By RICK WHITBECK
On Wednesday, the Biden Administration Bureau of Land Management announced the terms of its upcoming lease sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s Coastal Plain.
And, in what should be seen by Alaskans as one last middle finger on their way out of Washington, D.C., the administration’s attack on our state’s resource development community was furthered by the release.
Let’s step back in time and remember what happened following the previous lease sale from late 2019. Nine total tracts were bid on, and fully-executed, legally-binding contracts completed. But, when the Biden administration came in, they paused any activities related to ANWR development.
After three years of delay, they ended up canceling the leases altogether, citing “deficiencies” in the process. And, while those actions are currently being litigated by the leaseholders of seven of the nine tracts, the other two just gave up and remanded their contracts. That was a win for the environmental lobby, which has fought against ANWR development for decades.
Earlier this year, the Biden Administration noted it was obligated to hold the second lease, as part of Congress’ 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passage. With yesterday’s announcement, the BLM made clear it is doing so under terms designed to minimize — if not eliminate — interest by potential bidders.
The final order from BLM will offer leases for the bare minimum number of acres authorized by Congress — 400,000 — and includes additional limiting stipulations related to surface disturbance, seismic exploration and infrastructure footprint size.
None of these requirements should be a surprise to Alaskans, who have endured a whopping 68 attacks from Team Biden on the resource opportunities that drive our state’s economy. But the tenor of yesterday’s announcement, its limitations and, most importantly, the brazen exaggerations and outright lies included in the release,should infuriate each of us.
The exaggerations include the note of over 100,000 comments being made during the public comment periods, and how those helped influence the final scope and requirements. Let’s not think for a minute that 90% of those weren’t form letters, auto-generated by environmental groups and their surrogates, and not comments based by people who would actually be affected by ongoing exploration and development activities in the Arctic.
Another exaggeration? That industry doesn’t want to invest in developing the Coastal Plain. At the time of the previous lease sale, with Trump leaving and Biden arriving, industry knew the new administration was going to do its best to stifle ANWR development. Industry then knew that their efforts to bid and be awarded leases were likely to be embroiled in controversy and litigation, and chose – understandably – to sit that one out as a result.
Let’s not forget this is the same industry, however, that had funded efforts with groups like Arctic Power for decades, hoping to open the Coastal Plain to development. Make no mistake: the incoming Trump Administration will have not only their back, but also significant interest from industry in looking at ways to involve themselves in ANWR development.
Unfortunately, the poison pills that BLM announced yesterday might give the impression to industry that they should sit this next one out again, or at least wait until the Trump administration puts in place lease terms consistent with previous federal lease programs, and not designed to stifle investment and interest.
Therein lies the most egregious, foundational false-flagged argument in the announcement. In noting the final orders, BLM stated it had met with affected tribes and completed extensive consultations with them. However, their efforts have included only the Gwich’in people, who live hundreds of miles away from the Coastal Plain, and ignored the Iñupiat people most impacted by North Slope development.
North Slope Borough Mayor Josiah Patkotak, who has clashed with the administration’s assertions that they’ve met their goals around tribal consultation, recently penned an op-ed, noting the Gwich’in’s asserted rights to the Coastal Plain are questionable. In it, he wrote:
“Let me be clear: the land in question is not, and has never been, Gwich’in territory. If there is a claim that their ancestors are buried here, that is a result of territorial wars that occurred in a bygone era; and victors aren’t buried.”
The administration has ignored the Iñupiat because their insistence that responsible development can occur hand-in-hand with traditional Native lifestyles is incongruent with the eco-left-driven assertions that resource extraction in the Arctic has no benefits, and is only harmful to the planet and the Indigenous people living there. One look no further than the tenfold increase in population of the Central Arctic caribou herd since oil began flowing in the 1970s. Their population has thrived, living amongst the development across the North Slope, and specifically in Prudhoe Bay.
With just over two months between now and the end of their reign of terror, we should expect nothing less than outright war from Team Biden on Alaska’s remaining resource projects.
Thankfully, we have President Donald J. Trump returning to office, and if his first term is any indication, Alaska will be on the forefront of unleashing American energy independence, dominance, and helping Make America Great Again.
Rick Whitbeck is the Founder and Lead Consultant at Power Performance Strategies, after serving as the Alaska State Director for a national nonprofit focused on energy opportunities the past six years. Contact him at [email protected].
We did the same to him at the polls
Thank God for Trump’s win. I hope Trump can find a way to imprison Biden and his criminal enterprise.
If memory serves, when the Park Service thugs, along with the other agencies, moved in taking over 60%+ of the lands in their private feudal fiefdoms of parks and preserves, it was sold as a trade.
They lock up most of the resources and a tiny crumb of a few acres adjacent and east of Prudhoe would be exploited for oil and gas.
The lands have been locked up for decades and there is always another “issue” to subvert oil and gas development.
What gives? If the deal is never going to be consummated, the parks and preserves are then also null and void.
Why do we always elect Alaska “leaders” that are useless and limp wristed? They always say they “fight” for Alaska, but they only growl in a pathetic and whimpering manner.
The pudgy, office ridden bureaucrats just laugh at us.
The matter is, for as long as Alaskans and their representatives focus on the “details” no one actually pushes on the real issue…far too much direct Federal control over Alaska lands.
Over 65% of our lands are under the Federal yoke, that’s more acreage than exists in all of Texas.
The largest “state” of the Union, yet we have no land to develop or build on.
As a blue-collar worker in Fairbanks, my job is partially dependent on oil investment and development on Alaska’s North Slope. Most jobs in Fairbanks are at least indirectly affected, and benefited, by oil production on the North Slope.
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I am so grateful that AIDEA (state agency), back in 2020, had the wise foresight to enter into 10-year lease agreements for 7 tracts of land in the coastal plain (1002 area) of ANWR. This gives Alaska a toehold in ANWR till such time that we have a pro-Alaska president.
It bothers me our tax dollars go for federal lawyers to fight its people in court and deprive us indefinitely of our right to develop the land’s resources. Originally appointed by her daddy, Murkowski fails us year after year.
Day 1 for the Trump administration:
Fire BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning.
Better to replace Deb Haaland on day 1 and let that person direct the rest of the firing. Lots of it.
Please reserve enough time that day to put a boot in hipocrat (deliberately misspelled) Deb Haalands rear so she can return to New Mexico(where many oil leases were approved) and celebrate her time in office with her Indian clan who successfully defeated the Alaska Natives by locking up their resource development.
Biden and his administration are nothing more than a bunch of commie losers. And, put Peltola in that category, too.
Seriously, should anyone care what that one extends as long as he’s on his way out the door?
Nicely done, Skippy. To be more accurate, though, Biden tossed BOTH middle fingers at Alaska. Though not a single one of us would have thought he had done otherwise. Wondering if Mary had a voice in his decision to screw us over once again? If she loses, that would be the ultimate double-double middle finger going out the door. Only she has to live here when she’s done.
Trump can reverse this with the stroke of a pen. And the ambler road. The worst president in us history is about history hallelujah and good riddance.
I got $50 that says scumbag Biden has us in a world war by January 1st.
I’ll take it. China’s not gonna move on the island.
And Trump is helping Russia and Putin and Iran is afraid now, so unless Iran send some guys to knock Trump off, it’s not going to happen.
Let me know if you’re serious about this.And I’ll tell you where you can mail the money.
We should not allow 2 months to install a new president. Gives these shits to much time to burn the evidence.
It used to be a lot longer.
Whoa. Some consideration must be given to the significant decline in the Western Arctic Herd- a loss of about 100,000 animals. The Porcupine Herd hasn’t been counted since 2017 and could also be in decline. I give way more credance to the Gwitchin than the folks who’ve been smoothered in oil money over in Barrow. Over $30 million just to fund the North Slope Borough mayor’s office…
We have trillions of cubic feet of gas that is NOT being developed. Exxon/Conoco are sitting on these massive deposits for several reaosns- not the least of which is constraining global supplies keeps prices high. Why would Exxon want to flood the market with cheap oil? Exxon is already warehousing our gas….
The last thing Exxon wants is $20 dollar per barrel oil. Same is true with the price fixing outfit called OPEC. It price fixes by constraining supply. You will not find Exxon complaining about OPEC’s price fixing.
One thing for sure China and Ukraine wont be buying anymore of his political favors so Hunter can continue his spending habits. The drugs and prostitutes were very costly and tough to handle with a pistol laying around.