Interior Department Opens Up 2.1 Million Acres in Alaska for Energy Projects

The Department of the Interior (DOI) is opening up roughly 2.1 million acres of public land in Alaska for major energy projects, according to a Feb. 20 statement.

The land is in Alaska’s Dalton Utility Corridor, which includes the Alaska Liquid Natural Gas line, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, and the Ambler Road project, which aims to develop a 211-mile mining road in the region.

The 1959 Alaska Statehood Act authorized the transfer of approximately 105 million acres of federal land to Alaska, out of which the state still has not received roughly 5.2 million acres from the federal government. The latest action from the DOI “clears the way” for Alaska to obtain part of the remaining land, the department said.

The Bureau of Land Management is working with Alaska to identify the portion of the 2.1 million acres of land to which it will take title, “moving closer to fulfilling its remaining 5.2-million-acre entitlement,” according to the agency. “This will give Alaska greater control over its natural resources and economic future.”

The action “is a major step forward for Alaskans to realize the promise the federal government made to us more than 60 years ago—a statehood land entitlement for Alaska to develop its resources and support its residents,” Alaska Department of Natural Resources Commissioner-designee John Crowther said.

“We will continue to work in coordination and cooperation with the Department of the Interior on our relinquishment plan to ensure that the state’s highest-priority acreage will be available for transfer to the people of Alaska.”

The latest action supports a January 2025 executive order signed by President Donald Trump—”Unleashing American Energy”—and a February 2025 order from the DOI secretary.

In the executive order, Trump wrote that the United States was blessed with an abundance of energy and natural resources whose development has been impeded by burdensome and ideologically motivated regulations.

The president ordered agencies to review all agency actions that potentially burden the development of domestic energy resources.

The February 2025 Interior order implements the provisions of Trump’s executive order.

Commenting on the opening of 2.1 million acres of Alaskan land, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said: “President Trump was clear—promises made are promises kept and this decision is about unlocking opportunity for American Energy Dominance to lower costs for all American families.

“We are empowering Alaska to chart its own course and develop energy, minerals, and infrastructure that strengthen America’s security and prosperity.”

Group Opposes the Transfer

In a Feb. 20 statement, environmental group Sierra Club criticized the DOI decision.

The move hands over control of federal public lands to the Alaska state government, which has sought to make the region more open to industrial-scale drilling and mining, the group said.

“This order will only help corporate polluters transform the Last Frontier into an industrial zone. It’s a decision meant to help line corporate pockets and ignore local communities, Tribes, and wildlife who rely on these landscapes,” said Dan Ritzman, Sierra Club’s Director of Conservation.

“Alaska is home to some of the country’s last true wild places, and proposed projects like Alaska LNG and the Ambler road will lead to irreversible damages to these irreplaceable lands.”

Meanwhile, the DOI announced on Feb. 23 that it finalized “sweeping reforms” to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in a way that will accelerate project approvals and cut red tape.

The reforms will rescind more than 80 percent of NEPA rules, getting rid of “outdated and duplicative regulatory provisions” that had accumulated over decades, the DOI said.

“The reforms are expected to significantly reduce delays and costs for projects across public lands, including energy development, critical minerals, livestock grazing approvals, infrastructure, wildfire mitigation, water projects, and conservation efforts,” the department said.

“Interior estimates the changes will save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars over time by shortening review timelines and reducing unnecessary paperwork, while maintaining transparency and informed decision-making.”