Interior Withdraws Special Area Safeguards in NPR-A, Advancing Oil and Gas Agenda
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: 7/28/25
Contact: Andy Moderow | 907-360-3622 | andy@alaskawild.org
Today, in response to the announcement that Interior Withdraws Restrictive Special Area Policies in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve to Advance Energy Development, Alaska Wilderness League released the following statement:
“Today’s action is a direct attack on science and Traditional Knowledge, putting iconic Western Arctic landscapes more at risk of oil and gas industrialization, when in fact the law requires strong protections,” said Andy Moderow, Senior Director of Policy at Alaska Wilderness League. “The previous administration took a thoughtful, legally grounded approach to safeguard subsistence harvests of fish, caribou, and other resources. Today’s decision does not mark the end of that progress made; we will fight to restore these protections in the months and years to come.”
What Are Today’s Rescinded Documents?
The three documents just rescinded by the BLM were part of the Biden administration’s efforts to strengthen how Special Areas are protected, to better uphold the intent of the Naval Petroleum Reserve Production Act of 1976. This law requires the federal government to provide maximum protection for certain identified resources in Special Areas, and to address the harmful impacts of oil and gas on recreation, subsistence, and other sustainable human uses in the Western Arctic.
Specifically, the Trump administration took action today by rescinding:
- The July 2024 Request for Information (RFI): This launched a robust public process to gather input on how to maximize protections for Special Areas in the NPR-A, reflecting the law and the Biden administration’s conservation goals.
- The January 2025 Report: Titled “Maximizing Protection in the NPR-A” this laid out recommendations for limiting oil and gas development in sensitive areas, based on robust public input received during the July 2024 RFI.
- The January 2025 Interim Management Memo: This memo gave the BLM field offices guidance on how to manage Special Areas while formal Special Area action was being considered.
These three documents were launched in response to a stronger Western Arctic Special Area regulation that President Biden finalized in April 2024. The Trump administration is taking aim at that underlying Special Area direction, by soliciting comments through August 4 on rescinding that Biden era rule. To date, nearly 100,000 comments have been submitted through that process, with many more members of the public likely to weigh in during the final week.
By rescinding documents that help implement that final rule while public comment is open, the Trump administration shows a lack of interest in meaningfully reviewing any input before taking action to allow unfettered industrialization across this landscape.
What Does Rescinding the Western Arctic RFI, Report, and Memo Signal?
By scrapping these important documents – the result of substantial public engagement – before the Western Arctic Special Area comment period concludes:
- The Trump administration is undermining the very basis of the ongoing public process.
- It signals that they are not approaching the comment period in good faith and that they’ve already made their ideological position clear: Energy dominance over conservation.
- It removes any temporary protections that might have limited oil and gas activity while the review process is underway.
The Trump administration is laying the groundwork to rush forward with oil and gas industrialization, regardless of what the public thinks about this change in direction. What happens in the next weeks – in both public engagement and legal strategy – could determine the future of millions of acres of our public lands in America’s Arctic.
Photo Credit: Patrick Endres