By John Q. Hosedrinker 
The Ambler Road project, a 211-mile route in Alaska aimed at facilitating mining, has been approved by Donald Trump, reversing the Biden administration’s previous block. This project involves the extraction of copper, cobalt, gold, and other minerals. The White House also announced a 10% equity stake in Trilogy Metals, a Canadian company developing the site. While supporters cite economic benefits and access to critical minerals, opponents, including Alaska Native groups, express concerns about environmental damage and harm to subsistence harvests.
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Trump orders approval of a 211-mile mining road through the Alaskan wilderness. It’s a real head-scratcher, isn’t it? This long-debated project, known as the Ambler Road, was initially given the green light during his first term but was later blocked by the Biden administration. Their analysis indicated the road would significantly harm wildlife, particularly caribou, and negatively impact Indigenous tribes who depend on hunting and fishing. Now, it’s back in play.
I can’t help but feel this is less about genuine need and more about a personal project. It seems like these kinds of decisions often prioritize destruction over preservation, all in the name of profit. Reminds me of a college forestry class where we were constantly reminded that roads inevitably lead to deforestation. And considering how coal has fallen behind renewable sources on a global scale, it really makes you wonder what the underlying motivation is. Is it just another opportunity to profit? I wonder how much someone paid to get this done. It’s almost like the core values of conservation are being completely disregarded in favor of someone’s private gain.
This road likely has something to do with cobalt. Tech companies are thirsty for it for electronics. It’s a crucial import that is mined using what’s essentially slave labor in the Democratic Republic of Congo. So, it appears that this project could be about exploitation. It’s all rather concerning. Some may say Alaska is very pro-Trump, so this might be exciting for some people. However, it seems like it really could be a project that ends up hurting a lot of people, particularly Indigenous communities that rely on the land for survival.
The idea that the government is taking a stake in these private companies is concerning. Remember when the GOP accused each other of wasteful spending on the “bridge to nowhere” in Alaska? This feels similar, but on a much larger scale. It’s a private road, not accessible to the public, built with our tax dollars, for companies to extract minerals from one of our states, and then sell them back to us. It’s all very cynical, isn’t it? It’s hard to see any real value here.
This feels more like a vanity project meant to line the pockets of shareholders. The impacts on hunting, fishing, and wildlife seem to be secondary considerations. It’s all about the money, right? My brother works in Alaska for these types of projects. He’s even uncomfortable talking about them. He called this the “road to nowhere”. And it seems like there might be some very questionable gains coming out of it. The cruelty of it all seems like the selling point. It is a private road for a Canadian/Australian company, Ambler Metals LLC, to extract resources.
This feels like a repeat of a pattern. There are others behind the scenes orchestrating much of what is happening. It’s a pattern of prioritizing the interests of a select few over the broader public good. And it’s hard to ignore the impact on the environment. If this really was just Trump dishing these orders out there would be a lot more pushback.
There’s a disconnect between the rhetoric and the reality. Many Alaskans, despite what some may claim, are very much pro-climate change and are dedicated to maintaining the health of the environment. Many use wind and solar. Lots of people survive on caribou and other species that will be harmed by this project. It really does feel like Trump ruins everything. The entire Republican Party seems to be becoming a vindictive vanity cult.