide in Coldfoot. Being able to live and work in the Brooks Range felt like winning the lottery. I’ve been here for six years now.  

What do you love most about living in the Brooks Range?  

The freedom. In the Lower 48 when you’re out on the land, there’s always that nagging voice asking, “Can I do this? Should I be here?” You don’t get that feeling in the Brooks Range. Here, you’re free. 

When I’m out running my trapline with my dogs in the winter, I have the valleys, mountains, and forests to myself. Even though I start running my trapline from the Haul Road, I can go weeks without seeing another person. Having only myself to worry about and rely on is incredibly liberating.  

Please describe the sort of work you do in the Brooks Range.  

I worked for a couple seasons in Coldfoot for the Northern Alaska Tour company and then branched out to run my own dog-mushing business. Taking visitors from all over the country and the world into the Brooks Range is the greatest form of advocacy. Getting out into total silence is something most people have never experienced. They come away with a better understanding of how rich, rare, and invaluable the Brooks Range is.  

I also spend the winter trapping to augment my income. 

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

All species of fish, wildlife, and types of plants are important. A healthy ecosystem can’t really be broken down into single parts. Everything plays an important role.  

That said, wolves have a special place in my heart. I spend a lot of the winter trying to trap them. It makes me appreciate them even more. I spend days thinking about what they’re doing, how they’re moving, and watching their sign. To me, they’re the ultimate symbol of wilderness. These wolves are not reintroduced, not endangered, and not managed. They’re just here, like they’ve always been. They’re so smart. Trapping wolves is a battle of wits. That’s something most people don’t realize about trapping. It takes you from a voyeuristic experience of nature to being an active participant where you confront life and death, which, up here, is the very evident basis of all existence. And then there’s something about stopping on the trail as the moon comes up over the mountains and hearing the wolves howl all around you.  

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

The sad truth is that there is arguably no real wilderness left in the Lower 48. We’ve spent more time redefining what wilderness “might be” than we have protecting it. The goal posts of what wilderness is has moved incredibly far in the past hundred years. Far from the limitless wilderness many in the Lower 48 believe Alaska to be, there is not as much truly wild country left up here as you’d think. The Brooks Range is the closest thing we have to the big wild. If we want to keep anything remotely resembling wilderness, conserving the Brooks Range is just about our last chance. 

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

That a place like this even exists in today’s age.  

Please share at least one piece of essential gear you’d recommend and a piece of advice you’d share with someone planning their first wilderness trip in the Brooks.  

The best winter sleeping bag you can get is made by a small Colorado company called Wiggy’s. The bags are bulky, but they work and cost a fraction of what brand-named down bags do. I have used their Antarctic Sleeping Bag with an overbag and slept comfortably at -50 with nothing but spruce boughs for ground insulation and a sheet of Visqueen for shelter.  

My advice is to be prepared to be patient and roll with the punches. Rivers can come up, snow can fall, and flights can be delayed. If you’re prepared and don’t panic, none of that is a problem. Some of the best adventures I’ve had were because of needing to adapt to changing conditions.  

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

I’d like to spend more time on the north side. The open country up there is not only stunning, but also a whole different challenge. There’s less shelter, less wood for fires, and more wind.  

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

I was coming back from a float hunt with a friend after getting a moose on the second to last day of the season. We camped next to an eddy in the river where we tied up the boats one night. In the morning the river was running slush and the large eddy had ice about an inch thick. We had to smash our way out of there from the bow of the raft. As we floated downriver, I was so low in the water that the slush was riding up and piling on the footboard of the raft. But the weather was gorgeous, and we had our moose. It was awesome. It was one of those moments that you just sit back and think, “This is why I’m out here.”  

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

My biggest concern is the fundamental change that development will bring to the character of this wild and free country, and the ensuing loss of individual freedom. What’s more American than wide open country? You can’t build a road to wilderness, because if you can drive there, it’s not wilderness. Aside from the negative ecological impacts, anytime you get a road, you get more people, more hunting pressure, and more restrictions. And make no mistake, the Ambler Road is just the start of a bigger push to develop Arctic Alaska. 

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

It would get busier around here. Coldfoot lies just fifteen miles from the Ambler Road’s proposed junction with the Dalton Highway. It would make it that much harder to make a living off the land. Odds are I’d have to clear out to somewhere farther back in the country if I wanted to keep doing what I’m doing.  

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

The biggest misconception is that the proposed Ambler Road is a road to a mine. Ambler is a prospect, not a mine. At one point an executive at Trilogy Metals, which is one of the two stakeholders who own Ambler Metals, said they planned to sell their share once the road was built. Trilogy is a publicly traded company. They’re looking to make a quick buck. They wouldn’t do that if they thought it was actually a strong prospect. It’s the same reason South32, the other stakeholder of Ambler Metals, has staked thousands of claims along the route of the proposed road. Once a road is there, those unproven claims will be worth a lot more money. Maybe there’s a viable amount of ore there and maybe there’s not, but that has nothing to do with why they want this road. This is just a justification for making a quick buck at the expense of Alaskans, Americans, and some of the most wild land we have left.

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

I think there’s plenty of reasons ordinary American citizens should care about maintaining open country beyond just fish and game.   

It’s a 211-mile road that will open thousands of square miles to development. On top of making subsistence for rural communities in Western Alaska much harder, the whole project is being steered by foreign interests. Do we want foreign corporations deciding what’s best for Alaska and America’s wildest public lands?  

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

Conservation is a hard battle. You must stay vigilant and win constantly to protect the land and way of life you love. Developers, who take away your rights to public land, only need to win once. There was a time in our history when we thought the West was limitless and untamable—even places like California used to be rugged frontier. Now look at it. Alaska is no different. We’re not immune. If we want to have any land left for future generations to hunt and fish and exercise their basic right to test themselves against the land, we need to put our foot down somewhere. Otherwise, it’ll be taken away piece by piece until nothing is left.  

Is it too much to leave a few places like the Brooks Range wild?

_{Photo credit: Daniel Skarzynski}

“I want to make sure that future generations of hunters and anglers can experience this place just like me.” says Chelsea Pardo, TRCP’s Alaska senior program manager. “But the proposed Ambler Industrial Road would change that future.” 

This short video highlights some of the landscapes and angling opportunities Pardo enjoyed as she spent nine days floating and exploring the Kobuk River on the south slope of the Brooks Range. 

The proposed Ambler Road, a 211-mile private-only industrial corridor, would require nearly 3,000 river and stream crossings, forever changing bucket-list trips like this one. 

Watch other videos from the Brooks Range HERE. 

Take action for the Brooks Range. 

Read more about Pardo’s adventure and why she returned home with renewed motivation to keep the Brooks Range wild. 

“The Brooks is one of the last really remote and wild places left in not just Alaska, but the country—the world,” says Greg Halbach, owner of Remote Waters which offers guided fishing trips in the Brooks Range. 

This short video follows Anchorage-based outfitter Greg Halbach as he showcases the incredible fishing opportunities of the Brooks Range, and what’s at stake if the proposed 211-mile private industrial Ambler Road is built.  

“You can’t really reproduce the wildness of a place like this. To protect this place needs more than the voice of the people just in this region, because there’s not a lot of them. And it needs the voice of more than just Alaskans, because there’s not enough of them to move the needle on something like this either.” 

The Brooks Range matters to all of us who care about wild places, bucket-list adventures, and America’s most remote hunting and fishing grounds. 

Take action for the Brooks Range. 

Read more about Greg Halbach and his pursuit of the near-mythical sheefish.

The ranks of Hunters & Anglers for the Brooks Range continue to grow as the coalition working to maintain America’s most wild and remote hunting and fishing grounds recently reached the monumental milestone of 100 formal partners. 

These 100 formal partners include Alaska-based businesses and guides, as well as national conservation and outdoor industry leaders. This coalition stands shoulder-to-shoulder in opposition to the proposed Ambler Industrial Road, a 211-mile private industrial corridor that would slice across the southern flanks of the Brooks Range and open the region to mining and other industrial development. The road would cross 3,000 streams and several rivers and bisect the migration of the Western Arctic caribou herd. 

​​“This 100-partner milestone shows that the unified voice celebrating America’s most remote hunting and fishing grounds has never been stronger,” said Greg Halbach, owner of Remote Waters which offers guided fishing trips in the Brooks Range. “As one of the original partners, it’s incredible to see our numbers grow as we continue to work to ensure future generations of hunters and anglers can experience a wild Brooks Range.”

Representing various stakeholders across Alaska and America, coalition partners all agree: The risks of the proposed Ambler Industrial Road far outweigh any potential benefits, especially for people who want to maintain the world-class hunting and fishing opportunities that the Brooks Range is renowned for. 

By enabling raw minerals to be exported overseas, the Ambler Road project would deepen U.S. dependence on foreign mineral processing and supply chains, including those controlled by China. This would directly undermine America First priorities which emphasize reducing reliance on adversarial nations for critical minerals and strengthening American control over strategic critical resources.  

We respectfully ask the Administration to take a closer look at this project’s costs and consequences. A thorough and objective review may lead to a different conclusion, one that better reflects our shared values of conservation, national security, and responsible resource development.  

Click here to learn more about the Hunters & Anglers for the Brooks Range. 

Sign up to join the more than 20,000 hunters and anglers committed to standing up for the Brooks Range HERE.    

For more than twenty years, Tom Phillips used his allotted two-week vacation to float, fish, and hunt the Kobuk River. Now retired, which means the pressure to return to work has faded and time can move at the river’s pace, he continues his annual tradition. Because of this deep connection, Phillips doesn’t mince words when it comes to what he thinks about the proposed Ambler Road.   

If built, the Ambler Road would be a 211-mile industrial corridor through the southern flanks of the Brooks Range that would open the region to mining and other industrial development. The road would cross 3,000 streams and several rivers, including the headwater tributaries of the Kobuk. Philips believes the Ambler Road would ruin the region and the opportunity for future hunters and anglers to experience the Brooks Range.  

Here is his story.   

How long have you had a connection to the Brooks Range?   

27 years. For the last couple of decades, I’ve floated the Kobuk every year except for a year or two during Covid. It’s one of my most favorite places. Okay, it is my most favorite place.   

What do you love most about the Brooks Range?   

I love the peace, quiet, and solitude. The Brooks is mostly untouched, especially the upper Kobuk River. We’ve done this trip and not seen another person for 10 days. When that plane takes off from Walker Lake and leaves you at the start of the float, there’s no one else in the world.  

The nights out there are special. The wolves sing you to sleep. The hoot owls come out and visit—they keep you awake for a while. The northern lights are always really vibrant up here if the moon leaves you alone.  

Please describe the types of activities you enjoy in the Brooks Range.   

I like to raft in the fall and see the impressive display of colors. I like fishing, especially for sheefish. I like the peace that comes with fishing. It’s all catch and release these days for me. I’ve caught char, lake trout, and salmon but sheefish and grayling are my favorite.  

What makes the Brooks Range so special?   

It’s one of the last truly pristine wildernesses.  

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

The remoteness, and lack of most everything people are used to. The Brooks has peace and quiet like you’ve never heard. Its beauty and diversity is unlike any other place in Alaska. It’s not for everybody, though. There are some people I’ve done the Kobuk float with and it scares them to death. Then, there’s some people I’ve done the float with, and they can’t believe how pristine and quiet it is.  

Please share at least one piece of essential gear you recommend and a piece of advice you’d share with someone planning their first trip in the Brooks.   

Rain gear, the best you can get.   

For advice, be self-sufficient.  

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

I’ve been to most places I wanted to see and explore. I just love the peace of the Kobuk River.   

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

In 2004, I spent 14 days rafting the Kobuk River with my wife. The weather was perfect and there were no bugs. We fished every day and harvested a large bear on that trip.   

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

The Ambler Road would ruin the area. It’ll never be the same.  

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

In that wilderness, any development is a threat to the remoteness and wildness of the area. The best trip I ever made was with a group of friends from Missouri who’d never been up here before. Those guys were just in awe of the Brooks and the Kobuk River. Every morning they’d just get up and couldn’t believe where they were.  

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

The Ambler Road is another example of where progress does not belong. It’s an abomination on the land. That’s my opinion on it. I know  a select few people are going to get rich off it. A select few are going to get short term work out of it. But it’s not going to do this place any good overall. This place is not going to be pristine anymore. It’s not going to do any good for the Brooks Range. The worst thing they could do is put a road through here. Ever since the project has been getting pushed harder, I wondered if every trip was going to be my last year floating the Kobuk.

_{Photo credit: Tom Phillips}

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As we close out 2025, all of us at Hunters & Anglers for the Brooks Range want to express our sincere gratitude for your support, grit, and steady commitment to conserve one of Alaska’s last truly wild places. 

This has been a year defined by determination. The threat of the proposed Ambler Industrial Road remains real, especially given new directives that attempt to fast-track the project. But thanks to this community of hunters, anglers, businesses, guides, outfitters, rural residents, and public-land owners, the fight is far from over. Together, we are making a difference.

This year alone, 44 new businesses joined the campaign to maintain the backcountry character of the Brooks Range, lifting the total to 87 official business and organizational partners. We highlighted over a dozen authentic Alaskans who are actively speaking up on behalf of America’s most wild and remote hunting and fishing grounds, and more than 20,000 individuals have now taken action through the campaign. Through these and other efforts, we helped eliminate Ambler Industrial Road amendments from the budget reconciliation legislation. This outcome would not have been possible without the collective voice of sportsmen and sportswomen like you. We greatly appreciate your involvement!

Despite an October directive to reissue key permits, the Ambler Industrial Road still faces substantial hurdles before any construction could begin. HABR members have been clear from the start that this 211-mile industrial corridor conflicts with an “America First” approach to mineral development. Advancing a project into the most remote landscape left on the continent, thousands of miles away from the infrastructure where the ore would ultimately be processed in China’s smelters, does little to benefit Alaskans, the American public, and national security.  

As we head into a new year, our work continues. In 2026, HABR will: 

• Support and highlight the voices of rural Alaskan residents and business owners whose livelihoods rely on this wild landscape to remind decision makers what’s truly at risk

• Push for a science-driven review of the Ambler Industrial Road’s impacts

• Highlight the national security risks of exporting unprocessed minerals overseas to our nation’s adversaries

• Grow and activate this coalition to ensure that lawmakers hear from hunters and anglers 

Because of voices like yours, we’ve helped build a movement strong enough to make sure this controversial project remains in the national spotlight. The future is far from decided, so we’ll keep elevating the hunt-fish community’s story and standing up for the Brooks Range in the coming year.  

Take action now to respectfully urge the Administration to take a closer look at this project’s costs and consequences. A thorough and objective review may lead to a different conclusion, one that better reflects our shared values of conservation, national security, and responsible resource development.  

Mark Lindberg lives in Fairbanks and splits his time between hunting and photographing wildlife. He is a retired professor of wildlife ecology and serves on the Board of the Alaska Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers as the Conservation Policy Chair. After making more than twenty trips to the Brooks Range, mostly to hunt caribou and photograph wildlife, he knows full well that the Brooks is an invaluable part of our country’s public lands.  

That’s why Lindberg staunchly opposes the proposed Ambler Road. If built, the project would be a publicly funded 211-mile industrial corridor through the Brooks to help develop an unknown number of foreign-owned mines. Lindberg believes hunters and anglers have everything to lose and nothing to win when it comes to the proposed Ambler Road.

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

Most of my trips to the Brooks have been centered on hunting caribou. Caribou meat has fed my family for decades. More recently, I have been going to the Brooks to photograph wildlife and the arctic landscape.

On several occasions, I have been surrounded by herds of migrating caribou. The sight, sounds, and sometimes smell of masses of caribou is unforgettable.

What’s most special about the Brooks Range? 

Before my first visit to the Brooks Range in 1992, I tried to imagine what a mountain range north of the Arctic Circle would look like. The Brooks was much more raw and powerful than I imagined. I loved the solitude. The Brooks really makes you put things in perspective. When I’m there, the only thing that matters is what’s happening around me at a given moment.

Tell us about a recent hunt you made to the Brooks Range.

Last August, I got to take a couple friends from the Lower 48 on a caribou hunt to the Brooks. I wanted to show them my favorite place on earth and what is at risk with potential development activities like the Ambler Road. Because two of us on the hunt were “senior” hunters, I decided to do a float trip so we could spend less time with weight on our backs and more time enjoying our surroundings. We floated for eight incredible days. The awe-induced silence was only interrupted by “wows” and other words that failed to capture the beauty of this place. Even though we didn’t shoot any caribou, my friends want to return for another trip. It is a testament to the draw the Brooks Range has on anyone who visits. I know I’ll be returning many more times and continuing to do what I can to show people how special the Brooks Range is and the conservation issues that region is facing. 

Is there a piece of advice you’d share with someone going to the Brooks for the first time? 

I think an open and healthy state of mind is more important than any gear you bring with you. Sure, you need to be prepared with the right clothing and equipment, but you will only be able to truly experience the Brooks Range if you are open to your surroundings. Those who bring a conquering attitude will be disappointed when the mountains teach them a lesson. 

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

I am most concerned about the ripple effects. How will the road crossing streams and rivers 3,000 times  affect waters and lands upstream and downstream?  How will industrial development affect migration patterns of animals like caribou? We seem focused on the effects of the physical road or maybe the corridor. Perhaps we’re not thinking enough about the collateral effects, which are more difficult to understand.

What do hunters and anglers stand to lose with the proposed Ambler Road? 

The direct and immediate effects, like increased industrial traffic, would undoubtedly damage the outdoor experience. The indirect and lasting effects of this project are equally important to consider.

As hunters and anglers, we need to consider the effects of development on places we may never visit and on people we may never meet. Even if we can’t think of ways that the Ambler Road might affect us in our lifetime, we need to consider how future generations and the subsistence lifestyles of 60 communities will be negatively affected if Ambler goes through.

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

A big misconception of the proposed Ambler Road is its economic benefits. The economics of the project are poorly described, especially in terms of how it would help the United States and Alaska. One analysis I read suggested that it will take 30 years before the road is profitable for Alaska, and in the meantime, profits will be realized by foreign entities.  We also need to consider the potential long-term economic benefits of intact wilderness areas for industries like tourism and hunting. One of my favorite statements from a speaker at a UAF graduation was, “We need an economy based on the environment, not an environment based on the economy.” 

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

If we think we need to build a 211-mile road through the Brooks Range to support foreign owned mines, then we have reached a point where we need to reconsider our needs and values. Places like the Brooks Range are extremely rare. Once we lose them, they will not come back. Conservation is a value-based decision process. We need to ask ourselves what we value, and then do our best to conserve those values and places.

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

The development of wild public lands like the Brooks Range for what appears to be very limited gains is a slippery slope. What treasured place for outdoorsmen and women will be next? Also, as I said before, we need to consider not only the effects on us, but the effects on others like the 60 rural communities that will be significantly impacted by the proposed Ambler Road. 

The decisions we make today will affect decades, if not centuries to come. We need to think about future generations of hunters and anglers and the wildlife we cherish.

_{Photo credit: Mark Lindberg}

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To say Clarence Putyuk Wood-Griepentrog has deep ties to the people, land, and wildlife of the Brooks Range is an understatement. He lives in the village of Ambler on the Kobuk River and hunts, fishes, and traps the surrounding country as his Inupiaq ancestors have since time immemorial. His grandfather Clarence Wood, who passed on in 2019, is a legend in Alaska for his skills as a hunter and traveler across the Arctic. Wood-Griepentrog credits his grandfather with helping teach him to hunt and travel the land.  

Wood-Griepentrog loves the Brooks Range fiercely and feels blessed to be part of its rich beauty. He points out that the land, water, wildlife, and his culture are all connected and that the proposed Ambler Road threatens every facet. That’s why he’s fighting to safeguard the Brooks Range from a project that he believes will irreparably harm the place and his way of life. 

Here is his story. 

What do you love most about living in the Brooks Range? 

It’s beautiful and untouched and has been passed on from generation to generation. The caribou. The moose. The fish. The connection. We’re all part of this land. 

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

Caribou are most important for us because that’s where we get most of our meat. Come fall, everyone is out on the river and on the tundra waiting for the caribou to come. Generally, we let the first ones go. Caribou communicate with pheromones left by their hooves, so, caribou following can tell if vanguard animals are stressed. It’s beautiful, clean meat. It replenishes us. It’s vital to our lives and survival. When we’re out hunting, we eat dried meat. A big favorite up here is heart and tongue soup—sometimes we throw in brisket. Caribou have always been part of our culture and I’m ever so thankful for them. 

My first memory of caribou goes back to when I was in diapers. I was probably two or three and we were out hunting ptarmigan when I saw a group of caribou coming along. I thought they were dogs at first and told my parents, “Look at the puppies.”  

Over the years, more and more things have changed. For multiple years now, caribou have come by later and later in the fall. Over the years, I’ve been blessed to see the peak of the caribou and now I’m seeing the crash. It’s brutal and decimating to witness. 

What is the most important species of fish to you and your community? 

Either sheefish or salmon. I prefer salmon, but it’s hard to go wrong with either. You can do so much cooking-wise with either. 

What is your favorite animal to hunt? 

Moose. You see them nearly all year long. Especially during the winter, you’ll see dozens. During the summer, you watch them grow. Then fall comes along, and a switch goes off and they’re really challenging to find. It’s a big game of cat and mouse. They’re such beautiful, powerful animals.  

My favorite part of the hunt is butchering and packing the animal out. I take pride in my meat and my work. I do my best to respect the animal. It gave its life up for me and my family. The least we can do to respect it is to take good care of the meat. 

Please share a favorite hunting or fishing memory or story.  

I have tons of those. One was when I got my first caribou. I don’t remember how old I was. A few days before I got mine, my younger brother also got his first caribou. It was a beautiful, fat one. It made me a little jealous, ha! I wanted to one-up him. I remember how proud he was and how nice his caribou was. 

Another memory is being on a bluff with my grandfather watching massive amounts of caribou migrate through in the fall. Tens of thousands. Hundreds of thousands. My grandfather played a big part in teaching me how to hunt. He was really respected and well-known here. He traveled everywhere across northern Alaska. Man, he saw some changes. He shared a lot of meat and fed a lot of families. We share different foods with different villages. If one village does not get a certain type of food, another village will share and trade that type of food. It’s a big sharing community up here. 

What concerns you most about the proposed Ambler Road. 

It threatens the wildlife. It threatens the land. It threatens our lifestyle.  

Just the dust from the ore contaminating everything. The wind is always whipping up here. All the toxins are terrifying. You can’t beat nature, especially up here.  

I’m terrified of the tailings ponds contaminating waterways. Salmon are already under attack across the state. Over on the Yukon River, people who have fished for salmon for thousands of years can’t fish anymore. I don’t want to see that happen to us.  

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

These are foreign mines. The money is not going to stay here.  

If the road is built, it’s not going to drop prices for villages. You still have to ship everything here.  

There isn’t any reasonable job potential for us locals. Why would they hire us? We are hunters. We are not miners. We are subsistence people. We’re not going to get those jobs.  

They give us a few big door prizes. They wine and dine us. Then our land is ripped away from us. Just take, take, take. They’ll get what they want, and we won’t get anything. 

Why should people elsewhere care? 

This is the Alaska frontier. This is one of the last untouched ecosystems in the world. You can only industrialize so much before you take too much and lose that. 

What are the most valuable resources of the Brooks Range? 

The true renewable resources: fish, wildlife, the land, clean water. They offer clean living. The subsistence lifestyle is invaluable. I’m blessed to be a part of this beautiful land, and I want to continue to be part of it. Everything is connected up here. You start tearing stuff up and… 

_{Photo credit: Clarence Putyuk Wood-Griepentrog}

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Hunters & Anglers for the Brooks Range is disappointed by yesterday’s decision to approve the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority’s 2016 revised consolidated application for the Ambler Road Project. This 211-mile industrial road would cut through one of the most remote, wild, and exceptional hunting and fishing destinations in North America, threatening fish and wildlife habitat, rural subsistence traditions, and the backcountry experiences that make the Brooks Range unique. 

By enabling a foreign-owned company to export raw minerals overseas, the Ambler Road project would deepen U.S. dependence on foreign mineral processing and supply chains. This would directly undermine the goals articulated in recent Executive Orders 14272, 14153, and 14241—which emphasize reducing reliance on adversarial nations for critical minerals and strengthening American control over strategic critical resources. 

We respectfully urge the Administration to take a closer look at this project’s costs and consequences. A thorough and objective review may lead to a different conclusion, one that better reflects our shared values of conservation, national security, and responsible resource development. 

HABR will remain fully engaged on behalf of hunters and anglers in Alaska and across the nation to conserve the Brooks Range—America’s most wild and remote hunting and fishing grounds—for future generations. 

Sign up to join the nearly 20,000 hunters and anglers committed to standing up for the Brooks Range HERE.