Economic Assessment of the Ambler Mining District Road Access through Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve on Subsistence Users
Project ID: P14AC01653
Federal Agency: National Park Service
Partner Institution: University of Alaska Anchorage
Fiscal Year: 2014
Initial Funding: $115,000
Total Funding: $120,922
Project Type: Research
Project Disciplines: Social
National Park: Gates of the Arctic
Principal Investigator: Guettabi, Mouhcine
Agreement Technical Representative: Joly, Kyle
Abstract: The State of Alaska is proposing to create an industrial mining road through the Preserve section of Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve (GAAR). This is a collaborative effort between the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) and the NPS to develop an economic analysis for area villages (i.e., Bettles, Evansville, Wiseman, Allakakeet, Kobuk, Shungnak, Ambler) that may be affected by this planned road. UAA will assess how food security, subsistence harvest, energy and other costs might be altered by the development of a road from the Dalton Highway to Bornite and/or the Ambler River, via Bettles. The economic analysis is to be focused on the impacts to subsistence users (local rural residents) of the road. The project investigators will assess various, complex components (e.g., lower fuel costs versus less game to hunt) and help inform the placement of the right-of way.
Deliverables: