The Interior Department is taking additional steps to enable oil and gas drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, revoking Biden-era documents that called for expanding “Special Areas” that receive extra protection and are known for their unique wildlife and subsistence values.
The move continues the yearslong back-and-forth that has seen both Trump administrations take steps to loosen efforts by Democratic predecessors to limit oil and gas development in the reserve.
The 23 million-acre reserve on Alaska’s North Slope is home to ConocoPhillips’ giant Willow oil field on its eastern flank, and is the subject of growing oil exploration in recent years. The current Special Areas, representing more than half the reserve, are Teshekpuk Lake, Utukok River Uplands, Colville River, Kasegaluk Lagoon, and Peard Bay.
A conservation group argued this week that the revocation of the documents makes a mockery of the Interior Department’s ongoing public comment period that ends Monday regarding those enhanced protections for the areas.
But Alaska’s Congressional delegation and a group representing elected Iñupiaq leadership from Alaska’s North Slope said Tuesday they supported the Interior Department’s actions.
The revocation is related to a move by Interior in June to rescind a 2024, Biden-era rule regarding Special Areas. The comment period is part of that review ends.
Interior says the rule “significantly expanded procedural requirements and created a presumption against oil and gas activity” in the areas.
As part of its effort to revoke that rule, the Trump administration on Monday said it was revoking three Biden-era policy documents.
The revoked documents include a memorandum addressing interim management of the reserve and a report titled “Maximizing Protection in the National Petroleum Reserve — Alaska.”
The documents were issued in the closing days of the Biden administration in January, part of a recommendation that about 3 million additional acres be classified as Special Areas, atop the 13 million acres that already have that designation.
“Alaska’s resource potential has been held hostage for years by anti-development ideologues,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a Monday statement. “The Trump administration is delivering certainty for industry, opportunity for Alaskans and real energy security for the American people.”
Alaska’s congressional delegation said the rescission of the documents supports balanced management between environmental protections and oil activity.
“While the last administration sought to shut down our petroleum reserve — and refused to meaningfully consult with the Alaska Natives who actually live on the North Slope — Secretary Burgum and his team are decisively correcting that course,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski said in a statement from the delegation.
The Alaska Wilderness League said in a statement the documents that are being scrapped were created after a period of thorough public comment.
Scrapping them undermines this new public comment period that ends Aug. 4, the group said. It also removes temporary protections that might have limited oil and gas activity while the Trump administration reviews the rule.
“Today’s action is a direct attack on science and traditional knowledge, putting iconic Western Arctic landscapes more at risk of oil and gas industrialization, when in fact the law requires strong protections,” said Andy Moderow, senior director of policy at the Alaska Wilderness League. “The previous administration took a thoughtful, legally grounded approach to safeguard subsistence harvests of fish, caribou, and other resources.”
Moderow said the group will fight to restore the protections.