The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently released a draft report that could impact the management of 28 million acres of public land in Alaska. The report details the potential environmental impacts of opening up the land to extractive industry, including mining, oil, and gas development.
The land was previously protected from such development under the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Public land on the table for potential development includes 5,000 miles of pristine salmon streams and critical habitats for three of North America’s largest caribou herds, according to AlaskaLands.org. It also includes land in the Brooks Range and Bristol Bay Region, both areas that have been the focal points of recent conservation fights.
According to the Anchorage Daily News, the draft report has been years in the making. The first steps to remove protections on these BLM lands began under the Trump Administration at the behest of Alaska’s governor and senators, as well as Doyon, a Native-owned corporation that is also the state’s largest landowner. The Biden Administration reportedly found flaws in the previous administration’s efforts, hence the new environmental review. Not only could the plan lead to opening mineral development, but it could also transfer some of the land out of federal ownership.