These 28 million acres represent some of the largest intact landscapes left in the country. ~ Emily Murray, Elim Alaska

In 1971, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) authorized the newly established Native Corporations to select 10 percent of Alaska’s lands to be held in fee simple under the laws of the State. Similarly, under ANCSA and the Alaska Statehood Act, the State of Alaska was allowed to select 40% of Alaska’s land. The remaining unreserved lands, about 50 million acres, were withdrawn from mineral entry and oil and gas development by the Secretary of Interior according to ANCSA Sec. 17(d)(1). Over 50 years later, during the waning days of the Trump administration, the Bureau of Land Management attempted one of the largest extraction industry land grabs in U.S. history by working to quietly open 28 million acres of these “D1 Lands” to future mining and oil and gas development.

Then, in the Spring of 2021, the BLM, under President Biden, announced that it was putting the brakes on opening up the D1 Lands. The Biden Interior Department made the move because mining and other extractive development in these vast and unique areas would impact multiple biologically rich salmon-bearing watersheds critical for subsistence uses by nearby Native villages and communities. Fully 80% of the food that sustains Alaska Native communities living off the road system comes directly from surrounding lands and waters. Trump’s D1 lands management decision would have had dire impacts for 75% of all federally recognized Tribes in Alaska.  

The announcement to reverse this decision emphasized the Biden BLM’s commitment under Biden to a more inclusive process and holistic analyses before completing broad agency actions on lands essential to food security and Alaskans’ livelihoods. As part of the reversal, the Department of Interior recently released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement(DEIS) to review the Trump administration’s revocation of the D1 withdrawals. According to the DEIS:

This additional analysis is necessary to understand the impacts of revocation of the ANCSA 17(d)(1) withdrawals; to correct errors in the previous decision-making process regarding these withdrawals; and to ensure that opening these lands is consistent with the purpose of ANCSA 17(d)(1), which requires that “the public interest in these lands is properly protected,” including facts such as subsistence hunting and fishing, habitat connectivity, protection of cultural resources, and protection of threatened and endangered species.

The DEIS lists several alternatives, each identifying D1 withdrawals in the five planning areas. The alternatives range from retaining the withdrawals on all lands (Alternative A) to revoking the withdrawals on all lands (Alternative D). Alternatives B and C include partial revocation based on landscape and cultural features.

On the other hand, as part of its efforts to continue Trump’s disastrous environmental policies and spread misinformation to lift the D1 protections, when the Biden administration paused the lifting, the Alaska Delegation, made up of Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and Representative Don Young, maintained that this was merely a political move “despite the years of analysis and public process already completed supporting the decision to [lift] these withdrawal restrictions.” Such rhetoric, however, ignores the fact that in order to make good on political promises before Trump left office, his administration ignored repeated requests from Alaska’s tribal leaders, local communities, businesses, and conservation organizations for a fair and transparent planning process, rushing through the planning process, including environmental analysis that failed to include the substantial impact that mining and other development would have on water and subsistence resources over such a vast acreage.

According to Emily Murray, from Elim and Vice President of the Norton Bay Watershed Council:

These 28 million acres represent some of the largest intact landscapes left in the country. The Seward Peninsula and Alaska are experiencing one of the quickest rates of climate change in the United States. These lands’ migratory connectivity and the natural climate refugia they provide are essential to buffer critical resources against rapidly changing conditions so that communities can continue to practice traditional ways of life. With this announcement, President Biden and Secretary Haaland are prioritizing not only climate resilience but Indigenous food security, biodiversity, community needs, and the requests of Alaskans and Americans.

In mid-December, BLM opened a 60-day public comment period on the DEIS as it reviews the former administration’s sweeping regulatory rollback. The federal government needs to hear that Alaskans and conservation allies everywhere want these landscapes kept intact—so they can continue to support subsistence resources that support Alaska Native communities, all five species of Pacific salmon, three of North America’s largest caribou herds, abundant moose populations, a vast number of migratory bird species, not to mention carbon-storing peat bogs, estuaries, and muskeg. Protecting these lands from extractive development represents a generational opportunity and helps the United States meet its goal of protecting 30 percent of the Nation’s lands and waters by 2030.

We have until February 14, 2024, to Help protect public land uses that support local communities and prioritize clean water, healthy habitat, and food security over industrial development. Take Action for Alaska’s Fish and Wildlife

Also, the following are the dates and times of the remaining BLM public meetings on the DEIS:

Anchorage – Anchorage Public Library – January 12, 2024

Kenai Peninsula – January 19, 2024, Virtual:  https://swca.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_v7sVpUuUTEiUtsGVWc56-g

Galena – January 22, 2024 Virtual:

https://swca.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_MoAd9n2ESC-2KbNN0T5vbg

Cordova – Virtual January 23, 2024, 5:30 to 7:30 PM:https://swca.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_amymav70SD2ypTDscWrwxg

Haines – January 25, 2024, 5:30 to 7:30 PM Virtual https://swca.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_amymav70SD2ypTDscWrwxg

Statewide – Monday, January 29, 2024, 5:30 to 7:30 PM, Virtual: https://swca.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN _q4OsOdiDQWSYAzVlYljzQQ

Kotzebue - Kotzebue Youth Center, Wednesday, January 31, 2024, 5:30 to 7:30 PM;

Nome – TBD - Thursday, February 1, 2024, 5:30 to 7:30 PM;

Unalakleet - Unalakleet Memorial Hall, Friday, February 2, 2024, 5:30 to 7:30 PM;

Bethel - Yupiit Piciryarait Cultural Center, Monday, February 5, 2024, 5:30 to 7:30 PM;

Aniak – TBD - Tuesday, February 6, 2024, 5:30 to 7:30 PM;

King Salmon – TBD - Wednesday, February 7, 2024, 5:30 to 7:30 PM;

Dillingham - Dillingham Senior Center - Thursday, February 8, 2024, 5:30 to 7:30 PM

Please attend these hearings and testify in support of Alaska fish and wildlife and communities! For more information: