Judge upholds federal permit for mining access inside Lake Clark National Park

A road, airstrip and exploration tunnel inside Lake Clark National Park and Preserve can move ahead after U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason upheld the federal permit authorizing the work.

The Sept. 14 order leaves in place the Clean Water Act Section 404 permit the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued Sept. 10, 2024, to Johnson Tract Mining Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Contango ORE, Inc. The order itself was not among the accessible records, so its legal reasoning could not be independently checked.

The work sits on a 21,000-acre private inholding owned by Cook Inlet Region, Inc. and surrounded by the park. CIRI describes responsible mineral development on its lands as a source of dividends for Alaska Native shareholders, a stance stated on its website, not in response to the ruling. Contango's November 2024 news release described the permitted infrastructure as a 2.6-mile portal access road and an expanded airstrip. Other reporting describes a 5,000-foot airstrip and a tunnel for deeper exploratory work.

The project sits at the headwaters of the salmon-bearing Johnson River, about 13 miles upstream from Cook Inlet. Tuxedni Bay, downstream, is critical habitat for endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales, whose population Cook Inletkeeper estimates at 331. The group's fact sheet says bear-viewing ecotourism in the region supports $37 million in annual sales and $10 million in direct wages.

Cook Inletkeeper, the Chickaloon Village Traditional Council, the Center for Biological Diversity and an individual commercial fisherman sued in May 2025. They allege the Corps failed to analyze acid rock drainage, contaminant leaching and noise, and failed to consult NOAA Fisheries over belugas. No response to the decision from the Corps, CIRI or Contango was available.

"Johnson Tract Gold Mine is being planned as a 5 - 7 year project but

could forever alter the health and character of the region," Cook Inletkeeper said in its project fact sheet.

Contango has said in securities filings that the permit authorizes exploration infrastructure, not a mine, and that any future mine would require further permitting.

Commenters asked the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, in a May 4 comment letter, to reject Contango's reclamation plan amendment for the portal closure and water disposal system.