Home | Alaska Wilderness League

KEEP ALASKA OUT OF THE BUDGET BILL

Tell your Senator that you do not want to hand over our wildest, most-loved places to Big Oil and billionaires who profit while we pay the price. Industrialization in the Arctic is too expensive, too risky, and just plain stupid.

Tell your lawmakers: The Arctic is not for sale.

Take Action

Alaska Wilderness League works to ensure that Alaska's wild landscapes endure to support vibrant communities and abundant wildlife for generations to come.

CHECK OUT OUR WILD ALASKA BLOG:

Trump Admin Announces Plan to Rescind Roadless Rule

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: 6/23/2025 Contact: Anja Semanco | 724-967-2777 | anja@alaskawild.org In response to the Trump administration’s announcement about the nationwide Roadless Rule repeal, Andy Moderow, Senior Policy Director at Alaska Wilderness League, released the following statement: “A national repeal of the Roadless Rule is yet another attack, not only on Alaska, but on America’s public lands. Make no mistake: this…

Dave Shreffler_NPRA_HUMANS(2)__3536238953

Trump’s latest attack would open 82% of America’s largest block of public land to oil and gas leasing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: 6/18/2025 Contact: Anja Semanco | 724-967-2777 | anja@alaskawild.org Trump’s latest attack would open 82% of America’s largest block of public land to oil and gas leasing The Trump administration’s proposed drilling rollback sacrifices caribou, climate, and Indigenous rights for fossil fuel expansion in Alaska. Washington, D.C. – Late in the day on June…

The Senate’s Budget Bill: A Massive Giveaway of Alaska’s Wildest Places

On June 11, 2025, the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee dropped the latest version of its budget bill and with it, a direct attack on public lands, climate progress, and our last wild places. This isn’t budgeting. It’s a giant giveaway to billionaires, Big Oil, and mining interests. And Alaska? Alaska is ground zero. …

Willow Ruling: A Green Light for Billionaires, a Disaster for the Arctic

After the appeals court upheld the approval of the Willow project on Alaska’s North Slope, Kristen Miller, Executive Director at Alaska Wilderness League, released the following statement: “This ruling is not only dangerous for America’s Arctic and the people who live there, but also for our global climate,” said Kristen Miller, executive director at Alaska…

Senate Budget Targets Alaska’s Public Lands for Privatization

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: 6/12/2025 Contact: Anja Semanco | 724-967-2777 | anja@alaskawild.org In response to the release of the Senate Budget Bill Energy and Natural Resources Provisions, Andy Moderow, Senior Director of Policy at Alaska Wilderness League, released the following statement: “Alaska’s public lands are still on the chopping block—not because it’s good policy, but because billionaires…

Roadless Area Conservation Act Reintroduced

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: 6/11/2025 Contact: Anja Semanco | 724-967-2777 | anja@alaskawild.org Following the reintroduction of the of Roadless Area Conservation Act, Alex Cohen, Government Affairs Director at Alaska Wilderness League, released the following statement: “We’re thrilled to see the Roadless Area Conservation Act reintroduced at a time when Alaska’s public lands are once again in the…

Alaska Under Attack: The Four-Front Fight for Our Public Lands

Let’s not sugarcoat it: Alaska is in the crosshairs. From the edges of the Arctic Ocean to the old-growth of the Tongass, the Trump administration is launching a full-scale attack on some of the wildest places left in America. They’re gutting protections, fast-tracking drilling and logging, and tossing aside Indigenous rights and climate science—all to…

A Clear Message for Congress

The Arctic Refuge isn’t just tundra and snow. It’s a place where thousands of caribou migrate each year to give birth. Where polar bears den, migratory birds from six continents rest their wings, and the Gwich’in people have lived in deep connection with the land for thousands of years. It’s sacred. It’s alive. And right…

BECOME A MEMBER

PEOPLE LIKE YOU KEEP PLACES LIKE THESE WILD:

ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

Protecting the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is crucial because of its exceptional wilderness, wildlife, habitat and subsistence values. It is sacred to the Gwich’in People and other Indigenous communities in Alaska and Canada, who rely on its resources for food, as well as cultural and spiritual practices. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (Tax Act) included a provision that opened the coastal plain to oil and gas development and mandated two lease sales by 2024. The Biden administration has revoked existing leases and we continue to work with the administration to restore protections to the Arctic Refuge coastal plain.

Photo credit: Micah Baird

NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE-ALASKA

Development in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska in Alaska's western Arctic has begun, and ConocoPhillips' Willow project is the poster child for the type of massive fossil fuel development that must be avoided today. Allowing oil drilling in and around the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area would also threaten an essential cultural area and food source for North Slope communities. Willow would significantly increase ConocoPhillips’ presence in the western Arctic while placing all the burden of development on the people and wildlife of the region.

TONGASS NATIONAL FOREST

The Tongass National Forest serves as a nationally important carbon sink by storing more carbon than any other forest in the country. It is also the linchpin of Southeast Alaska’s economy, attracting people from around the world for world-class recreation, hunting, and sport and commercial salmon fishing. To protect this national treasure, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced plans to restore protections to more than 9 million acres of roadless areas in the Tongass and end large-scale old-growth logging in America’s largest national forest.

Photo credit: Daniel Dietrich/DanielDietrichPhotography.com

CHUGACH NATIONAL FOREST

More than 1 million people visit the Chugach annually from all over the world; however, it is local Alaskans — especially in and around Anchorage — who really utilize what the Chugach has to offer. According to the U.S. Forest Service, the Chugach serves as the “backyard” for half of Alaska’s residents.

Photo credit: Debbie S. Miller

BRISTOL BAY

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced it has denied a permit for the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska, determining that “the applicant’s plan for the discharge of fill material does not comply with Clean Water Act guidelines” and concluding that “the proposed project is contrary to the public interest." The Bristol Bay watershed in southwest Alaska boasts the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery that supports thousands of jobs. Alaskans and Bristol Bay’s Indigenous peoples, as well as hunters, anglers and wildlife enthusiasts from all across the country, spoke out in opposition to this ill-conceived project.