Fish and Game asks Board of Game to close Ambler Road corridor to hunting, trapping

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is asking the Alaska Board of Game to close a 2-mile-wide strip along the full 211-mile Ambler Road to all hunting and trapping from July 1, 2029, through Jan. 1, 2036, unless the board extends it. The board's agenda shows the board will deliberate on the proposal at a Nov. 20 web conference.

The board tabled an earlier version of the closure, one with no end date, by a 5-2 vote in Fairbanks on July 23, sending it to its meeting in Kotzebue. The department then put forward the version with 2029 to 2036 dates, and the board moved the decision up to the Nov. 20 web conference.

The strip runs one mile on each side of the road's centerline, from the Dalton Highway to the Ambler Mining District, and covers about 420 square miles. Hunters and trappers could cross it to reach open areas but could not hunt or trap inside it. In its comments on the proposal, the department said the closure would mean a loss of hunting and trapping opportunity for every species with an open season in the strip.

The department, which submitted the proposal and supports it, describes the road as private and commercial, behind a locked gate staffed around the clock. It told the board the Western Arctic Caribou herd, which winters in the area, was estimated at 121,000 animals in 2025, down from 490,000 in 2003.

The Anchorage Fish and Game Advisory Committee voted 2-7-1 against the proposal in July, according to its meeting minutes. Supporters pointed to a 2-mile buffer written into the state's memorandum of understanding on the road. Opponents argued that only the Board of Game or the Alaska State Legislature can set closures.

Tanana Chiefs Conference asked for a closure extending five miles on each side of the road, in written comments to the board. It cited a federal environmental review that found hunting pressure generally increases where road access exists. Mark Richards, executive director of Resident Hunters of Alaska, told the board in July that the closure was premature for a road that may never be built.

Written comments on the proposal are due at 8 am Monday, Nov. 16.