On Monday, the Trump administration moved to open up millions of acres of protected Alaskan wildlife for the oil and gas industry to exploit. The action comes after the industry donated millions to Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.
Interior Secretary and failed presidential candidate Doug Burgum said the government would rescind a ban on drilling on the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The territory of nearly 23 million acres is the biggest contiguous region of undisturbed public land in the United States. It is a vital territory for thousands of migrating birds, caribou, fish, and other marine life, which would be threatened by drilling for fuel.
Kristen Miller, executive director of the Alaska Wilderness League, said in a statement the Trump action would “roll back protections in the most ecologically important areas of the Western Arctic” and that the new direction would threaten “wildlife, local communities, and our climate.”
“These lands are home to caribou, migratory birds, and vital subsistence resources that Indigenous communities have relied on for generations. The public fought hard for these protections, and we won’t stay silent while they’re dismantled,” she added.
The Trump administration is pushing for oil companies to drill in the area and reportedly plans to lobby for the construction of a natural gas pipeline in the region.
The Sierra Club, which advocates for the protection of natural resources and habitats, echoed the concerns of the Wilderness League.
“Donald Trump is trying to giftwrap the Western Arctic with a bow for Big Oil CEOs. Rescinding this rule would send us back to the days when oil and gas companies had free rein to drill our public lands for pennies on the dollar, and American families were left holding the bag,” said Ben Jealous, the group’s executive director, in a statement.
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, shown in January 2020
Alaska’s all-Republican congressional delegation, Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and at-large Rep. Nick Begich, supports the plan. Murkowski, who has mildly criticized Trump’s broader dictatorial actions, hailed the decision for purportedly allowing “Alaska to produce more energy.”
Trump’s decision is a reversal from the Biden administration, which put in place regulations in 2024 meant to protect the region now under assault from Trump. The environmental group Earthjustice praised Biden at the time, noting the federal rules would protect birds, bears, caribou, and other species.
The decision to open up National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska to drilling comes after Trump pushed in April for increased drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, the site of the disastrous 2010 BP oil spill, which released millions of barrels of oil into the water, killing off tens of thousands of animals and harming the health of people tasked with cleaning it up.
During the 2024 election, Trump told oil executives he would roll back environmental protections enacted by Biden if they gave his campaign money. And they did, donating millions to Trump and other Republican candidates.
Now the oil companies are set to cash in with their man in the White House. Birds, fish, and bears will just have to die.
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