WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of the Interior advanced two actions that maintain protections on Bureau of Land Management (BLM)-managed public lands in Alaska that are home to key fish and wildlife habitat, sensitive rivers and streams, and other resources that are critical to the state’s subsistence economy and the way of life for Alaska Native communities.
The steps build on the Biden-Harris administration’s actions to conserve millions of acres of lands and waters in Alaska, including implementing maximum protections for more than 13 million acres of Special Areas in the western Arctic and protecting approximately 2.8 million acres of the Beaufort Sea to place the entire United States Arctic Ocean off limits to new oil and gas leasing. President Biden is on track to conserve more lands and waters than any President in history.
“The Department of the Interior takes seriously our obligations to manage America’s public lands for the benefit of all people,” said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. “In Alaska, that includes ensuring that we consider the impacts of proposed actions on Alaska Native and rural subsistence users. Guided by feedback from tribal nations, Native corporations and the best-available science, the steps we are taking today ensure these important areas remain intact for generations to come.” …