**Interior Retains Crucial Protections on 28 Million Acres of Alaska Public Lands, Thwarting Trump-Era Bid for Industrial Development**
In a significant move that underscores the Biden administration’s commitment to environmental conservation and cultural preservation, the U.S. Department of the Interior has retained vital protections on 28 million acres of D-1 public lands in Alaska. This decision reverses a bid by the Trump administration to allow oil and natural gas leasing on these lands, which has been a focal point of controversy in recent years.
The Biden administration’s action is a direct response to the Trump-era attempt to open these lands to extractive activities without conducting sufficient environmental assessments or engaging in meaningful tribal consultation. This move is the first action taken by the Interior Department under the Biden administration, reflecting its commitment to ensuring that federal decisions do not irrevocably harm subsistence resources and Alaska Native communities.
“The previous administration’s hasty decision to lift these protections was unlawful and disregarded critical environmental and cultural impacts. Our decision today ensures that these public lands, which have been off-limits to extractive development for decades, will remain so,” said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in a statement. “Tribal consultation is a requirement, not an option, when making decisions about lands that are integral to Tribal communities.”
These lands, known as D-1 lands, were originally protected under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. The act authorized the federal government to withdraw these lands from mineral and oil and gas development, ensuring that they could remain intact ecosystems supportive of Alaska Native peoples’ subsistence activities.
The lands in question crisscross across Northwest, Southwest, Southcentral, and Southeast Alaska, including areas managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) such as the Bay, Bering Sea-Western Interior, East Alaska, Kobuk-Seward Peninsula, and Ring of Fire planning areas.
To inform this decision, the Interior Department conducted 19 community meetings where they received overwhelming support