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In this undated photo provided by the United States Geological Survey, permafrost forms a grid-like pattern in the Alaska National Petroleum Reserve managed by the Bureau of Land Management on Alaska's North Slope.
U.S. Geological Survey via David W. Houseknecht/AP
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U.S. Geological Survey via David W. Houseknecht/AP
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In this undated photo provided by the United States Geological Survey, permafrost forms a grid-like pattern in the Alaska National Petroleum Reserve managed by the Bureau of Land Management on Alaska's North Slope.
U.S. Geological Survey via David W. Houseknecht/AP
JUNEAU, Alaska — The Biden administration said Friday it will limit new oil and gas leasing on Alaska's 13 million acres (5.3 million hectares) of federal oil reserves to protect wildlife such as caribou and polar bears as the Arctic continues to warm. Yes.
The decision, part of a years-long fight over whether and how to develop the state's vast oil resources, wraps up protections first proposed last year as the Democratic administration prepares to approve the controversial Willow Petroleum Project .
Willow's approval sparked outrage from environmentalists who said the massive oil project violated President Joe Biden's pledge to combat climate change. Friday's decision also completes a previous plan that called for nearly half of the reserves to be closed to oil and gas leases.
![A judge has ruled that the Willow Oil Project in Alaska's Arctic can proceed.](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2023/11/09/ap23080634099491_sq-d45d30f132e6c0a2ca6e760c315c0625d3f23f2e-s100.jpg)
A group of Republican lawmakers led by Alaska U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan jumped ahead with Friday's announcement of new restrictions at the Alaska National Petroleum Reserve, even before they were announced publicly. Sullivan called it an “unlawful” attack on the state’s economic lifeline and predicted lawsuits.
“This is more than a one-two punch for Alaska, because if you take away access to our resources, they can’t drill, they can’t produce, they can’t explore, they can’t move,” said Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski. — This is what we call energy anxiety.”
The Department of the Interior's decision does not change the terms of existing leases on the reserve or affect currently approved operations, including Willow.
The administration also recommended rejecting the Alaska Mine Road Project.
The Biden administration also recommended Friday that it reject a state-run company's application for a proposed 210-mile (338-kilometer) road in the state's northwest to allow mining of important mineral deposits including copper, cobalt, zinc and silver. And gold. There are no proposed or current mines in the area, and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management determined that the road-building alternatives analyzed “would have significant and irreversible impacts to resources,” the agency said in a statement. A final decision on the recommendations is pending.
“The administration’s decision to reject the Ambler Road project is a monumental step in the fight for Native rights and environmental justice,” said Brian Ridley, president of the Tanana Chiefs Conference, an Alaska Native nonprofit corporation. Tribes of the Tanana Chiefs Conference have expressed concerns that the road will harm their communities, lands and wildlife.
![Biden ended drilling in ANWR, sparking criticism as the Willow Project progresses.](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2023/09/06/ap21153779136561_sq-b7f1d8a31124a668dae686a67e0a3cc8b3f3480e-s100.jpg)
Sullivan criticized the administration for both decisions, saying they undermine U.S. national security interests. Alaska's political leaders have long accused the administration of harming the state with decisions to limit oil, gas, minerals and timber development.
“Joe Biden is OK with our enemies producing energy and controlling the world's vital minerals while shutting ourselves out of America as long as it pleases the far-left radicals who see it as key to his re-election,” Sullivan said on Capitol Hill Thursday. “he said. Press conference with 10 Republican senators: “The world this president has created is truly dangerous.”
Biden defended his decisions regarding oil reserves.
Alaska's magnificent and rugged lands and waters are among the most amazing and healthy landscapes in the world and are of vital importance to Alaska Native communities and demand our protection, he said in a statement.
Nagruk Harcharek, president of the Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat, a group of leaders from Alaska's North Slope, said in a statement that the decision “does not reflect the wishes of our community.” said. The group's board of directors previously passed a resolution opposing the administration's plan for the reserve, and Harcharek expressed frustration that local leaders were not consulted before details of the administration's proposal were made public last September.
![Biden administration approves controversial Alaska Willow drilling project](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2023/03/13/ap23066705605928_sq-51bddff1f543f749ac18cc2e0aeca6d761dfc44e-s100.jpg)
“From our perspective, essentially what you’re doing is reducing the economic potential to a level that we don’t know,” he said in an interview about Friday’s announcement. “There are a lot of unknowns about it.”
The oil industry said the decision to stockpile was “a step in the wrong direction.”
The American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry's top lobbying group, called the rule “misguided” and said it would affect future oil and natural resources in areas where “Congress explicitly intended to strengthen America's energy security.” He said he would sharply limit gas development. Generate revenue for Alaskan communities.
“At a time when the world is looking for American energy leadership, this is another step in the wrong direction,” said Dustin Meyer, API senior vice president.
The oil reserve, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) west of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, is home to caribou and polar bears and provides habitat for millions of migratory birds. It was designated as an emergency petroleum source for the U.S. Navy about 100 years ago, but has been under the supervision of the Department of the Interior since the 1970s. There has been an ongoing and long-standing debate about where oil and gas development should occur.
Most existing leases for oil reserves are concentrated in areas considered to have high development potential, according to the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management. The development potential of other parts of the reserves is low, the agency said.
The rules announced Friday would limit future leasing and industrial development in areas designated special for wildlife, subsistence or other values and require the agency to regularly evaluate whether to designate new special areas or strengthen protections in those areas. I demand it. The agency provided evidence that the Arctic environment is changing rapidly due to climate change, including thawing permafrost and changing habitats for plants and wildlife.
![Despite the closure, the Trump administration continued its efforts to expand oil drilling in Alaska.](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2019/01/11/ap_18033768953666_sq-ee776fa113df8780c952a927177bf9dbd5599d42-s100.jpg)
ConocoPhillips Alaska, which has leases and projects in oil reserves including Willow, said it was reviewing the decision “to determine its scope and effectiveness,” according to a company statement.
Environmental activists support this decision
Environmentalists were pleased with Friday's decision.
“The Biden administration’s actions for the U.S. Arctic demonstrate a commitment to conservation that meets the needs of the region’s incredible vastness and ecological value,” said Kristen Miller, executive director of the Alaska Wilderness League. She said, “Our nation’s public lands are an essential part of solving the climate and biodiversity crises, and this decision could not be made at a more critical time.”
Activist Bill McKibben called the decision a “huge victory”, adding: “We lost the fight against Willow, but the huge outcry meant something really good came out of that fiasco.”
Jeremy Lieb, an attorney with Earthjustice, said the decision was an important step but called for “bolder action to keep fossil fuel industries away from the Arctic for the sake of the climate and future generations.” Earthjustice is currently pursuing a lawsuit in a federal appeals court seeking to overturn Willow's approval.
A decision in this case is pending.