Subsistence on the Edge: How Alaskan Arctic Communities Are Fighting the Trump Administration

In North West Alaska, the Ambler Road Mining Project is a proposed 211-mile stretch of road that would connect several mines and enable mass mineral extraction. After the Trump administration approved the project, many Native Alaskans who rely on the region for subsistence hunting and cultural significance oppose it. Simultaneously, many people are eager for the economic development the road would bring to the Arctic, where opportunities are limited. My journalistic project considers these tensions in Alaska Native communities. On my trip to Kotzebue, Alaska, I will convene with a community at the interface between industry and subsistence. I will also interview nonprofit organizations, industry members, and legislators about the project's impacts. On a national scale, if the roadless rule is overturned, what are the implications for the rest of the country, and what does it mean for the future of our protected natural resources?