{"id":27694,"date":"2025-03-18T19:40:56","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T19:40:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wildsalmoncenter.org\/?p=27694"},"modified":"2025-03-18T19:40:56","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T19:40:56","slug":"new-fronts-open-in-west-susitna-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wildsalmoncenter.org\/2025\/03\/18\/new-fronts-open-in-west-susitna-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"New fronts open in West Susitna campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Alaska state agencies aren\u2019t above using deception to advance plans for an unpopular road.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The West Susitna is roadless for a reason. It\u2019s a global salmon stronghold\u2014home to all five species of salmon found in Alaska\u2014and beloved by outdoor recreationalists of all stripes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That uniqueness is why Alaskans have said no to past projects that put this area at risk. And it\u2019s why they\u2019re gearing up to say no to the <\/strong>West Susitna Industrial Access Road<\/strong><\/a> this spring, when the latest phase of this project opens for public comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Follow us for updates<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

This road would be devastating for the West Susitna region, says Wild Salmon Center Alaska Director Emily Anderson. For starters, it would run for 100 miles into the heart of the West Susitna backcountry, crosscutting and damaging at least 83 free-flowing salmon streams in the process<\/strong>. This damage would come at public expense: costing at least $600 million in public funding all to the benefit foreign mining companies.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The 100-mile West Susitna Industrial Access Road would start at the Little Susitna River, crisscrossing the legendary Iditarod Trail and at least 83 free-flowing salmon streams on its way to a mining district. Now, two new road proposals aim to extend the road another 34 miles. (Map: Wild Salmon Center.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cThe West Susitna is one of the most visited areas in the state,\u201d Anderson says. \u201cWest Su tourism supports hundreds of small businesses and thousands of jobs. This road risks all that, and puts Alaskans on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2014, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) has pushed for this road despite strong opposition from Alaska business owners, Tribes, hunters, anglers, mushers, and outdoor enthusiasts<\/strong>. The Defend the West Susitna coalition<\/a> has been key to making Alaskans\u2019 voices heard throughout this long process, Anderson says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlaskans can\u2019t afford to waste these public funds to subsidize foreign mining companies,\u201d she notes. \u201cEspecially now, when state funding is sorely needed for essential services like education.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because the original road proposal has become so unpopular, some agencies are now trying to advance the industrial road through indirect means<\/strong>. In July 2024, the Alaska Department of Transportation (DOT) proposed what it said was an unrelated 22-mile \u201crecreation\u201d road\u2014albeit one that ends exactly where AIDEA\u2019s industrial road begins. Local business leaders called out the deception<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWest Su tourism supports hundreds of small businesses and thousands of jobs. This road risks all that, and puts Alaskans on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars.\u201d<\/p>\nWild Salmon Center Alaska Program Director Emily Anderson<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n

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The West Susitna region is an Alaska treasure with unparalleled fishing, hunting, and outdoor recreation\u2014values that far outweigh industrial development. (PC: Brandon Cole.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

When scoping for the DOT road\u2019s public review opened in August 2024 , thousands of Alaskans again spoke out in opposition. (Later this year, when DOT\u2019s environmental assessment is released, the public will have another chance to speak up.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, there\u2019s a third road proposal in the works<\/a>\u2014one that aims to pick up at the other end of AIDEA’s industrial road<\/strong>. Australia\u2019s Nova Minerals\u2014one of the speculators that stands to benefit from publicly-funded access to its remote mining claims\u2014has applied to build its own 12.4-mile road at an airstrip that marks the tail end of the 100-mile road. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cAlaskans can\u2019t afford to waste these public funds to subsidize foreign mining companies. Especially now, when state funding is sorely needed for essential services like education.\u201d<\/p>\nWild Salmon Center Alaska Program Director Emily Anderson<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n

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Susitna River, Alaska. (PC: Brandon Cole.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cNova is banking on Alaskans to invest at least $600 million to subsidize its speculation,\u201d Anderson says. \u201cBut state leaders need to listen to what Alaskans have been saying for the past decade: we don\u2019t want the West Su to be privatized, let alone at public expense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The West Su is an Alaskan treasure, she says\u2014a special place where the value of unparalleled fishing, hunting, and outdoor recreation clearly outweighs industrial development. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why this year, and for as long as it takes to stop this project, we\u2019ll be there to hold state agencies accountable\u2014alongside Alaska business owners, Tribes, hunters, anglers, mushers, and outdoor enthusiasts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cState leaders need to listen to what Alaskans have been saying for the past decade: we don\u2019t want the West Su to be privatized, let alone at public expense.\u201d<\/p>\nWild Salmon Center Alaska Program Director Emily Anderson<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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