Biden-Harris Administration Affirms Public Lands Protections Across 28 Million Acres in Alaska

United States Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced on Tuesday that protections against oil and gas development — including mining claims — across 28 million acres of federal lands in Alaska will remain intact.

Many of Alaska’s Native Tribes, Tribal entities and Native Corporations have said the lands are crucial for safeguarding important natural, subsistence and cultural resources, a press release from the Department of the Interior (DOI) said.

The action by DOI was in response to the unlawful decision of the previous administration to remove longstanding protections — “withdrawals” — without conducting a sufficient analysis of potential impacts on subsistence and other essential resources, appropriate consultation with Tribes and other legal requirements. The sweeping move would have allowed millions of acres to be opened to extractive development activities and taken away the federal subsistence priority for millions of acres.

The decision had been put on hold so that these potential impacts could be given full consideration, as well as to allow time for engagement with Alaska Native communities and the public.

“Tribal consultation must be treated as a requirement – not an option – when the federal government is making decisions that could irrevocably affect Tribal communities. I am grateful to the team at the Bureau of Land Management for taking the time to ensure that we approached this decision with the benefit of feedback from Alaska Native communities, and to the Tribal leaders who shared with us the impact that a potential revocation of the withdrawals would have on their people,” Haaland said in the press release.

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During the public process, Alaska Native Tribes and Corporations, urban and rural communities and the public gave their input during 19 community meetings. The public comment period revealed overwhelming support for the retention of the withdrawals. Roughly 15,000 public comments were received by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on the Environmental Impact Statement draft.

“The BLM analyzed a set of alternatives ranging from partial to full revocation. The BLM’s analysis found that revoking any of the protections would likely harm subsistence hunting and fishing in communities that would lose federal subsistence priority over certain lands, ranging from 44 to 117 communities, depending on the alternative. The analysis also found that lifting all or even some of the withdrawals could have lasting negative impacts on wildlife, vegetation and permafrost,” the press release said.

The announcement builds on the current administration’s conservation actions for millions of acres of Alaska’s lands and waters. These include protecting roughly 2.8 million acres in the Beaufort Sea so that new oil and gas leases are prohibited in the whole of the U.S. Arctic Ocean, implementing maximum protections for 13 million-plus acres in Special Areas of the western Arctic and preventing irreversible harms to permafrost and Tribal subsistence uses by rejecting the proposed Ambler Road at the base of Brooks Range.

“Continuing these essential protections, which have been in place for decades, will ensure continued access and use of these public lands now and in the future,” Haaland said.

The withdrawals were established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and stretch across East Alaska, the Bering Sea-Western Interior, Kobuk-Seward Peninsula, Ring of Fire planning areas and the BLM’s Bay.

The landscapes covered by the action are vital for wildlife, including three of the largest caribou herds in North America and 5,000 miles of Alaska’s salmon streams, a press release from Sierra Club said. These lands provide essential migration corridors for animals, connecting them with other wildlife habitat conservation areas.

“This is a big deal for the communities and wildlife who call Alaska home. These lands and waters are unparalleled not only for their natural beauty, but for the habitat they provide imperiled wildlife, and the recreation opportunities they offer us. These 28 million acres are some of the last truly intact wildlands in the United States,” said Dan Ritzman, Sierra Club Conservation campaign director.