Alaska Delegation Commends Revocation of PLOs 5150, 5180

Alaska Delegation Commends Revocation of PLOs 5150, 5180

2.1 Million Acres to be Made Available for State Transfer, Federal Multiple Use

Anchorage, AK-U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and U.S. Congressman Nick Begich (all R-Alaska) today released the following statements of support after the Department of the Interior (Interior) announced the partial revocation of Public Land Orders (PLO) 5150 and 5180. This decision will open up 2.1 million acres of land within the Dalton Utility Corridor north of the Yukon River, nearly all of which the State of Alaska has "top-filed" to fulfill its outstanding land entitlement under the Alaska Statehood Act. Lands that are not ultimately transferred to the State will remain federal and become available for multiple use.

"For decades, the federal government has left obsolete PLOs in place to keep tens of millions of additional acres of Alaska locked up as de facto conservation areas. These designations have held back statehood land selections and resource development, giving the federal government a toehold to delay or reject important projects while depriving our state of crucial opportunities for jobs and revenues," Murkowski said. "So, I'm glad these PLOs are on their way out. These revocations will help facilitate opportunity for Alaskans by enabling the rightful transfer of these lands to Alaska. I thank Secretary Burgum, Deputy Secretary MacGregor, and their teams for their continued hard work to restore balance in federal land management across our state."

"Lifting PLO 5150 has long been a priority of Alaska's leaders for many years, including going back to my time as Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources," said Sullivan. "Among the federal lands entangled by PLO 5150 are those that include significant portions of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System and the Dalton Highway corridor, as well as the future route of the Alaska LNG pipeline-critically important acreage that we've long fought to secure for our State. I want to thank Secretary Burgum for taking this important step today in lifting this outdated land withdrawal and bringing us closer to ensuring that Alaska controls the lands that support resource development on the North Slope and much of the land over which the state's most important piece of infrastructure sits."

"The recent action on PLO 5150 and 5180, resulting in the long awaited conveyance of Alaska pipeline corridor, provides assurances needed for the next wave of Alaskan energy infrastructure investment," Begich said. "The pipeline is Alaska's economic lifeline and because of the work of this Congress and this administration the pipeline will continue to create jobs, opportunities, and important state revenue for the next generation of Alaskans. Alaska has a right to produce, and Alaska has a right to benefit from our God-given resources."

In the early 1970s, Interior unilaterally withdrew tens of millions of acres of Alaska land through PLOs. These executive withdrawals have been left in place for decades, even after the passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) in 1980. ANILCA formally withdrew more than 100 million acres for conservation purposes and explicitly affirmed that it provides "sufficient protection for the national interest in the scenic, natural, cultural and environmental values on the public lands in Alaska."

Alaska's congressional delegation has pushed for the lifting of PLOs for many years, and several were finally lifted during the first Trump administration. The Biden administration, however, rejected the removal of PLOs across 28 million acres in Alaska, keeping them intact as part of their generally unlawful efforts to "conserve millions of acres of lands and waters in Alaska."

On his first day back in office, President Trump issued Executive Order 14153, "Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary Resource Potential," which directed the Secretary of the Interior to "evaluate changes to, including the potential recission of, Public Land Order 5150, signed by the Assistant Secretary of the Interior on December 28, 1971, and any subsequent amendments, modifications, or corrections to it."

Secretary Doug Burgum subsequently issued a Secretarial Order for the implementation of that work. For the past several months, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has conducted a public process to determine whether to revoke PLO 5150 and PLO 5180, both in the Dalton Utility Corridor, leading to today's decision.

The delegation continues to encourage the Trump administration to lift PLOs in place around the state. This would be in accordance with a 2004 law authored by Murkowski, the Alaska Land Transfer Acceleration Act, that led to a 2006 BLM report to Congress finding that the vast majority of withdrawals in Alaska "have outlived their original purpose." At the time-now 20 full years ago-BLM reported that withdrawals on 152.18 million out of 158.96 million acres-95 percent-"could be lifted consistent with the protection of the public's interest."

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