The Biden administration is rolling out new environmental protections targeting more than 1 million acres in Alaska in a last-ditch effort to protect areas affected by President-elect Donald Trump’s “Drill, Baby, Drill” energy plan. announced.

Department of the Interior (DOI) announced Thursday’s move seeks to protect 1.3 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A) and its “critical subsistence resources.” The measure would require the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to formally explain how potential drilling activities could affect hunting and fishing in the area.

“Through our efforts to obtain feedback from the public, we identified critical resource values ​​in NPR-A and heard important comments about the need to protect survival,” Acting Secretary of the Interior Laura Daniel Davis said in a statement. ” he said. . “Fish and wildlife have provided food for Alaska Native people in this region for thousands of years. Based on the information we received and our legal obligations, we are implementing processes to ensure their protection. I concluded that I needed to start.” (Related: Biden administration invokes ‘Indigenous knowledge’ to cut Alaska drilling, but some tribal leaders are ready to take on President Trump)

Biden administration expected to clear 31 million acres for solar power after sealing off oil and gas in vast swathes of Alaskahttps://t.co/C3AUKnGG4o

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 31, 2024

Former President Warren G. Harding NPR-A Established in 1923, it was originally used as an emergency fuel reserve for the U.S. Navy. NPR-A currently covers approximately 23 million acres, and the Biden administration has already moved to ban drilling on 13 million acres in April 2024.

The safeguards announced Thursday could complicate President Trump’s plan to unlock oil and gas production across America’s federal lands and waters by introducing new legal hurdles. According to In the New York Times. But the new policy “probably” won’t completely stop the Trump administration, the Times reported.

Environmental groups applauded the Biden administration’s last-minute move, while a Republican Alaska congressman praised the Biden administration’s last-minute move. nick begich President Nagluk Halcharek voice Arctic Inupiat (voice), both condemned the policy.

“This doesn’t create a lasting policy for the state of Alaska.” north slope. Today’s developments exemplify the Biden administration’s broken policy process, which prioritizes short-term political wins over lasting solutions for the communities directly affected by its actions,” Hercharek said. said. said Thursday. “It is shocking that our lands, communities and culture continue to be treated as pet legacy projects of the outgoing Biden administration, especially after voters in our region and across the country categorically rejected the federal government’s policy agenda. That’s very insulting.”

“North Slope Iñupiat will continue to fight the Biden administration’s attempts to deny self-determination in our ancestral homeland,” Harcharek continued. “After the Trump-Vance administration takes office next week, we look forward to building a more collaborative relationship characterized by mutual respect.”

DOI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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