The Biden administration is proceeding with a limited oil and gas lease sale in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), complying with a 2017 law requiring such auctions. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced it will auction off the minimum 400,000 acres required, focusing on areas with the highest oil and gas potential. The sale is set for January 9, just before a new administration could take office.
This will be the second lease sale mandated by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Job Act. The Trump administration conducted the first in 2021, but drilling interest was minimal amid widespread activist opposition. The Biden administration later suspended those leases, citing “multiple legal deficiencies.”
Efforts are being made to mitigate environmental impacts. The new lease plan excludes polar bear denning and migratory bird nesting areas and seeks to protect caribou and other wildlife. ANWR is a critical habitat for species like polar bears, grizzly bears, gray wolves, and over 200 bird species, as well as land sacred to the Gwich’in people.
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