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Alaska Weighs Closing a Corridor Along the Unbuilt Ambler Road to Hunting
The Board of Game takes up the Fish and Game proposal November 20. Written comments are due November 16.
The Alaska Board of Game will consider a proposal from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to close a two-mile-wide corridor along the proposed Ambler Road to hunting and trapping, at a special web-conference meeting on November 20, 2026. Written comments are due by 8 a.m. Alaska time on Monday, November 16, according to Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, and the board's meeting list includes a special meeting on the road.
The proposed 211-mile industrial road would run west from the Dalton Highway to the Ambler Mining District through Game Management Units 23 and 24. The proposal would close the area within one mile of each side of the right-of-way to hunting and trapping, about 420 square miles in all, from July 1, 2029, through January 1, 2036, unless the board extends it. Hunters and trappers could still cross the corridor to reach open areas.
In its supporting materials, the department says that "the Ambler Road has not been constructed and submission of this proposal will assist in the planning process for future construction and use of the road." According to BHA, the department also says it has no biological concerns for any species from the road, and acknowledges known active traplines and hunting areas inside the corridor.
The Alaska chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers opposes the closures, arguing that restricting established hunting and trapping years before a road is built is unnecessary and that any limits should be tied to actual construction and demonstrated safety or wildlife needs.
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