US Interior bans oil, gas, mineral development on 28 million acres in Alaska

The US Department of the Interior will protect 28 million acres of public lands in Alaska, closing off nearly 7% of the state's total land area from being developed for oil, gas or mineral extraction in an effort to preserve natural and cultural resources, it announced Aug. 27.

The expected final decision — previewed in a June 28 statement by US President Joe Biden announcing the blocking of Ambler Road, a proposed mining corridor — was a reversal of an order from the last days of former US President Donald Trump's administration, in which Trump sought to open up the lands for industry use. The Biden administration described those orders as "unlawful" and said the preceding administration did not take "full consideration of the potential impacts and allow for engagement with the public and Alaska Native communities."

"Tribal consultation must be treated as a requirement — not an option — when the federal government is making decisions that could irrevocably affect Tribal communities," Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement. "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."

The decision came after an extended comment period. Interior said it collected feedback from Alaska Native Tribes and Native Corporations, rural and urban communities, and from 19 separate community meetings with the public. The Record of Decision estimates between 31,000 and 52,000 people rely on the land in question for water, food and cultural identity, and that developing the land would hurt tribal fishing and hunting and other activities.

"BLM has recognized potential D-1 withdrawal lands that possess and serve as culturally significant subsistence and sacred areas for tribes who live on or near these areas," Emily Murray, vice president of the Norton Bay Watershed Council, said in a statement. "These vital tributary and ecosystems provide habitat and protection for moose, salmon and migratory birds our subsistence economy depends on. As tribes seeking grants for necessary infrastructure we are listed as 'economically disadvantaged.' Therefore we highly depend on our subsistence activities for the health and wellbeing of our tribe as a whole."

Environmentalists also cheered Haaland's decision.

"This is a big deal for the communities and wildlife who call Alaska home," Dan Ritzman, director of Sierra Club's Conservation Campaign, said in a statement. "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."

Latest Alaska move

In April, Interior announced it would ban oil and gas drilling in more than half of the 23-million acre National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The move to ban drilling on 13 million acres in the Artic Circle coincided with the denial of a permit for the Ambler Road project, which mining interests hoped to build through a national park to build a copper deposit.

"Alaska's majestic and rugged lands and waters are among the most remarkable and healthy landscapes in the world, sustaining a vibrant subsistence economy for Alaska Native communities," Biden said at the time. "These natural wonders demand our protection."

State authorities and local groups -- in a large oil-producing state -- filed ongoing legal challenges to the rule. The NPR-A, the largest federally managed tract of land in the US, is estimated to hold 895 million barrels of oil, per a 210 US Geological Survey. The administration's previous decision to suspend leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge also drew challenges.

"These administration actions, of course, significantly hurt my constituents because they will detrimentally impact our jobs, futures and our state's economy," Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan said in April. "No group of Alaskans gets harmed more than the Alaska Native people by these actions. But the damage to our national security will even be greater."

At a May 8 hearing, Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said the policies restricting energy and mineral development in Alaska ignored the state's strong environmental record.

"If Interior is going to use its funding to make these kinds of decisions that penalize my state in this way, then I feel like what we need to be doing here is looking for ways to cut the department's budget until the department gets the point and returns to following the law and the balance that is reflected within it," Murkowski warned.