"Interior Nixes Trump’s Alaska Land Orders, Mine Road"

"“These natural wonders demand our protection,” President Joe Biden said."

"The Biden administration is dealing Alaska and its congressional delegation a significant blow, rejecting a pivotal mining road and proposing to revoke Trump-era orders that would have opened up 28 million acres of federal land to energy development and mining.

The Bureau of Land Management is set Friday to issue a final environmental impact statement that recommends Interior Secretary Deb Haaland nix five public land orders issued in the closing weeks of Donald Trump’s presidency that would have lifted a mining and drilling ban on the 28 million acres that has been in place more than five decades.

“Today, my administration is stopping a 211-mile road from carving up a pristine area that Alaska Native communities rely on, in addition to steps we are taking to maintain protections on 28 million acres in Alaska from mining and drilling,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. “These natural wonders demand our protection.”"

Scott Streater and Hannah Northey report for E&E News June 28, 2024.

SEE ALSO:

"Biden Administration Denies Mining and Drilling Access to Alaskan Wilderness" (New York Times)

 

Source: E&E News, 06/28/2024