Alaska politicians hope Trump allows drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly promised in his campaign to expand oil drilling in the US, which is good news for political leaders in Alaska, where oil is the mainstay of the economy and many feel that the Biden administration has blocked efforts to increase the state’s dwindling production.

The debate over drilling on state lands in Alaska’s oil-rich North Slope is likely to be renewed in the coming months, particularly in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which environmentalists have long sought to protect as one of the nation’s last wild places.

On Saturday, Trump nominated Chris Wright — a campaign donor, fossil fuel executive and vocal advocate for oil and gas development — to serve as energy secretary in his second administration.

The question of drilling in the coastal refuge, as Trump wanted to do in his first term, is also dividing Alaska Native communities. Some welcome the potential new revenue while others worry about how it will affect wildlife in an area they consider sacred.

What is the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge?

The nation’s largest wildlife refuge covers an area of ​​northeastern Alaska roughly the size of South Carolina. It has a diverse landscape of mountains and glaciers, tundra plains, rivers and boreal forest, and is home to a variety of wildlife including polar bears, caribou, musk oxen and birds.

The battle over whether to drill in the Beaufort Sea refuge goes back decades. Proponents of drilling say the development could create thousands of jobs, generate billions of dollars in revenue, and boost US oil production.
Although the US Bureau of Land Management has said that the coastal plain may contain 4.25 to 11.8 billion barrels of oil, there is limited information about the quantity and quality of the oil. And it’s not clear whether companies will want to take the risk of pursuing projects that could end up in court. Environmentalists and climate scientists are pushing for a phase-out of fossil fuels to avoid the worst effects of climate change.

The refuge is east of the Prudhoe Bay oil fields and the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, where the Biden administration approved the controversial Willow oil project but also made nearly half of the petroleum reserve off limits on oil and gas leasing.

Were there any attempts to break into the shelter?

An exploratory well was dug in the 1980s in lands where Alaska Native organizations had rights, but little information has been released about the results.

Still, opening the coastal plain to mining has been a longtime goal for members of Alaska’s congressional delegation. In 2017, they added language to the tax bill authorizing two sales of oil and gas leases by late 2024.

The first sale took place in the waning days of the last Trump administration, but President Joe Biden quickly called on Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to review the lease.

That led to the cancellation of seven leases obtained by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, a state agency. Small companies stopped leasing the other two. A lawsuit is pending regarding the canceled leases.

The Biden administration recently released a new environmental review, ahead of the deadline for a second required sale. It proposes to give away what the Bureau of Land Management said would be the minimum acreage allowed by the 2017 law—a proposal Alaska’s Republican U.S. senators have made a mockery of legislation meant to encourage exploration.

What do Alaska Natives want?

There is a sharp division.

Leaders of the Iñupiaq community of Kaktovik, which is within the refuge area, support the excavation. Gwich’in officials in communities near the refuge said they consider the coastal plain sacred. Caribou depend on the calf there.

Galen Gilbert, chief executive of the Arctic Village Council, said the refuge should be banned from drilling. Arctic Village is a Neets’aii Gwich’in community.

“We don’t want to trouble anyone. We don’t want anything. We just want our way of life, not only for us, but also for our future generations,” said Gilbert.

Kaktovik leaders have vowed to fight any efforts by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to designate the lands as a sanctuary. Josiah Patkotak, the mayor of the North Slope Borough, which includes Kaktovik, said in an October statement that the land “has never been” Gwich’in territory.

“The federal government must understand that any attempt to undermine our sovereignty will be met with strong opposition,” he wrote.

Oil is important to the economic well-being of North Slope communities, said Nagruk Harcharek, president of Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat, a nonprofit advocacy group whose members include leaders in the region. Responsible development has long existed with sustainable lifestyles, he said.

After Trump’s election, what could change?

In a video posted on X by Gov. Republican Mike Dunleavy, Trump said he will work to ensure the construction of a natural gas pipeline project that has long been sought by state political leaders. The project, opposed by environmentalists, has faltered over the years due to changes in guidelines under various governors, cost concerns and other factors.

While voters “may have mistreated” Trump, they “are very grateful that his policies, when it comes to resource development, are policies that work to benefit an economy like Alaska’s,” Trump critic US Senator Lisa Murkowski told reporters. .

“Therefore, I would expect us to see a return to economic opportunities through the development of resources,” he said.

Dunleavy said Trump could roll back restrictions imposed by the Biden administration on new oil and gas leases on 13 million acres (5.3 million hectares) of oil reserves. Harcharek’s group complained about these restrictions, saying that the elected leaders of the region were being ignored.

Erik Grafe, an attorney for Earthjustice in Alaska, said the oil reserve was not set aside “for oil extraction by all means.” Other important resources must be looked into and given protection under the law, he said.

“Oil is not the future and it never will be,” said Grafe. “The government must start thinking about Plan B, post-oil.”

-Becky Bohrer, Associated Press