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The Trump administration announced a final rule last week that will allow oil and gas drilling across a vast, fragile expanse of tundra and wetlands in northern Alaska called the National Petroleum Reserve. This move reverses a rule finalized during the Biden administration that restricted drilling in half of the 23 million-acre National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A). In October, the Trump administration moved to open the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.
Despite having "petroleum" in its name, the NPR-A is the largest single tract of public land in the U.S. and serves as important habitat for caribou, grizzly bears, and thousands of migratory birds. Created in 1923, the NPR-A was originally envisioned as an emergency fuel supply for the Navy. But in 1976, Congress authorized full commercial development of the reserve and ordered the government to balance oil drilling with conservation and wildlife protection.
The Biden administration banned drilling on 13 million acres of the NPR-A last year, seeking to protect wildlife and responding to concerns from Alaska Native communities. These communities depend on healthy caribou populations, which have experienced sharp declines in recent years. A 2023 Center for Western Priorities analysis of public comments on the Biden-era rule found that 9 out of 10 commenters supported protections for the NPR-A. The Biden administration approved a major drilling project on the eastern side of the NPR-A in 2023.
Lee sets hearing to probe BLM permitting activity
Senator Mike Lee of Utah has scheduled a committee hearing on Wednesday to look into whether the Bureau of Land Management is prioritizing conservation over mining, grazing, and drilling on public lands. The hearing will examine how the agency is interpreting the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. Lee has argued the BLM is prioritizing conservation, despite the Trump administration's single-minded focus on fossil fuel development on public lands.
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[Steve] Pearce’s entire political career has been dedicated to blocking Americans’ access to public lands while giving the oil and gas industry free rein to drill and frack anywhere they wanted.”
