Trump administration to remove decades-old protections from Interior Alaska land
- Alaska Beacon
- 2 hours ago
- 7 min read
Pending Department of the Interior order is set to cede 2.1 million BLM-managed acres near the Dalton Highway to state control and possible mining, road building and other development
By Yereth Rosen
Alaska Beacon
The Trump administration is poised to open 2.1 million acres of long-protected Alaska land north of the Yukon River that has been protected for decades to mining and other industrial development.
The Department of the Interior announced on Friday that it is revoking decades-old protections for the land, a corridor along the Dalton Highway, the sole road to Alaska’s North Slope.
The land is currently managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The corridor holds a portion of the 800-mile trans-Alaska oil pipeline and it includes sections that would be used for two proposed megaprojects: a long-envisioned pipeline to carry stranded natural gas from the North Slope to tidewater in Southcentral Alaska and the controversial Ambler Access Project, which would put a road of about 200 miles through the Brooks Range foothills to an isolated mining district.
The administration’s actions are set to revoke Public Land Orders 5150 and 5180, which have been in place since the 1970s, through a new Public Land Order numbered 7966.
The purpose of the administration’s action is to allow the state to make land selections in the corridor, giving the state the right to open the area up to mining and other development.
“President Trump was clear – promises made are promises kept and this decision is about unlocking opportunity for American Energy Dominance to lower costs for all American families,” Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said in a statement. “By opening these lands, we are empowering Alaska to chart its own course and develop energy, minerals and infrastructure that strengthen America’s security and prosperity.”
The revocation of the land orders is the latest in a series of Trump administration actions to remove longstanding protection in Alaska lands to allow oil drilling, mining and other development on them.
Alaska political leaders praised the move, while tribal representatives and environmentalists condemned it.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy called the action “a milestone for Alaska’s self-determination.”
“Alaskans know what’s best for Alaska, and revoking these PLOs will empower Alaska to chart our own future on these lands,” Dunleavy, a Trump ally, said in a statement.
The all-Republican congressional delegation, in a jointstatement, said the action will be good for the state’s economy.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski termed the decades-old protective public land orders “obsolete” and said they kept “tens of millions of additional acres of Alaska locked up as de facto conservation area.”
The designations “have held back statehood land selections and resource development, giving the federal government a toehold to delay or reject important projects while depriving our state of crucial opportunities for jobs and revenues,” she said.
Sen. Dan Sullivan, in the statement, thanked Burgum “for taking this important step today in lifting this outdated land withdrawal and bringing us closer to ensuring that Alaska controls the lands that support resource development on the North Slope and much of the land over which the state’s most important piece of infrastructure sits.”
Rep. Nick Begich, in the statement, said the action “provides assurances needed for the next wave of Alaskan energy infrastructure investment.”
In contrast, the Tanana Chiefs Conference, an organization of Native tribal governments in the region, said the move threatens a region critical to traditional subsistence food-gathering.
“This decision opens the door to development that puts our lands, animals, waters, and subsistence resources at real risk,” Brian Ridley, TCC’s chief and chairman, said in a statement. “For our communities, these are not remote acres on a map. These are the places where our families hunt, fish, and gather to feed our people. Protecting these resources is critical to our food security, our culture, and our future.”
In a separate statement, Chief Julie Roberts-Hyslop of the Native Village of Tanana, said the administration’s action “would be a betrayal of our people, stripping protections from our lands and rivers — and opening the door to resource extraction on territory.”
“We will continue to fight for the protection of our way of life. We cannot allow anyone to destroy our land and resources,” she continued.
Cooper Freeman, Alaska director of the Center for Biological Diversity, said the move is counter to Americans’ desires for management of public lands. “If Alaska state leaders take control of these lands, they’ll roll out the red carpet for foreign mining companies to dig, dump and run, while kicking local communities and wildlife to the curb,” he said in a statement.
The administration’s action requires a published notice in the Federal Register, which is forthcoming, the Department of the Interior said. The Trump administration is poised to open 2.1 million acres of long-protected Alaska land north of the Yukon River that has been protected for decades to mining and other industrial development.
The Department of the Interior announced on Friday that it is revoking decades-old protections for the land, a corridor along the Dalton Highway, the sole road to Alaska’s North Slope.
The land is currently managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The corridor holds a portion of the 800-mile trans-Alaska oil pipeline and it includes sections that would be used for two proposed megaprojects: a long-envisioned pipeline to carry stranded natural gas from the North Slope to tidewater in Southcentral Alaska and the controversial Ambler Access Project, which would put a road of about 200 miles through the Brooks Range foothills to an isolated mining district.
The administration’s actions are set to revoke Public Land Orders 5150 and 5180, which have been in place since the 1970s, through a new Public Land Order numbered 7966.
The purpose of the administration’s action is to allow the state to make land selections in the corridor, giving the state the right to open the area up to mining and other development.
“President Trump was clear – promises made are promises kept and this decision is about unlocking opportunity for American Energy Dominance to lower costs for all American families,” Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said in a statement. “By opening these lands, we are empowering Alaska to chart its own course and develop energy, minerals and infrastructure that strengthen America’s security and prosperity.”
The revocation of the land orders is the latest in a series of Trump administration actions to remove longstanding protection in Alaska lands to allow oil drilling, mining and other development on them.
Alaska political leaders praised the move, while tribal representatives and environmentalists condemned it.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy called the action “a milestone for Alaska’s self-determination.”
“Alaskans know what’s best for Alaska, and revoking these PLOs will empower Alaska to chart our own future on these lands,” Dunleavy, a Trump ally, said in a statement.
The all-Republican congressional delegation, in a joint statement, said the action will be good for the state’s economy.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski termed the decades-old protective public land orders “obsolete” and said they kept “tens of millions of additional acres of Alaska locked up as de facto conservation area.”
The designations “have held back statehood land selections and resource development, giving the federal government a toehold to delay or reject important projects while depriving our state of crucial opportunities for jobs and revenues,” she said.
Sen. Dan Sullivan, in the statement, thanked Burgum “for taking this important step today in lifting this outdated land withdrawal and bringing us closer to ensuring that Alaska controls the lands that support resource development on the North Slope and much of the land over which the state’s most important piece of infrastructure sits.”
Rep. Nick Begich, in the statement, said the action “provides assurances needed for the next wave of Alaskan energy infrastructure investment.”
In contrast, the Tanana Chiefs Conference, an organization of Native tribal governments in the region, said the move threatens a region critical to traditional subsistence food-gathering.
“This decision opens the door to development that puts our lands, animals, waters, and subsistence resources at real risk,” Brian Ridley, TCC’s chief and chairman, said in a statement. “For our communities, these are not remote acres on a map. These are the places where our families hunt, fish, and gather to feed our people. Protecting these resources is critical to our food security, our culture, and our future.”
In a separate statement, Chief Julie Roberts-Hyslop of the Native Village of Tanana, said the administration’s action “would be a betrayal of our people, stripping protections from our lands and rivers — and opening the door to resource extraction on territory.”
“We will continue to fight for the protection of our way of life. We cannot allow anyone to destroy our land and resources,” she continued.
Cooper Freeman, Alaska director of the Center for Biological Diversity, said the move is counter to Americans’ desires for management of public lands. “If Alaska state leaders take control of these lands, they’ll roll out the red carpet for foreign mining companies to dig, dump and run, while kicking local communities and wildlife to the curb,” he said in a statement.
The administration’s action requires a published notice in the Federal Register, which is forthcoming, the Department of the Interior said.
• Yereth Rosen came to Alaska in 1987 to work for the Anchorage Times. She has been reporting on Alaska news ever since, covering stories ranging from oil spills to sled-dog races. She has reported for Reuters, for the Alaska Dispatch News, for Arctic Today and for other organizations. Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
