Trump approves Ambler Road across Alaska wilderness for critical-minerals access

On October 6, 2025, President Trump issued a Decision of the President approving the administrative appeal of the 2024 Biden-era denial of the Ambler Road project — a proposed 211-mile industrial road from the Dalton Highway across Alaska's Brooks Range to the remote Ambler Mining District. The decision directs the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reissue the rights-of-way and Section 404 permits the project requires. The Ambler Mining District holds more than 1,700 active mining claims and large deposits of copper, cobalt, gallium, and germanium — all designated critical minerals on the Defense Production Act list. The road would enable surface access for mineral exploration and mine development supporting an estimated 2,730 construction jobs and projected to generate over $1.1 billion in Alaska mining-related revenues. The route traverses lands managed by the Gates of the Arctic National Preserve and crosses caribou migration corridors and salmon-bearing watersheds; the Biden administration's June 2024 denial had cited impacts on subsistence resources for Alaska Native communities.