Last week, the Department of the Interior announced that it would take four major steps to support Alaska’s responsible energy development and improve the lives of Alaskans.
Of most importance is the reopening of 1.56 million acres of Alaska’s Coastal Plain, a non-wilderness section of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) also known as the 1002 Area, to oil and gas exploration. In 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made no more than 2,000 federal acres (or about three square miles, or 0.001%) of the Coastal Plain eligible for exploration. Multiple leases were awarded through a lease sale in January 2021, which the Biden administration suspended and revoked.
Last week, the Department of the Interior issued a new record of decision allowing oil and gas leasing in the 1.56 million acres of the Coastal Plain, superseding the previous administration’s decisions in 2021 and 2024. Interior is also reinstating leases to several leaseholders and soliciting feedback on which tracts should be made available in the National Petroleum Reserve for lease sales this winter.
Earlier this month, the administration approved the Ambler Road, a proposed 211-mile private road in northwest Alaska that will unlock access for exploration and development of significant quantities of zinc, lead, silver, cobalt, and copper. As part of last week’s announcement, the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have reissued the necessary permits to proceed. Interior also transferred 23,600 acres near the Ambler road to the State of Alaska.
One lesser-known—but no less important—issue was addressed by the Department of the Interior’s actions last week. Interior has approved a land exchange that would allow a life-saving, year-round road to connect the community of King Cove to the Cold Bay airport. This road is supported by the Aleut Corporation, which notes that since 2013, the community has endured 257 medevacs in dangerous weather conditions.
A 2011 history of the road given to a Senate committee details decades of advocacy from the local community. At the time, the city was “optimistic” that “by summer 2012” the land exchange would be finalized and “thus allow for the construction of the road.” At least in 2025, the Trump administration is delivering on those hopes.
U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, as well as U.S. Congressman Nick Begich and Governor Mike Dunleavy, participated in the announcement at the Department of the Interior. Senator Murkowski said, “It is great to see the reinstatement of permits for Ambler that should have never been revoked in the first place, and the restoration of a Coastal Plain program that reflects federal law.”
Rep. Begich said, “This Administration is demonstrating that Alaska’s potential is America’s strength. These decisions unlock our resource potential and ensure that Alaska remains at the center of our nation’s strategic future.”
By restoring responsible access to its vast reserves of energy and minerals, and by finally prioritizing the needs of its communities, the administration is signaling that Alaska’s prosperity and America’s strength are deeply intertwined. Development and environmental stewardship can coexist, to the benefit of both Alaskans and the nation.