The Trump administration has approved more oil and gas drilling across Alaska’s Arctic national wildlife refuge (ANWR), prompting widespread criticism from environmental conservation organizations.
On Thursday, the interior secretary announced the opening of 1.56m acres across ANWR’s coastal plains, which is home to various wildlife including polar bears, caribou and moose, as well as whales and seals.
The interior department also announced an oil and gas lease sale with the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska this winter, which is set to mark the first sale in the 23m-acre reserve since 2019. Thursday’s announcement comes as part of the Trump administration’s reversal of Joe Biden’s decision in 2024 to expand federal protections across the reserve.
In addition, the department reissued necessary permits to establish the Ambler Road Project, a controversial proposal for a 211-mile gravel road, part of which will be built through south-western Alaska’s Izembek national wildlife refuge.
Once built, the road would endanger more than 200,000 migratory birds that cross through the refuge annually, among other wildlife, according to the National Wildlife Refuge Association. The project would also threaten multiple Indigenous tribes that rely on the area for hunting and fishing. At least 39 of Alaska’s interior villages and 37 tribes oppose the road.
Meanwhile, proponents of the project include Alaska’s congressional representatives, who have said that the road is necessary to access a $7bn copper deposit, as well as other manufacturing minerals including cobalt and zinc.
Hailing the moves on Thursday, the US interior secretary, Doug Burgum, said: “From day one, President Trump directed us to unlock Alaska’s energy and resource potential while honoring commitments to the state and local communities.
“By reopening the coastal plain and advancing key infrastructure, we are strengthening energy independence, creating jobs and supporting Alaska’s communities while driving economic growth across the state,” he added.
Environmental groups have sounded the alarm, with the Alaska Wilderness League saying: “The Arctic refuge is the crown jewel of our public lands system. During a government shutdown, when everyday Americans are left without basic services, President Trump has chosen to double down on failed policies that prioritize oil corporations over people.”
“Opening the entire coastal plain of the Arctic refuge to drilling would destroy one of the most ecologically significant landscapes on earth – the birthing grounds of the porcupine caribou herd, vital habitat for polar bears and migratory birds, and sacred land for the Gwich’in people who have stewarded its resources for millennia,” the group added.
Similarly, the non-profit public interest group Earthjustice condemned the announcement, with its attorney Erik Grafe saying: “Today’s Arctic refuge announcement puts America – and Alaska – last. Expanding oil drilling in the Arctic threatens irreplaceable wildlife and cultural traditions that exist nowhere else in the world … The Gwich’in people, most Americans, and even major banks and insurance companies know the Arctic refuge is no place to drill.”
The Sierra Club echoed similar sentiments, saying: “These decisions will collectively wreak havoc on fragile Alaska ecosystems in the most disruptive way possible, causing long-term environmental damage, all to boost the bottom lines of CEOs.”
