On Wednesday the Biden administration announced it would cancel seven Trump-era oil and gas leases in Alaska. The leases cover 365,000 acres in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A). The NPR-A includes 23 million acres on Alaska’s North Slope and is the largest undistributed public land in the U.S. The Department of Interior will ban new leases on more than 40 percent of the reserve. The Biden administration said these actions are aimed at safeguarding Alaska’s Arctic region, and are part of a broader conservation and climate agenda. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), criticizing the move, posted on X, “This war on Alaska is devastating for not only Alaska but also the energy security of the nation. This unlawful cancellation of leases brings us to 55 executive orders and actions specifically targeting Alaska since President Biden assumed office.”
