US restricts drilling and mining in Alaska wilderness, angering state leaders
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US restricts drilling and mining in Alaska wilderness, angering state leaders
(Reuters) - (This April 19 story has been refiled to correct the area conversion to 9.3 million hectare, not 93 million hectare, in paragraph 7)
The Biden administration took steps on Friday to limit both oil and gas drilling and mining in Alaska, angering state officials who said the restrictions will cost jobs and make the U.S. reliant on foreign resources, but pleasing environmentalists.
The measures are aligned with President Joe Biden's efforts to rein in oil and gas activities on public lands and conserve 30% of U.S. lands and waters to combat climate change.
The Interior Department finalized a regulation to block oil and gas development on 40% of Alaska's National Petroleum Preserve to protect habitats for polar bears, caribou and other wildlife and the way of life of indigenous communities.
The agency also said it would reject a proposal by a state agency to construct a 211-mile (340-km) road intended to enable mine development in the Ambler Mining District in north central Alaska.
The agency cited risks to caribou and fish populations that dozens of native communities rely on for subsistence.
"I am proud that my Administration is taking action to conserve more than 13 million acres in the Western Arctic and to honor the culture, history, and enduring wisdom of Alaska Natives who have lived on and stewarded these lands since time immemorial," Biden said in a statement.
The NPR-A, as it is known, is a 23 million-acre (9.3 million hectare) area on the state's North Slope that is the largest tract of undisturbed public land in the United States. The new rule would prohibit oil and gas leasing on 10.6 million acres (4.3 million hectares) while limiting development on more than 2 million additional acres (809,000 hectares).
