The Department of Interior has announced a package of actions aimed at helping Alaska boost energy development, access its natural resources and improve public safety.
Plans include reopening 1.56 million acres of the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas leasing.
The DOI is also allowing land development to resume by restoring leases to the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority. The leases were cancelled by the previous administration in a decision later overturned by the courts.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has published a call for nominations to solicit feedback on what tracts should be made available in an oil and gas lease sale within the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska this coming winter. The lease sale will mark the first in the 23-million-acre reserve since 2019.
The BLM in June released a draft environmental analysis supporting the move, which makes an additional 7 million acres available for development beyond what is currently allowed under existing rules.
Under the 2022 management plan, about 11.8 million acres — roughly 52% of the 23-million-acre reserve — are open to oil and gas leasing. The new proposal expands that to approximately 18.7 million acres.
The initiative is part of the federal government’s efforts to promote domestic energy development and growth and is aligned with Executive Order 14153, Secretarial Order 3422, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Other recent actions related to natural resources and public safety in Alaska include:
- Reissuing right of way permits for the Ambler Road Project, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit. The DOI has also conveyed nearly 23,600 acres near Ambler to Alaska, completing the state’s selections in the area and advancing local control over land use and resource development.
- Signed a land exchange agreement conveying lands from within Izembek National Wildlife Refuge to the King Corporation to allow for the construction of a road connecting King Cove to the Cold Bay Airport. The exchange advances the state’s decades-long effort to provide reliable access to emergency medical care for King Cove residents.
- Advanced opportunities for eligible Alaska Native Vietnam-era veterans to apply for up to 480 acres of available federal land they were unable to claim while serving their country. The Bureau of Land Management will award 160 acres each to three Alaska Native veterans of the Vietnam war. Established under the 2019 Dingell Act, the program allows eligible Alaska Native veterans who served between 1964 and 1971 to claim federal land without proof of prior occupancy. Applications remain open until Dec. 29.
Photo by Pixabay from Pexels
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