Urgent action needed: Trump just cleared the way for a mining road through protected wilderness.
Photo by Zak Richter/NPS
Friend,
Trump just signed an executive order to fast-track the 211-mile Ambler Road, a massive industrial mining project that would cut through Arctic wildlands, wildlife habitat, and waters.
This order is Trump's latest attempt to hand over some of our most cherished public lands to corporate polluters. And it likely won't be his last.
And now, the threat is growing even more urgent. The Senate is preparing to vote on a measure that would strip millions of acres of conservation and recreation protections across Alaska's Arctic, making it easier for destructive projects like the Ambler Road to move forward.
The Ambler Road is a proposed 211-mile industrial route across Alaska's Brooks Range that would open the door to large-scale mining in the Arctic. It would slice through caribou migration routes, salmon streams, and lands central to Indigenous cultures, scarring an ecosystem that has remained largely untouched for millennia.
A portion of the road would pass through the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve. It would slice through caribou migration routes, salmon streams, and lands central to Indigenous cultures, scarring an ecosystem that has remained largely untouched for millennia.
This road would directly benefit mining companies and other corporate interests by giving them fast and cheap access to copper, zinc, and lead deposits while sidestepping environmental protections.
The Sierra Club stands with Alaska Native organizations and local partners who have led the fight to protect this region. Trump's new executive order threatens to undo years of progress and silence public opposition.
What the Sierra Club Has Achieved Before
For more than a century, the Sierra Club has fought to keep America's public lands public, from helping establish national parks and monuments to blocking fossil fuel and mining projects that threaten fragile ecosystems.
Over the last several years, Sierra Club members like you have sent in thousands of emails and public comments to the BLM and the White House, demanding protections for Ambler —and we won! After hearing from Tribal leaders and other Indigenous groups who have led this work for years, and activists like you, the Biden Administration signed a decision protecting the area.
We've stood with Indigenous and Tribal partners to stop drilling in the Arctic Refuge and other destructive projects across Alaska. Together, our movement has proven that when people stand up for public lands, we win.
Why This Executive Order is Destructive
The Ambler Road isn't just a path for trucks. It is a symbol of what is at stake for Alaska and public lands nationwide. It would pave the way for decades of pollution, habitat destruction, and climate chaos. These lands are critical for providing subsistence hunting, fishing, and gathering opportunities that sustain local communities' ways of life.
The Brooks Range supports fragile tundra ecosystems, salmon streams, and wildlife that sustain Indigenous traditions and local economies, and it is far from the only place under threat.
From the Arctic Refuge to the Tongass National Forest, Trump's administration is working to open Alaska's wildest places to mining, drilling, and logging, all to benefit corporate polluters. Once these lands are industrialized, there is no going back. This executive order is part of a larger pattern of dismantling environmental safeguards, ignoring science, and putting profit ahead of people and the planet.
The Sierra Club is continuing to fight for public lands in court, in Congress, and in communities across the nation, but we urgently need your support to stop Trump and defend lands before it's too late.
Your gift will fund legal action, drive advocacy on Capitol Hill, amplify Indigenous leadership, and help us continue to build a nationwide grassroots movement to protect these lands from destruction.
The Ambler Road is just one example of a much larger pattern. Across the country, Trump is working to hand over our public lands and waters to corporate polluters, rolling back protections, fast-tracking extraction projects, and silencing the voices of communities who depend on these places.
Together, we can stop this reckless project and keep Alaska's wild heart unbroken.
