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In its first months, the Biden administration has embarked on a bold course to reform the broken and outdated system for drilling on our public lands and ensure extractive projects undergo comprehensive reviews that take into account impacts on local communities and our climate. The Interior Department has enacted a temporary pause on issuing new oil and gas leases, and Secretary Deb Haaland recently issued an executive order suspending oil leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Recently, though, the administration has also taken action to uphold several controversial Trump-era drilling and mining projects, including a massive drilling project in the Alaskan Arctic, a land swap paving the way for an Arizona copper mine in sacred Apache territory, and drilling leases on the doorstep of Dinosaur National Monument. The moves underscore the administration's complicated task of complying with laws and judicial precedent, while simultaneously seeking to reform a system that has long favored drilling and mining on public lands over conservation and tribal rights.
Going forward, the Biden administration has proposed increasing funding to advance renewable energy development on public lands and boost resources for Native American tribes to manage natural resources. However, the administration's recent actions to defend extractive Trump-era projects shows that significant reform will take time, and that progress is not always a straight line.
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