Federal Government Bans Drilling and Mining on 28 Million Acres in Alaska

While environmental groups welcomed the move, Alaska’s governor said the government was ‘attempting to turn Alaska into one big national park.’

Fish Creek meanders through the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, managed by the Bureau of Land Management, on Alaska's North Slope on July 8, 2004. David W. Houseknecht/United States Geological Survey via AP

The Department of the Interior (DOI) has reinstated protections against oil and gas development and mining on more than 28 million acres of public lands across Alaska.

The protections, which were established in 1971, were removed in January 2021 under the Trump administration.