Interior Department Transfers 1.4 Million Acres to Alaska, Expands State Control Over Resources

The Department of the Interior announced on May 6 that it has transferred about 1.4 million acres of land along the Dalton Utility Corridor to Alaska, giving the state more control over its resources.

“This corridor encompasses some of Alaska’s most critical transportation and energy assets, including portions of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System corridor, the Dalton Highway, and proposed routes for the Ambler Road and Alaska Liquified Natural Gas projects,” the department said in a May 6 statement.

“With conveyance of these lands north of the Yukon River, the Bureau of Land Management has fulfilled more than 96 percent of the state’s entitlement under the Alaska Statehood Act, expanding Alaska’s opportunities for resource development, strengthening local economies, and enhancing the state’s control of its own economic destiny.”

The 1959 Alaska Statehood Act authorized the transfer of roughly 105 million acres of federal land to the state. With the recent transfer, Alaska has 3.8 million acres remaining out of its 105 million-acre entitlement under the act.

According to the Department of the Interior, the land transfer unlocks various resource opportunities in the state, in line with President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20, 2025, executive order titled “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential.”

In the order, Trump wrote that Alaska holds an “abundant and largely untapped supply” of natural resources that can only be unleashed by ending the “assault on Alaska’s sovereignty and its ability to responsibly develop these resources for the benefit of the Nation.”

Commenting on the recent land transfer, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said, “President Trump is delivering on his commitment to unleash Alaska’s vast resources—advancing the Alaska Liquefied Natural Gas project, the Ambler Road, and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline—to strengthen our economy, bolster national security, and drive down costs for American families.”

In a May 6 statement, environmental group Sierra Club criticized the land transfer decision.

“This action will only help corporate polluters transform Alaska into an industrial wasteland—destroying irreplaceable landscapes for the sake of expanding the portfolios of mining and oil and gas companies that will never have to live with the consequences of this destruction,” Dan Ritzman, Sierra Club’s director of conservation, said.

“This decision completely ignores the wishes of local communities and tribes that depend upon these untouched areas for their livelihoods, cultures, and regional identities.”

In the February Northeast Alaska Area Plan report, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources Division of Mining, Land, and Water said the plan will seek to ensure that development of land and water resources in the region is “balanced with environmental concerns.”

Regarding the Dalton Highway Corridor Region, the report said that decisions regarding development “shall consider potential impacts on the habitat and harvest values and include stipulations/conditions/measures that will avoid, minimize, or mitigate potential negative effects.”

Meanwhile, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy celebrated the land transfer in a May 6 post on X, saying that the state was taking control of its own future.

The transfer “marks a major step toward fulfilling statehood land promises and expanding opportunities for energy, infrastructure, and economic growth,” Dunleavy said.

On Dec. 22, 2025, the Bureau of Land Management announced plans to open more parts of the 23 million-acre National Petroleum Reserve on Alaska’s North Slope for oil and gas drilling in the state.

The decision raised the portion of the reserve authorized for drilling from 11.8 million to 18.5 million acres.

“By reopening nearly 82 percent of the 23-million-acre reserve to responsible oil and gas leasing, this decision restores balance, strengthens our energy security, and creates opportunities for good-paying jobs while maintaining strong environmental standards,” Dunleavy said in a Dec. 22 post on X. “Alaska stands ready to help power the nation.”