Lease Sale In Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve To Be Held March 9; With Reaction From Opponents

As part of the Trump administration’s plans to increase oil and natural gas drilling despite heavy opposition, areas around significant natural resources in and around Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the National Petroleum Reserve are being targeted. The Department of the Interior announced a March 9 lease sale that could threaten caribou and other fish and wildlife in the area.

Trump Admin Schedules Contentious Western Arctic Lease Sale Likely Including Lands Within the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area

(Nuiqsut, Alaska) – The Department of the Interior today announced it will hold an oil and gas lease sale in the Western Arctic on March 9 – offering over 600 tracts across approximately 5.5 million acres of public lands. This lease sale is the first of at least five mandated by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. More details about the areas included will be released tomorrow. 

“If the Administration’s decision to sell off public lands in the Western Arctic to oil and gas development were truly for the common good, it wouldn’t face such widespread opposition,” said Rosemary Ahtuangaruak, Executive Director of Grandmothers Growing Goodness. “A long history of community leaders has worked for decades to protect the Teshekpuk Lake area from harmful oil and gas development, and all of these protections have been eliminated so that this area, essential to our subsistence practices, can be sold for development. When will it be enough? We must stand together for goodness over destruction, and demand better from our leaders.” 

Rosemary also wrote an opinion editorial that was published today in the Arctic Sounder. The piece details how the Trump Administration’s Arctic actions threaten subsistence. She writes: 

“Our leaders cannot ignore these facts much longer – our survival is on the line. What will it take for us to be heard?” 

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act opens vast tracts of public lands—4 million acres per sale—under the 2020 Trump-era Integrated Activity Plan, including a large part of the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area. Teshekpuk Lake is the largest lake in Arctic Alaska and the third largest in the state, supporting one of the most productive and unique wetland complexes in the circumpolar Arctic. The area is vital for the Teshekpuk Caribou Herd and other wildlife that are integral to Indigenous subsistence practices, supporting hunting, fishing, and gathering.

Additional Information: 

This first lease sale follows numerous announcements from the Trump Administration aimed at taking away protections for the Arctic in favor of expanding oil and gas development, which includes: 

• Repealing the Biden Administration’s protections for 13 million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska (Western Arctic Reserve).
• Beginning the process to offer nearly 16 million acres of public lands in the Western Arctic Reserve for leasing. 
• Releasing a draft Environmental Assessment for ConocoPhillips’ winter exploration activities, which include drilling exploration wells and conducting seismic exploration near Nuiqsut and within the Colville River Special Area and Teshekpuk Lake Special Area.