Interior Department takes steps to protect subsistence in the Western Arctic

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Interior Department takes steps to protect subsistence in the Western Arctic

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WASHINGTON - The Department of the Interior today released a report summarizing public input received by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on how best to ensure maximum protection of surface resources in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A). The report outlines steps the BLM will take to protect vital subsistence resources identified by numerous comments, consistent with the agency's statutory obligations to administer an oil and gas program and assure the maximum protection of significant surface values in the Reserve.

The BLM received nearly 80,000 comments in response to a Request for Information it issued in July 2024, soliciting information on resources and areas of the NPR-A that may warrant additional protection.

"Throughout our efforts to receive feedback from the public, we heard significant input about the need for protecting subsistence by identifying it as a significant resource value in the NPR-A," said Acting Deputy Secretary Laura Daniel-Davis. "Fish and wildlife have provided food for Alaska Native people in this region for millennia and, based on the information we received and our legal mandate, we have concluded it is necessary to commence a process to ensure its protection."

A memorandum, also released today, provides direction on interim measures the BLM will apply to its management of the NPR-A to protect the significant subsistence resource value in existing Special Areas and in proposed new and modified Special Areas, while it undertakes a public process to more fully evaluate maximum protection measures to secure this significant resource value for current and future generations. In implementing interim measures, the BLM will exercise its discretion to protect and reduce potential impacts to subsistence use and access in those areas, consistent with the governing management prescriptions in the current management plan, or Integrated Activity Plan.

The BLM will evaluate proposed actions and apply mitigation measures that may include modifying, suspending, or denying activities related to roads, infrastructure and aircraft. In making such evaluations, the BLM's Alaska team will document the proposed action's potential impacts to subsistence, consideration of options to maximize protection for subsistence, and, if applicable, reasons for approving actions without adopting the approach that maximizes protection for subsistence.

The NPR-A rule establishes a process for the BLM to designate, amend and de-designate Special Areas. The rule also clarifies that the BLM may implement interim measures as necessary to protect special resource values at any time after the BLM receives a recommendation. The memorandum directs the BLM to undertake a public process, including Tribal consultation, to consider designation of a new Special Area and expansions of current Special Areas as proposed by local Native leaders and others.

The report reaches additional conclusions about the need to maximize opportunities for co-stewardship in current and potential Special Areas within the NPR-A.

The report, memo and further materials are available on the NPR-A website.

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America's public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.