Outdoors/Adventure

Photos: Gates of the Arctic National Park

The nation's northernmost national park says its new management plan will have to consider the effects of a new industrial road to the mining district of Ambler, the first road that would be constructed within its Maryland-sized boundaries.

An amended general management plan for seldom-visited Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, a project that began in 2009, lists concerns on wildlife movement, effects on subsistence activities, the spread of invasive species and visitor experience should a road ever be built. Last month, Gov. Bill Walker put a half-dozen high-profile state projects including the Ambler Road on hold due to a yawning budget deficit.

The amended plan also documents a mid-1990s land exchange between local Native corporations and the Park Service, which was completed in an effort to work with the residents of Anaktuvuk Pass, which lies within the Gates of the Arctic. The 358 people of Anaktuvuk Pass rely on subsistence fishing and hunting, with many using all-terrain vehicles for hunting.

Read more: Remote Alaska park seeks comment on first management plan update in decades

ADVERTISEMENT