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.
