People in the Northwest Arctic worry about what the Ambler Road and mines would mean for the region.

Read a few comments or view our entire packet, sent to BLM and other decision makers.  

Roads and bridges ruin many streams and our caribou migration is

vital for maintaining a traditional lifestyle - Selawik tribal member

 

I’m signing because I am strongly against the road because t will

affect out animal migration and marine life – Selawik tribal member

 

environmental conservation and global climate change is more

important than a road – Kotzebue resident, NANA shareholder

 

This town’s government needs to listen to its citizens more than

corporations. There’s been widespread opposition to the last

three projects that have been approved by the government.

Subsistence camps have already been affected by storms and

other signs of global warning. Protecting the land and water is

essential to this community, and all the villages it’s the seat of.

– Kotzebue resident

 

With the Changing Climate, and impacts to come, I feel this road

and mining exploration is extremely irresponsible to do this to our

future generations - to take away the certainty of safety and security

of subsistence and life as we know it. We owe it to the future

generations to do our best, to be able to tell them We Tried. Let us

try our best to flight Climate Change, and attempt to change the

current path of humanity. The way we are heading, is a route of

major fatalities, losses of society, and impacts to everything on earth.
Please, allow our Northwestern Alaskan Arctic to be apart of the 30x30, and preserve our livihood and every aspect of live as we know it. It is negatively impactful to every aspect of our environments and each of their inhabitants.

It is unfair to our Northwestern Alaskan people, given 97% are completely unaware of majority of aspects and information on the projects containing the road and mining exploration.
Public commentary is scheduled for the busiest times of our seasons, not allowing people to attend. Research information is also lacking many major and certain information on the true negative imacts these projects will have to our region and all life within.
I came home in 2021, after a lifetime of being away, and a lifetime of wishing I was home in the Arctic. In the states and in Indigenous Reservations, I have seen the way the land is stripped of it's properties, the ways animals, water cycles, plants, insects, humans, and soils are negatively impacted by many aspects. We have a delicate cycle that we are a part of within nature. Everything is truly connected, one way or another.
The beginning of my life as a child, and after traveling for years, I knew that our Arctic is where I want to create a home, with my heart, soul, our people, and communities. I want to see our people and culture live for as long as possible. Not just live, but flourish, heal, and truly live the best possible lives.
It fears me to my very core, this road.
As a youth, I beg you. As a human, I beg you. I beg on behalf of our environments, and their inhabitants. For the sake of our world and its' future.
We are the ancestors of the future - We owe it to the generations to come, to try our best to create a world where they are able to grow, flourish, and live within with culturally solid and strong ties.
Please, preserve the health of our lands, animals, water, and people. Do not let them build this road.
Our Arctic animals, waters, lands, and air, guides us, and allows us to live. To live both a balancedb Inupiaq and western livihoods.
Please protect our culture, people, environments, resources. Please do not allow the Road to Ambler, or any mining exploration. – Kiana tribal member

 

I am a hunter, fisherman, & subsistence gather who was fortunate enough to experience the traditional subsistence lifestyle passed down from my parents, I would like to pass down that knowledge to my children so they can live off the land when the time comes. With the Ambler road & mining project, I fear the possibility of that becoming a reality drastically dropping, as there may not be any healthy habitat left for the animals, fish & birds to thrive off of, especially when the water that we all drink out of comes from upriver, once that becomes polluted what water will we drink? Will the animals still migrate through that same area once the traffic of the mining project comes to pass??? Will there not be any accidental spillage??? Who knows, but I would like my children to continue to live off the land as our ancestors did, and if signing this petition helps then so be it… Taikuu – Kotzebue Sound commercial fisherman and NANA shareholder

 

I’m signing this because I want to protect our land for subsistence hunting and many other reasons I am afraid it would have to impact our people and the way of life we are living. – Selawik tribal member

 

I’m signing because this would have a huge impact on the migration of the animals which would cause a more problems for the people who depend on the animals for food, food in the stores are getting more expensive and most of the time hunting and fishing is what people rely on for food, and as a local commercial fisherman, I know a lot of people rely on that for money and more importantly for food as well, as the animals would have to change their migration routes, we the people would also have to spend more money on gas which that would be another terrible problem, we the people would have to go further in searching for our food, fighting the weather and conditions greater than they already are, I’m sure you guys know about so many good people falling through the ice traveling, breaking down and freezing up to where it’s too late, just recently those two kids had gotten lost in the storm and had lost their lives, the further out we need to go out for our food, the more losses we will face, yes people can be smart about knowing when to go out but there’s plenty that will need to go out for their food no matter what, and the road will cause so many problems such as those and that’s just the beginning. I’m still young and have plenty to learn about our land and how the animals come around for their migration, but a person who knows all about it can give you a bigger list of the problems we will face, give the younger ones like myself a chance at learning our past and our culture and heritage which is depleting away on its own. The way we hunt and fish and go out for food for our families may be the only thing left of our culture. – Kivalina tribal member

 

I’m against the ambler road and it’s intentions. – Noorvik tribal member

 

There are so few places in the world with untouched land. We need to preserve as much as possible to ensure the life of this planet. – Kotzebue resident

 

This road will effect the hunting for our people. Our caribou migrations is already effecting the villages, with this road it will effect us even more. – Kiana tribal member

 

I am signing this petition because I want to protect the Kobuk river, salmon, caribou, and the land from destruction by a road and more mines. To protect the land, water, and Inupiat. – Selawik tribal member

 

I’m signing because the tundra is a fragile place that takes lifetimes to rebound from the damage human traffic and life causes. The communities will not benefit from this as much as the corporations and entities using the land. Migration patterns will change impacting subsistence life and water downriver will be impacted changing fishing health. – Kotzebue resident

 

I’m signing because we need to preserve our land. If we build this road we don’t know how it going to affect our animals. – Kotzebue tribal member

 

I’m signing because I want to save our land – Noorvik tribal member

 

I do not want this road because we live off the land. If they build this road, our substance life will be effected. Out of town people will mess up the migration of the caribou and we depend on the caribou to feed our families. This will be an easy highway to bring more drugs and alcohol and everyone will be effected even more, mostly going to hurt our elders and youth. We live in the villages for a reason, not to be connected to the outside. We love the way we live now, why change our ways? Why hurt our people more? For money? Listen to the people, listen to our Elders, we do not need this road. – Kiana tribal council

 

I’m signing because I’m against the road and the possible outcomes that will follow it. I believe our subsistence gathering will be affected a whole lot for our future generations. – Noatak tribal member

 

Subsistence activities are a crucial part of our region and an important component to life in the Arctic. – Kotzebue resident

 

If this road is built, we’ll see a lot of traffic, accidents, some fatal, more non-natives sports hunting and fishing, changes to lakes, streams, creeks and rivers, mostly interfering with wildlife, the food we live on, it will be a domino effect and we’ll be devastated too, only companies will be happy, lowering their cost but yet raising their prices to villagers and even alcohol will be rampant, causing more harm to our people and environment – Buckland tribal member

 

Retaining our culture and tradditions is more important than all the money in the world. Big money destroys everything in its path and walks away without a care regardless of the permanent damage done to the people and environment. – Kotzebue tribal member

 

The ambler road will ruin so many things- hunting routes- migration patterns- AND bring unnecessary traffic. Just another form of cultural genocide. – Kotzebue resident and NANA shareholder

 

I'm signing this because it will change migration of caribous and other animals I know this because I live in kivalina where it has changed migration of sea animals we don't get alot of animals near our village anymore we have to travel farther out on the ice to reach the whale migration but we can't travel far out on the ice anymore because of ice changes it does not get thick anymore – Kivalina tribal member

 

This road will throw off the migration of the caribou. – Selawik tribal member

 

I love our natural resources and subsistence way of life. I LOVE our salmon. – Kotzebue tribal member

 

I have heard tribal members and long time residents speak on this issue and it seems clear that a road would impact subsistence hunting and fishing negatively as well as adding in a whole slew of new problems, including putting girls and women at risk. – Kotzebue resident

 

I do not want this road built. – Shungnak tribal member

 

I love the beauty of our Upper Kobuk and all the subsistence we get from it. – Shungnak tribal member

 

If this road is built it will majorly effect the caribou migration, i am young but i've seen the impact that the red dog mine port road has made on the migration of the caribou that come through the coast. With having a family camp in sisaulik – Kotzebue tribal member and Kotzebue Sound commercial fisherman

 

We LIVE and subsist off the land. Our land provides for the region and more. – Kotzebue tribal member

 

The people, animals and plants of this region deserve better. – Kotzebue resident

 

We would like to keep our subsistence alive. – Buckland tribal member

 

I want to preserve the land for the next generation – Kotzebue resident

 

I don't want to see my home lands and food destroyed! – Shungnak tribal member

 

Because I want to protect our wildlife and water – Kobuk tribal member

 

I love our land – Shungnak tribal member

 

I’m signing because the land is important to our region. The land that provides for our villages. – Noorvik tribal member

 

I think it’s important not to disrupt the pattern of the caribou and the people who live in the area. – Kotzebue tribal member

 

I’m signing because I deserve to be heard. We need to protect our subsistence resources. The Ambler road would be so environmentally irresponsible and the impact to our communities would be detrimental to our Iñupiaq way of life. Our land has gifted us so much, we must remember our Iñupiat Ilitqusiat and Respect for Nature. Destroying natural environments for non-renewable resource development goes against our Iñupiat Ilitqusiat. – Kotzebue tribal member

 

We don't need this road built we need to keep our land clean we need our food. We don't need to be connected to anyone else. There will be to much drugs and alcohol brought in which we don't need. – NANA shareholder

 

This road would kill the way people of the Kobuk River. We live the way we lived for thousands of years why change now for some money hungry politicians. – Kiana tribal member

 

I love our land and our people and protecting our land protects our people – Kotzebue tribal member

 

I believe my home needs to be protected. This road will disrupt our ways of hunting and gathering. Please don’t do this – Kotzebue tribal member

 

I am signing this petition because I of many tribal members do not want this road built due to environmental concerns. – Shungnak tribal member

 

I am a resident of Kotzebue raising my Inupiaq boys here and would love for them to have the opportunity to live off of the land for many years to come. – Kotzebue resident

 

I believe the road would ruin our subsistence way of life. I am a mother of one daughter and three boys that if the road is built they will not get to grow up learning our way of a subsistence life style because of the damage this road will do to the natural habitat the animals. I am a tribal member n I say no to the Ambler Road – Kobuk tribal member

 

We need to preserve our land and that is our right!! – Buckland tribal member

 

I want to help save our subsistence lifestyle. – Noorvik tribal member

 

I don't want all of that mining crap running down to our waterways/Village. We live down river from Ambler and I do a lot of Subsistence hunting and fishing and it will just ruin our waters, plus, all of the money won't stay in Alaska! NO TO AMBLER ROAD PROJECT!!! – Noorvik resident

 

Because of all the necessities of hunting and gathering our native food! We live off our land and this will demolish everything and the caribou herds. – Selawik tribal member

 

I'm signing because I want to protect the pristine wilderness. I want to keep the waters clean and see the caribou continue to migrate thru in vast numbers. Find another way to earn money that doesn't harm the environment ! – Kotzebue resident

 

I find no need for the ambler road because it would destroy pristine land in our region. – Kotzebue resident

 

Because literally everyone who lived there for their entire lives and will for the rest of them do not want the project. I am afraid of illegal substances getting worse up there and losing caribou more than we already have. If anyone should extract minerals from the land it should be upriver themselves. Not some company. – Kiana tribal member

 

I care about my ancestral land and this would harm the village, animals, water, and villages surrounding. – Shungnak tribal member

 

That road will ruin all our Subsistence way of lifestyle. We depend on the food. – Selawik tribal member

 

I'm signing to avoid the destruction of land. – Kotzebue resident

 

I don’t want native land to be hurt by the ambler road. – Kotzebue tribal member

 

I don't want the road built. To much access to the villages. It will change the routes of the caribou and interrupt with other animal and hunters. No need for a road from a Village to a city where's drug and alcohol access. It will give more access to our people and we don't need that in our villages. – Kiana tribal member

 

I am signing this because this will negatively impact the ecology of our changing environment. Everything is interconnected, with one species being impacted it will have a ripple effect on others. Our people need our lands to be untouched. History has shown that once that resource has been taken, our people will be left with the wreckage and the negative impacts will reach outside the Ambler region. – Selawik tribal member

 

Subsistence lifestyle will be affected – Ambler tribal member

 

I’m signing because our culture, traditions and our hunting grounds will be affected in so many ways. Our inupaiq culture we live off the land jus as our ancestors did and shown us the places where the ambler road will be taking place. Our traditions and our culture is who we are and we as a nana reign will be affected in so many different ways. Our food the caribou/bird migration, the fish and the pollution will be harmful for the animals and as a inupaiq that lives off the land we will be affected too. NO TO AMBLER ROAD – Noorvik tribal member