Advocacy · Washington, DC
Alaska Wilderness League
Plaintiff asking the court to void the 2025 reinstatement of the Ambler road permits
21 staff + 850 volunteers70¢ of every dollar to the workFounded 1993
Stand · Find your defenders
Who’s defending Gates of the Arctic?
11 groups have it in their care
National park in Alaska, 8.47M acres, managed by the National Park Service, designated in 1980.
The defenders
The groups doing the most work here
6 groups are on the record for Gates of the Arctic, in the order they carry the weight. The range says how strongly our editors, the court dockets and their own filings tie each one here. Give directly; nothing routes through us.
On the ground
85–90% match
Advocacy · Washington, DC
The Wilderness Society
Has litigated the 211-mile Ambler industrial road since the original 2020 approvals
178 staff + 32 volunteers75¢ of every dollar to the workFounded 1935
Legal · Tucson, AZ
Center for Biological Diversity
Plaintiff challenging the Ambler permit reinstatement under ANILCA, NEPA, and the Clean Water Act
242 staff + 19 volunteers88¢ of every dollar to the workFounded 1989
Advocacy · Washington, DC
National Parks Conservation Association
Plaintiff challenging the reinstated Ambler road permits, including the right of way across Gates of the Arctic National Preserve
217 staff + 900 volunteers78¢ of every dollar to the workFounded 1919
Also in the fight
Recreation · Boise, ID
Winter Wildlands Alliance
Plaintiff in the federal litigation over the Ambler road permits
8 staff + 700 volunteers77¢ of every dollar to the workFounded 2000
Watchdog · Washington, DC
Earthworks
Mining watchdog and plaintiff in the Ambler road litigation
58 staff + 11 volunteers75¢ of every dollar to the workFounded 1988
8 more groups also work this ground
On the ground in Alaska
Alaska GeographicThey work only in AlaskaFriends GroupKachemak Heritage Land TrustThey work only in AlaskaLand TrustDenali Education CenterThey work only in AlaskaFriends GroupKenai Watershed ForumThey work only in AlaskaFriends GroupSoutheast Alaska Conservation CouncilThey work only in AlaskaCoalitionGwich'in Steering CommitteeThey work only in AlaskaTribal
The situation
What’s happening to Gates of the Arctic
One of the wildest parks in the National Park System, with no roads, no trails, and no cell service. Just caribou, wolves, and 8.4 million acres of Brooks Range wilderness that has looked the same for ten thousand years. Now the administration has re-approved a 211-mile industrial gravel road that would slice through 26 miles of the national preserve, crossing 3,000 rivers and streams, damming tundra wetlands, and severing one of the longest wildlife migration corridors in the world. Eighty-nine Tribes and First Nations oppose it. The road exists to serve a copper mining district that may never turn a profit.
- 1980Gates of the Arctic established under ANILCA
- 2020BLM approves 211-mile Ambler Road route
- 2024Supplemental EIS finds significant impacts, road paused
- 2025Executive order reinstates 2020 EIS and suspends review
- 2025Interior reissues right-of-way permits for road
- 2026Environmental groups file lawsuit challenging approval
- 2026Ambler Metals initiates Arctic mine permitting
Ambler Metals initiates Arctic mine permitting
Source: Mining News North · April 24, 2026
Environmental groups challenge approval in federal court
Source: Center for Biological Diversity · January 23, 2026
211-mile industrial road re-approved through national preserve
Source: Alaska Public Media · October 23, 2025
No public comment window is open on Gates of the Arctic right now. A call script is ready on the Public Lands Action Network, and the groups above are how the fight gets funded and argued in the meantime.
Your move
How to stand for Gates of the Arctic
GiveGive to Alaska Wilderness League
Straight to their own donation page. Your dollar never passes through us.
Their donation page ↗SpeakCall your representativesA ready call script on Gates of the Arctic, plus any comment window as it opens.
Public Lands Action NetworkFollowWatch the mapEvery threatened place in the country, tracked, with who stands for each.
Threatened Lands MapGates of the Arctic has defenders. It needs more.
6 groups on the record, Alaska Wilderness League with 21 staff + 850 volunteers. That is who is holding it. Find your way in.