Cara Brown McCormick
JUNEAU, ALASKA - The Trump administration has proposed reversing a Biden-era policy that barred new oil, gas, and mining development across much of Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve (NPR-A), a vast, ecologically and economically significant area roughly the size of Indiana.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the previous restrictions were legally flawed and hindered domestic energy production. He criticized proponents of environmental protections in the state for attempting to “treat Alaska like a snow globe.”
“Congress was clear: the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska was set aside to support America’s energy security through responsible development,” Burgum said in a press release. “The 2024 rule ignored that mandate, prioritizing obstruction over production and undermining our ability to harness domestic resources at a time when American energy independence has never been more critical. We're restoring the balance and putting our energy future back on track.”
On June 1, Senator Dan Sullivan dramatically ripped up Biden’s executive orders in front of cameras.
“This is the Day 1 executive order from President Trump on Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential. Day One. We’re the only state in the country that has its own executive order…We have the need for speed right now…And when you help Alaska, you help America,” Sullivan said.
“The key here is about action… Permitting reform…that has become the giant issue. It shouldn’t take 20 years to permit a gold mine in Alaska. I mean, that hurts people. When you delay things for so long.”
“We have a great administration that wants to help us,” he continued. “We probably have the hottest play in the world today on the North Slope. In the NPR-A, we just need the federal government to help us.”
The NPR-A spans 23 million acres on Alaska’s North Slope and is the largest federally managed public land unit in the United States, according to the BLM. Designated in 1923 as a petroleum source for the US Navy, the reserve is now home to large Arctic wildlife populations, including up to 50,000 Teshekpuk caribou, 1,500 polar bears, and hundreds of thousands of migratory birds.
In 2024, President Joseph R. Biden moved to protect 13 million acres of the reserve from new development. His administration cited concerns from Alaska Native communities who depend on the land, water, and wildlife for food, culture, and survival. Biden’s Interior Department said at the time that his decision was a direct response to those longstanding concerns.
The Trump administration’s proposed reversal would reopen much of that territory to leasing. A 60-day public comment period will follow, after which the rule may be finalized. The reversal of Biden's policy comes as Senate Republicans work to secure votes for President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which includes a focus on accelerating the production of domestic energy. Senate Majority Leader John Thune faces a narrow three-vote margin to pass the legislation.
One of the most closely watched votes belongs to Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, a centrist Republican who was re-elected in 2022 under Alaska’s ranked choice voting system. Murkowski is widely viewed as one of the Senate’s most independent members, and her support for Trump’s budget could prove pivotal. Murkowski has long advocated for expanded resource development in Alaska and strongly backs the Trump plan to lift NPR-A restrictions.
Murkowski is also a champion for the Ambler Access Project. This proposed 211-mile industrial road would cross Gates of the Arctic National Park and unlock an estimated $7.5 billion in copper deposits for Alaska. A Biden-era environmental review stopped the project, concluding that the road would threaten salmon streams, permanently alter wildlife habitat, and disrupt subsistence hunting and fishing in more than 30 Alaska Native communities.
Murkowski had called the project “critical” to rural development and national mineral security, and she harshly criticized the Biden administration for rejecting it last year. Alaska US Rep. Nick Begich, elected in 2024 (also through ranked choice voting), has echoed Murkowski’s support for both the Ambler Road and the broader NPR-A rollback. Former Representative Mary Peltola, a Democrat, also backed the road during her time in office.
Secretary Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin all toured the North Slope on June 2 and will attend Governor Mike Dunleavy’s Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference starting June 3.
Murkowski welcomed the show of support from the Trump administration. “To have them here, to be listening to industry leaders, to Alaskans—this is the newsworthy takeaway,” she said. “It’s instructive to realize the partnership we have with this administration.”
She thanked the Trump administration for being “focused on energy dominance” and understanding that it “begins with the state of Alaska.”
“We do a lot of these roundtables,” Murkowski said, emphasizing the need for action. “What is the implementation? What are the next steps going forward? It starts with permitting, it starts with coordination within the agencies, it starts with looking critically at the delays that come with litigation.”
She concluded: “We want to join with you, partner with you, be an equal at the table instead of an afterthought. Thank you for putting Alaska on the map.