Research & Developments is a blog for brief updates that provide context for the flurry of news regarding law and policy changes that impact science and scientists today.
A large swath of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) will soon open for drilling, the Trump administration announced today.
“For too long, many politicians and policymakers in DC treated Alaska like it was some kind of zoo or reserve, and that, somehow, by not empowering the people or having even the slightest ability to tap into the vast resources was somehow good for the country or good for Alaska,” Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said during an Alaska Day event.
As of July 2025, Alaska ranked sixth in the nation for crude oil production.
Related
• Interior Takes Bold Steps to Expand Energy, Local Control and Land Access in Alaska (DOI press release)
• Trump Opens Pristine Alaska Wilderness to Drilling in Long-Running Feud
• Trump Administration Opens the Entire Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to Oil and Gas Leasing (Earthjustice statement)
The news is the latest in a saga involving the ANWR, which in total spans 19.6 million acres. The 1.5 million acres to be opened for drilling represent the coastal plain of the refuge.
The 1980 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which created most of the state’s national park lands, included a provision that no exploratory drilling or production could occur without congressional action.
Trump first opened the 1.5 million-acre coastal plain region for drilling in 2020, but the sale of drilling leases in early 2021 generated just $14.4 million in bids, rather than the $1.8 billion his administration had estimated.
On his first day in office, Biden placed a temporary moratorium on oil and gas drilling in the refuge, later going on to cancel the existing leases.
Trump resumed his efforts to allow drilling in ANWR early in his second term, though in January 2025, a lease sale attracted zero bidders. Previously, major banks had ruled out financing such drilling efforts, some citing environmental concerns. Cost is also likely a factor, as the area currently has no roads or facilities.
In addition to opening drilling, the Department of Interior also announced today the reissuing of permits to build a road through Izembek National Wildlife Refuge and a plan to greenlight another road.
“Today’s Arctic Refuge announcement puts America — and Alaska — last,” said Erik Grafe, an attorney for the environmental law nonprofit Earthjustice, in a statement. “The Gwich’in people, most Americans, and even major banks and insurance companies know the Arctic Refuge is no place to drill.”
In contrast, Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat (VOICE), a nonprofit dedicated “to preserving and advancing North Slope Iñupiat cultural and economic self-determination,” released a statement on Thursday in favor of the policy shift.
“Developing ANWR’s Coastal Plain is vital for Kaktovik’s future,” said Nathan Gordon, Jr., mayor of Kaktovik, an Iñupiat village on the northern edge of ANWR. “Taxation of development infrastructure in our region funds essential services across the North Slope, including water and sewer systems to clinics, roads, and first responders. Today’s actions by the federal government create the conditions for these services to remain available and for continued progress for our communities.”
The Department of the Interior said it plans to reinstate the 2021 leases that were cancelled by the Biden administration, as well as to hold a new lease sale sometime this winter.
—Emily Gardner (@emfurd.bsky.social) Associate Editor
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