Senate Greenlights Historic Land Grab in Alaska, Puts Arctic Refuge on the Auction Block
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: 7/1/2025
Contact: Anja Semanco | 724-967-2777 | anja@alaskawild.org
Senate Greenlights Historic Land Grab in Alaska, Puts Arctic Refuge on the Auction Block
Washington, D.C. — Against significant opposition, the U.S. Senate passed a budget reconciliation bill that mandates one of the largest public land sell-offs in modern history. The bill threatens over 20 million acres of Alaska’s public lands and takes direct aim at the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge—sacred land and critical habitat that has been defended for decades.
The bill now heads back to the House for one final vote before it lands on the president’s desk.
“This bill is a heist—plain and simple,” said Kristen Miller, Executive Director at Alaska Wilderness League. “It would sell out our most ecologically significant public lands in the Arctic to the highest bidder, sacrificing some of America’s most iconic landscapes for billionaire profits, all while using phony budget math as justification. Lawmakers are trying to plug budget holes with public lands that belong to the American people, and Alaska is ground zero in this political scheme. It’s reckless, it’s shortsighted, and it’s an insult to the Indigenous communities who have stewarded these lands for generations. We’ve seen this playbook before—rushed votes, empty promises, and backroom deals. We’re not buying it, and neither should the American people.”
Despite the Senate vote, the fight isn’t over. The bill must pass again in the House, and environmental, Indigenous, and climate justice advocates are calling on lawmakers to reject it outright. If approved by the House, this bill would deal a devastating blow to Alaska’s lands, waters, and communities in the following ways:
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Mandates four massive oil lease sales over the next decade, starting by 2029, each covering at least 400,000 acres of the Coastal Plain—threatening one of the wildest places left in America.
Locks in the Trump administration’s reckless 2020 drilling framework, gutting commonsense protections for wildlife, Indigenous subsistence, and fragile Arctic ecosystems.
Western Arctic (National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska)
Requires five lease sales in the next 10 years, with the first within just one year—fast-tracking oil development across Alaska’s Western Arctic.
Opens up 4 million acres per lease sale, inviting oil development into the heart of some of the most ecologically and culturally important lands in the Arctic.
Cook Inlet Offshore
Forces six offshore oil and gas lease sales over 10 years, each offering a staggering 1 million acres in Cook Inlet.
Sidesteps modern environmental protections by relying on outdated leasing plans that ignore current science and climate realities.
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