The Biden Administration is now locking up another three million acres of land in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
With just three days left in his administration, his Department of Interior is calling the area set aside for oil and gas a “special area” that must be saved for subsistence, and the ruling takes effect immediately through an interim ruling, for an area near where ConocoPhillips is developing the Willow project and Nuna oil and gas project.
The NPR-A was set aside by the federal government for oil and gas development in 1923. Management of the area was later transferred from the Navy to the Department of Interior-Bureau of Land Management. Now, 13% of it is being taken away from that original mission by Biden.
The Interior Department claimed that the ruling is based on 80,000 comments received from people who live on the North Slope.
The problem with that is that fewer than 11,500 people live in the entire North Slope Borough.
Congressman Nick Begich didn’t mince words:
“The Biden administration’s Alaskan assault team, led by Deb Haaland, continues to celebrate their all-out dismantling of Alaska’s economic future,” Begich said. “They are obstructionist, anti-Alaskan, anti-progress, anti-development, Rule us from Washington radicals. Today Joe Biden put forward New and Expanded “Special Areas” that make new development in the National Petroleum Reserve impossible should they be allowed to stand. Biden did end up building a wall after all. Unfortunately it was one that separates American families from the abundant prosperity they deserve. Thankfully, Biden’s war on American families is about to come to a close, and commonsense conservatives in the Congress and the incoming White House are already working to dismantle Biden’s legacy of failure.”
The crackpot doesn’t fall far from the crackpot tree in that family
Suzanne, you do understand that the NPR-A is federal public land, and therefore owned by all Americans, not just people on the North Slope, right? Hence the number of public comments received. I’m sure you do get this but it wouldn’t feed your desired narrative.
cman, the federal government said the action is based on 88,000 comments from residents of North Slope communities. I don’t know how to make that more clear. – sd
We don’t need the “federal government”, we were promise our resources would be available to the state. The government never keeps it word. Especially the leftist commie democrats.
cman-
There’s a new Sheriff in town. Seriously. Enough of your treason.
I think it’s a common misconception to Alaskans when they think that Federal land that resides inside the borders of the state is somehow their land that is being stolen. They are only part right. Probably just like Cali peeps think the redwoods are theirs. If it were state land, they may have a claim.
Less then a hundred hours to go for the malevolent geranium. Praise be.
You folks are seemingly, missing the point,(Perhaps from the level of mentality currently demonstrated by the Hawaiian Senator) the land is locked up, who or where is immaterial, it is now denied development no matter the ownership. Who owns it or the number of residents,(I agree with Suzanne’s observation)is a mute call.
To this point, unless there is a political/Court change/ruling, nobody gets anything out of the area, above or below ground.
Cheers,-Johnson
Wow with just three days left, the hits against Alaska, and America in general, from this administration just keep coming! What more will they do before Monday? I have a feeling we’re going to be shocked. I really hope Trump can and will undo most of this damage quickly.