(TheRedAlertNews.com) – Showing its vindictive true colors in what could be its last few months of power, the Biden-Harris administration has implemented a prohibition on mining and drilling across over 28 million acres in Alaska, counteracting a directive from the Trump era that had opened this expanse for resource exploration.
The late-term policy proposed by President Donald Trump aimed to open this public land for oil and gas extraction.
In contrast, the current administration’s Interior Department suspended that proposal on Tuesday, opting instead for an exhaustive environmental review.
This evaluation would integrate local and tribal concerns to decide whether to permanently preclude mining activities in this region, National Review reports.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland disclosed this week that following a “robust public process that gathered input from Alaska Native Tribes and Native Corporations, rural and urban communities, and the public, including 19 community meetings,” the decision was made to uphold land protections essential for safeguarding significant natural, cultural, and subsistence resources.
“Tribal consultation must be treated as a requirement – not an option – when the federal government is making decisions that could irrevocably affect Tribal communities,” Haaland declared.
“I am grateful to the team at the Bureau of Land Management for taking the time to ensure that we approached this decision with the benefit of feedback from Alaska Native communities, and to the Tribal leaders who shared with us the impact that a potential revocation of the withdrawals would have on their people,” she elaborated.
“Continuing these essential protections, which have been in place for decades, will ensure continued access and use of these public lands now and in the future,” the Biden-Harris Cabinet member concluded.
This directive has already impacted prospective mining initiatives. For instance, Ambler Metals, an Alaskan mining entity, had proposed the Ambler Access Project—a 211-mile industrial route to a notable copper reserve valued at approximately $7.5 billion.
Initially green-lighted by Trump in 2020 with backing from Alaska’s entire congressional delegation, the project was subsequently reevaluated by Biden to determine the environmental repercussions the road might engender.
Ultimately, in June, President Joe Biden acclaimed his administration’s actions to “maintain protections on 28 million acres in Alaska from mining and drilling” and affirmed the DOI’s decision to definitively obstruct the project.
Additionally, this year witnessed the Biden administration curtail oil and gas exploitation in 40% of Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve as a measure for wildlife preservation.
“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 articulated.
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