In a move to protect the fragile Alaskan wilderness, the Biden administration has blocked off land from oil and gas drilling and denied permission for a 211-mile industrial access road to a large copper deposit, citing pollution risks and ice destabilization among its top considerations.
The decisions hand major victories to environmental advocates and local communities, according to The New York Times.
The proposed Ambler Access Project aimed to construct a $350 million gravel road through the pristine Brooks Range foothills and Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve.
However, the Interior Department found that the road would disrupt wildlife habitat, pollute salmon spawning grounds, and threaten the traditional hunting and fishing practices of over 30 Alaska Native communities. The Biden administration also banned drilling across over half of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, “an ecologically sensitive expanse north of the Arctic Circle” that makes up 23 million acres, per the Times.
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Kaleb Froehlich, the managing director of Ambler Metals, the company behind the copper project, called the decision “an unlawful and politically motivated decision” and urged the government to reconsider. However, by blocking this industrial road, the Biden administration is taking a stand for both people and the planet.
The decision safeguards the ecologically rich landscape that caribou and fish populations depend on while also respecting the rights and traditions of indigenous tribes who have sustainably lived off this land for generations.
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What’s more, the move aligns with the urgent need to protect permafrost in the face of a changing climate. The Interior Department’s analysis found that constructing the road could accelerate the thawing of ice-rich soils, potentially destabilizing the ground, increasing flood risks, and releasing additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
David Krause, the interim executive director of the National Audubon Society’s Alaska office, called the decision to protect this wilderness a “huge deal,” emphasizing that the Ambler area is “one of the most ecologically intact and functional landscapes on the planet.”
Tribal leaders such as Julie Roberts-Hyslop, the first chief of the Tanana Tribe, have also voiced their support, noting that both caribou and fish populations are already struggling in the region and a new road would exacerbate these challenges.
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While the mining company asserts that the road is necessary to access copper for clean energy infrastructure, there are less ecologically sensitive areas with larger reserves that can be tapped, according to the Times. By safeguarding this extraordinary wilderness, we’re ensuring a healthier, more resilient future for both Alaska’s communities and its irreplaceable ecosystems.
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I’m typically pretty wordy. But just watch the video.
Disclaimer: Matt Addington is a professional. These bears grazed toward him from 100 yards away while he held tight. Do not try this ever, under any circumstances, or you will likely spend the rest of your time on this earth as bear poop.
Matt Addington is an incredible professional photographer, and I can say that from personal experience. He’s captured images of me in rough shape and somehow made them stunnin’. The Minnesota-based photographer and filmmaker has built a career telling outdoor stories, and his latest bear video proves he knows exactly where to point a camera.
Places like Katmai National Park in Alaska (where this video was taken) can offer unusually close encounters with brown bears, thanks in part to abundant food and tightly managed visitor access. That doesn’t make encounters like this casual or safe to imitate.
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Addington is an extremely experienced outdoorsman, and he was photographing with professional guides Scott and Jackie Stone. For people hoping to photograph bears this way, a guided wildlife photography tour is one of the safest ways to do it. Do not try this in Yellowstone or your local national forest.
The bears were grazing nearly 100 yards away when the group set up. They stayed put as the animals continued feeding and gradually moved closer, resulting in some incredible footage and a once-in-a-lifetime photo.
I can only hope he wore his brown pants under his waders.
A black bear was caught on camera seemingly running errands at a local shopping mall in Anchorage, Alaska over the weekend.
A black bear in Alaska strolled through the automatic doors of the commissary mall on the military base on Sunday. Kory Godbout
The bear entered the commissary mall at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson around 9 a.m. Sunday, KTUU reported, citing a JBER spokesperson.
Wild footage shows the young cub strolling through the commissary’s automatic doors and exploring all that the mall had to offer.
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Barber shop employee, Kory Godbout, saw the black bear approach his store and ran to the break room. Joint Base Elmendorf Exchange
The hungry bear stole and ate a piece of fruit before emptying its bowels on the hallway floor on its way out of the building.
Kory Godbout, who works at the barber shop on the military base, was waiting for his first customer of the day when he spotted the furry intruder traveling through the automatic doors.
“My coworker, who is cutting hair in front of me, she yelled, ‘Bear!’” Godbout recalled.
The grizzly bear decided to “use the restroom in the hallway” of the shopping mall. Kory Godbout
“And I looked up from my phone and the bear was walking into the barber shop right in front of me,” the barber said. “And we all ran into the break room and shut the door behind us.”
After a few minutes, Godbout and his coworkers emerged from the break room and followed the out-of-place bear into the commissary, where it took a peach from the grocery store and ate it.
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The barber recalled that a few onlookers were “going big to try and scare” the bear out of the grocery store.
The bear cub stole a peach and ate it while exploring all that the commissary had to offer. Joint Base Elmendorf Exchange
But all of a sudden, the black bear returned to the barber shop.
“By that time, we were able to run back to the shop and then lock the door,” Godbout said.
The bear cleared its bowels on the floor before leaving the shopping mall. Facebook
“And then we were watching him from the window and then that’s when he decided to, you know, use the restroom in the hallway.”
Officers from Conservation Law Enforcement attended the peculiar grizzly scene and were able to direct the wild animal towards a river and into the woods, according to the JBER spokesperson.
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JBER’s wildlife program manager Colette Brandt said in a press release that the bear had triggered the automatic doors and that Sunday’s events were entirely incidental, KTUU reported.
While there has been a decline in bear-related calls since the military base installed bear-resistant dumpsters, seven bears have been put down at JBER for public safety over the past year.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – The southbound lanes of the Glenn Highway were closed Thursday morning near the S-curves due to a fatal crash, according to the Anchorage Police Department.
Police confirmed shortly after 11 a.m. that at least one person was dead. As of 12:45 p.m., one southbound lane is now open to traffic.
The southbound lanes of the Glenn Highway were closed July 9, 2026 near the S-curves due to a fatal crash, according to the Anchorage Police Department.(Alaska’s News Source)
An Alaska’s News Source reporter on the scene said the crash took place near the Eagle River Loop Road. Video from the scene shows multiple vehicles took damage in the incident.
This is a developing story. It has been updated with new information.
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