Legal Fight Brews Over Mining Road as Alaska Spars with Interior

A legal analysis of the Interior Department’s intent to block an Alaska mining road is essential before the department makes its final decision in the coming weeks, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said during a congressional hearing Wednesday.

Alaska officials said this week that they’ll file a lawsuit if the department chooses not to grant a right of way for the proposed Ambler Road. The project is a 211-mile gravel mining road in Alaska’s Arctic that would open up the copper-rich Ambler Mining District on the south flank of the Brooks Range. Part of the district is owned by the state ...