The Department of the Interior Finalizes Protections for 28 Million Acres of Public Lands in Alaska

The Department of Interior (DOI) affirmed the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) recommendation today by upholding continued protections for 28 million acres of lands under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). This decision ensures these critically important ecological areas will continue to be safeguarded against fossil fuel leasing, hard rock mining, and other extractive development.

The DOI’s Record of Decision (ROD) finalizes the recommendation of a final environmental impact statement (FEIS) issued by the BLM on June 28 that studied the possibility of lifting protections on these critical lands. The Trump administration tried to open these lands to industrial development but, thankfully, they did not complete that work.

Under pressure from those who still wanted to develop these lands, the BLM agreed to study the environmental consequences of lifting protections for these D-1 lands. In its FEIS, the BLM recommended maintaining the existing D-1 protections to protect the health and resilience of Alaska’s ecosystems, and to protect subsistence hunting, fishing, and gathering for Alaska Native peoples.

The lands are named D-1 lands because they are protected by section 17 (d)(1) of ANCSA. The lands that were under reconsideration for development crisscross Northwest, Southwest, Southcentral and Southeast Alaska. They support significant salmon populations, large caribou herds, important migratory bird habitat for hundreds of migrating species, and many other fish and wildlife species.

These D-1 protections were put into place to ensure that the public interest in these lands was considered, including preserving food access within these ecologically rich areas for Alaska Native peoples and communities.

“We’re celebrating today with the Alaska Tribes who led this effort to keep these critical lands protected for now and for future generations,” said Charisse Arce, Earthjustice Senior Attorney. “DOI’s decision today reinforced what Tribes and others have known all along: these intact lands hold vital cultural, biological, and ecological values. We are grateful that a thorough reevaluation by BLM resulted in upholding these important protections.”