File this one under “Elections Have Consequences.”
The back-to-back visits of two Interior Secretaries to Alaska — Deb Haaland in July 2024 and Doug Burgum in June 2025 — highlight a stark contrast in how the federal government can shape Alaska’s future.
One visit emphasized conservation and poverty-guaranteeing subsistence. The other pointed the state toward economic growth, jobs, and development of its abundant natural resources.
During her 2024 visit, then–Interior Secretary Haaland championed the Biden administration’s “Investing in America” agenda. In a series of stops, including Katmai National Park, she emphasized climate action, salmon habitat restoration, and tribal co-management initiatives.
One signature Haaland announcement included $40 million for the “Gravel to Gravel” initiative, supporting Indigenous-led salmon conservation efforts. Well received by environmental groups, Haaland’s approach continued the Biden administration’s pattern of restricting and at times destroying resource development. That included limiting oil and gas activity in the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska, and blocking oil lease sales in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, both of which Alaskans view as critical to the state’s economic future.
A particularly controversial decision came a year earlier in 2023 when Haaland reversed a Trump-era 2019 land exchange agreement that would have allowed for construction of a road connecting the remote village of King Cove to Cold Bay’s airport.
That access is considered vital for emergency medical evacuations in a region where weather can make transport life-or-death. Haaland’s rejection of the road, citing potential harm to eelgrass beds in the Izembek Wildlife Refuge, sparked sharp criticism. As one headline from Must Read Alaska put it: “Will Interior Secretary Haaland See More Than Ducks and Eel Grass at King Cove?”
During the Biden era, when pro-development Native leaders from the North Slope traveled to Washington to meet with her, Haaland refused. Not once, but at least eight times.
Her decisions to ensure impoverished subsistence living, effectively constrained new economic activity and reinforced patterns of rural poverty and government dependence across Alaska.
By contrast, Secretary Doug Burgum’s 2025 visit marks a turning point. Representing the Trump Administration’s emphasis on “energy dominance,” Burgum made clear that the Department of the Interior would pursue a more aggressive development posture in Alaska.
On the North Slope, Burgum announced plans to rescind Biden-era restrictions and reopen up to 82% of the NPR-A and the 1002 coastal plain area of ANWR to oil and gas leasing. He also voiced strong federal support for the Alaska LNG pipeline and the proposed Ambler Road, major projects seen as economic lifelines for Alaskans.
Where Haaland’s policies focused on locking up land and limiting access, Burgum’s approach prioritizes growth, infrastructure, and job creation. His message to Alaskans is simple: The era of Washington blocking Alaska’s potential is over.
The contrast between administrations is clear: Haaland’s vision left many rural communities with no path to economic independence.
Burgum’s vision, now in motion, aims to unleash Alaska’s vast natural resources and restore the state’s ability to generate wealth, opportunity, and energy security.
#TribesThatBribe will finally have their grift and dark money entanglements exposed. From now on they have to compete for contracts on a level playing field.
Recall, Don Young introduced Hagland to the Senate during her confirmation hearings. Murky and Sullivan were first in line to cast their votes in favor of part American Indian Hagland. Why because DEI/Woke ruled the world at that point in History. Anyone doing simple research could have come to the conclusion that Hagland was an environmental Nazi. No way was she going to be a friend to Alaska. That did not matter in the Politically Correct Washington swamp.
So putting Alaska first for Sullivan and Murky comes with a condition.
I agree with the author. Deb Haaland would have grown up in America when academic tertiary educated bureaucrats continued to benefit by the artificial wealth of residence where the US$ was/is supreme. If you don’t have cash, just borrow or counterfeit it, no? Idealist socialists have always come from prosperous backgrounds. The only exception lie in cultures where persons who are starving tend to be the proponents of revolutions that lead to prosperity — of all degrees.
The bizarre persons having climbed up into the ranks of those who tax & spend…well, in the case of the US, can also be those endorsers of borrow/counterfeit & spend. For most persons who don’t live by the artificial benefits that the US Treasury bill sales provides as US artificial income; those other persons/foreigners have to rely on sweat, viz. earning money before dreaming or spending money that they don’t have.
In the unconventional Alaska State, reality finally struck when fossil-based extraction royalties ran out. Profit-loss economics are real. Remember listening to past generations who said”if you don’t have, don’t spend it?” Haaland and thousands of government officials and others who live off those who actually generate income wealth for nations, today would be seen & placed in the cognomens of “socialists”, “wokists”, a.k.a. persons who live in a multi-generation of belief that if we don’t have it will simply borrow it. Weirdly, “atavists” often live in a delusional world. If we’re rich, then why don’t we give our successes back to previous failed nations, races & States….furthermore, make rats, birds, marginal species the future income source to fuel us?
The disconnection between species that have succeeded & those that have failed, certainly is useful speculative introspection. However restitutions take things back to the stone-age, don’t they?
America’s lowest point in several generations is today here. Harland’s departure, needs to be followed by a generation of persons who lived in the dream-world. The reality is that we can plan our futures, live in credible democracies, pontificate such things as a world based on the acronym ESG (Economic, Social & Governance — ONLY when we are fed & can think straight.
So YES, Alaska needs to realise its State Constitutional rights, plan for its future. Yes, nobody with money will make any money investing in myriad American industries, particularly resource extraction-based industries, unless the incentives are honoured. If mining can/does take upwards of 30 years to realise fruition from discovery-to-mining, the return-on-investment is not classed as a would be sound investment. In the case of those who live in the remaining democracies today, if they haven’t been schooled on finance or economics, then they simply should never be in politics. Failure of American politicians wanting to save our planet are probably already dead, as humans still are more important than spiders. As stated above, any policies that serve to assure human poverty are stupid, no?
Deb Haaland is another anti-American, Marxist who’s only goal while Secretary of Interior was to shut down further oil, gas and mineral exploration/development. May she retire to her gold-leafed teepee.
Exactly, America hater.
Deb Haaland, Murkowski and Peltola 3 worst for Alaska’s Future
Let’s pray our next national election doesn’t have the same consequences as 2020’s did.
The perception of those who see our Native as in poverty do not realize our richness of food that we have in our backyard of this vast land of resources and how we still gather and hunt for our survival. Comparatively speaking, they have this standard that is not correctly visioned by ourselves as in poverty. So why should they view we as Native in poverty when we have a way if providing for our families and community as whole.
Deb Haaland was a 100% DEI hire with no qualifications and attacked Alaska’s energy recourses from day one. She also attacked our Alaskan native Vietnam veterans. Both Sullivan and Murkowski voted for her conformation. Think about that when it comes election time.
I have a question on the following:
“A particularly controversial decision came a year earlier in 2023 when Haaland reversed a Trump-era 2019 land exchange agreement that would have allowed for construction of a road connecting the remote village of King Cove to Cold Bay’s airport.”
What was the land exchange agreement with Trump? And if Haaland shut it down, then why did Biden later request 33,000 acres of Native Alaskan land in order to agree to the road?
Thanks for anyone who can answer this.
Haaland was working with leftest nuts to ban gas stoves in Ak . The propane stove was probably the greatest innovation for life in the bush . The lefties have no idea how tough life in the bush is . They think to just funnel cash and stupid regulations with no input from the residents .
Just look at life in Point Barrow with the advent of natural gas . One of the best things that ever happened at the top of the world . It literally allowed them to sustain life in a place where they burned seal oil and driftwood to survive . Now they are doing the best of any city in the Arctic the world over .
The Eskimo loves MAGA
Haaland was an identity politics appointment, she being half Navajo. Our delegation to Congress, Lisa, Danny and Don rose to the bait like a brown trout to a fly, momentarily of course forgetting all of the commie/greenie baggage that she carried with her to say nothing of her being fully one half evil Norwegian Viking…
Apparently, Debe Haaland’s Evil Longer Boat heritage was at the helm during her rapacious pillage of the State and her fellow Native Americans.
Prove me Wrong Petersburgers!
Hey, does Tom Homan know about Mitkof Island?
Haaaland was just doing her owners’ bidding. Kneecapping their competition, New Mexico has plenty of oil and minerals they want to sell . if asking AK out of the game raises the price for them