It said the ‘sweeping package’ would ‘boost energy development, modernise land and resource management’ in Alaska.The Trump administration has finalised plans to allow oil and gas drilling in a national wildlife refuge spanning pristine Indigenous land in Alaska, reigniting long-simmering tensions about conserving one of the United States’s environmental jewels.The US Department of the Interior announced at an event on Thursday that it plans to open up the coastal plain of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which sits on traditional Inupiaq and Gwich’in Indigenous land, to resource exploration.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listIn a news release, it said the move, which paves the way for lease sales within the refuge’s 1.5 million-acre (631,309-hectare) coastal plain, was part of a “sweeping package of actions to boost energy development, modernise land and resource management across Alaska”.President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans previously pledged to reopen this portion of the refuge to possible development.Announcing the move, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said, “from day one, President Trump directed us to unlock Alaska’s energy and resource potential while honouring commitments to the state and local communities”.A Republican bill featuring major tax breaks and spending cuts, passed during the summer, called for at least four lease sales within the Alaska refuge over a 10-year period.“By reopening the Coastal Plain and advancing key infrastructure, we are strengthening energy independence, creating jobs and supporting Alaska’s communities while driving economic growth ac …
