The ANWR coastal plain spans more than 1.5 million acres and is known for its landscape Biodiversity. As a BLM web page It is also believed to contain between 4.25 and 11.8 billion barrels of “technically recoverable oil,” according to US Geological Survey estimates.
Trump returned to the White House last year backed by campaign money from major oil companies and Deputy Secretary of the Interior Kate MacGregor. He said Friday that “after three Congressional resolutions and several successful lawsuits making it abundantly clear that oil and gas leasing in this region of Alaska is legal, it is a great honor to once again announce another lease sale in the Coastal Plain.”
MacGregor framed the prospective sale as just one part of the administration’s pro-fossil fuel agenda, adding, “President Trump has long supported Alaska’s important contribution to America’s energy dominance, and the Interior Department is proud to take the necessary and lasting steps to unleash these important resources on behalf of the American people.”
Previous attempts to open ANWR to drilling suggest the sale may not attract much industry interest. Taxpayers for common sense He pointed out Friday, that two previous projects required under the GOP’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act “were originally estimated to bring taxpayers nearly $1 billion in revenue, but fell well short of that expectation.” First rental salewhich was held in January 2021, made only $16.5 million. the Second lease saleHeld in January 2025, it attracted no bidders and generated no revenue.”
However, as the Anchorage Daily News reported, the next sale plan “comes on the heels of another recent lease sale, at the Alaska National Petroleum Reserve to the west of the refuge, which It aroused great interest From oil companies,” which “raises questions about the size of the bids that may occur in the refuge,” especially since Trump’s war on Iran led to a rise in global oil prices.
However, critics have highlighted previous ANWR sales, including the first director of the Alaska Wilderness Society, Meda DeWitt, who He said“Once again, the oil industry’s allies in Congress are ignoring public opinion and the undeniable facts of the climate crisis by moving to drill in the sacred coastal plain and endangering the freedom of local communities to preserve their cultures and ways of life for future generations.”
“Two previous leases have been economic failures, proving that the ridiculous Arctic refugee leasing program must be abolished and the calving grounds of the Porcupine Caribou herd must be permanently protected,” DeWitt said.
Likewise, America Fitzpatrick of the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) said, “The American people have repeatedly said they oppose drilling in the Arctic Refuge. The last lease sale in 2024 resulted in no bids. Not only is drilling here economically bad, it is reckless and wildly unpopular. Instead of tying our hands to become more reliant on fossil fuels, the administration should focus on prioritizing cleaner, more affordable and more reliable energy sources. Like clean energy.”
“We simply cannot dig our way out of high energy costs,” said Fitzpatrick, the group’s conservation program director. “The United States is already producing more oil and gas than ever before, but when Trump triggered a global energy crisis, prices rose again. LCV stands with the Gwich’in people in their fight to ensure there is no drilling in the Arctic Refuge. Not now, not never.”
The Gwich’in, an indigenous people living in Alaska and Canada, have long defended the refuge from fossil fuel spills, and are currently involved in litigation over Trump’s Interior Department leasing program for the coastal plain.
“The Net’s Gwich’in Tribe has made clear our position that any development in the Coastal Plain will have irreversible negative impacts on our people, culture and way of life,” Ryan Garnett, First Chief of the Finiti Native Tribe Government, said Friday. “This lease sale, once again, ignores our sovereignty and poses a direct threat to the sacred land our people inhabit.”
“No amount of money can make this land less sacred to our people or less important to our way of life,” stressed Carlas Norman, first president of the Finite Village Council. “The Trump administration’s recent actions to promote oil and gas development in the Coastal Plain do not change the fact that this land is sacred, that industry has moved away, and that the Gwich’in people will never stop fighting to protect it.”
“The Trump administration’s continued pressure to auction off this sacred land despite overwhelming public opposition and an industry that has already indicated it is not interested, demonstrates that this administration values corporate interests over the rights and lives of indigenous peoples,” said Galen Gilbert, first president of the Arctic Village Council.
Gilbert also pledged that “we will continue to fight with all available means to protect the coastal plain for our children and for all future generations.”
Christine Moreland, executive director of the Gwich’in Steering Committee, also pledged that the “Gwich’in Nation remains committed to being a voice for the Caribou and fighting oil and gas development in the Arctic refuge.”
Moreland continued: “We condemn these efforts by the Trump administration to exploit the lands of the porcupine caribou herd for short-term gain, and we know that the majority of Americans stand with us in opposing development in this cherished and irreplaceable landscape.” “We have raised our voices and are fighting[ing] “In order to protect this sacred land and our way of life for decades, we will not back down now.”
Also in a nod to the American public’s stance, Andy Modrow, senior policy director for the Alaska Wilderness League, has put pressure on the industry to move away from lease sales later this spring.
“For decades, the American people have understood that the Arctic is not an industrial zone for oil development, and this sale simply flies in the face of common sense,” Modrow said. “Any oil and gas company even considering purchasing these leases should know that, if they do so, they will send a clear message to the American people – that no place in Alaska is too sacred to be drilled in the pursuit of corporate profits. We urge companies to agree to sell the Arctic Refuge lease, and look forward to restoring protections for this landscape in the years to come.”
According to the Anchorage Daily News, “Any new leases would be subject to a lawsuit filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Friends of the Earth,” Elizabeth Manning, a spokeswoman for Earthjustice, said in an email Friday.
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