This Week at Interior March 21, 2025

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This Week at Interior

Secretary Burgum this week is taking immediate steps to unleash Alaska’s untapped natural resource potential and support President Trump’s vision of American Energy Dominance. The Bureau of Land Management will move forward with efforts to increase exploration and development in both the National Petroleum Reserve and the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The BLM will also work towards partial revocation of public land withdrawals that will help solidify the path forward for the proposed Ambler Road and Alaska Liquified Natural Gas Pipeline projects.

In this initial suite of actions, the Interior and BLM will pursue:

Reopening up to 82% of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska available to leasing and expanding energy development opportunities in the approximately 23-million-acre reserve. 

Reinstating a program that makes the entire 1.56-million-acre Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge available for oil and gas leasing. 

And revoking withdrawals along the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Corridor and Dalton Highway north of the Yukon River in order to convey these lands to State of Alaska. This action would help pave the way forward for the proposed Ambler Road and the Alaska Liquified Natural Gas Pipeline project, two projects that stand to increase job opportunities and encourage Alaska’s economic growth. 

Through these actions and more to come, Interior is set to deliver on the President’s promise to unlock Alaska’s abundant supply of natural resources for the benefit of Alaskans and the nation, providing economic and national security for many generations to come.

To revive offshore energy development efforts, President Trump this week signed a joint resolution disapproving the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s rule titled "Protection of Marine Archaeological Resources." The rule, published last year under the previous administration, mandated that all new oil and gas leaseholders on the Outer Continental Shelf submit archaeological reports in previously unsurveyed areas where operations proposed seafloor disturbing activities. Secretary Burgum applauded the move, saying that offshore energy development is a vital component of our national security and a critical driver of American prosperity.  

Interior this week announced permanent pay increases for federal and Tribal wildland firefighters across the United States after President Trump signed the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act into law. As wildfires grow larger and more destructive — threatening communities, livelihoods, and infrastructure — wildland fire personnel face growing demands. Improving firefighter pay will help address this challenge by enabling the Department and Tribes to hire and retain top employees in this critical field.

Secretary Burgum and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner this week announced a new Joint Task Force to increase the supply of housing and decrease home ownership costs for millions of Americans. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed the Secretaries said Interior and HUD will identify locations that can support homes while pinpointing where housing needs are most pressing.

HUD will work with DOI to assess the housing needs in areas where federal lands may be available yet underutilized and implement tailored housing programs with guidance from states and localities. This partnership will identify underutilized federal lands suitable for residential development and streamline the land transfer process. It'll also promote policies that increase the availability of affordable housing while balancing important environmental and land use considerations.  

Interior this week announced the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has completed the transfer of 680 acres of land to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to be held in trust for the Spirit Lake Nation in Benson County, North Dakota. The transfer marks the culmination of a many decades' long effort by the Spirit Lake Nation and reflects the administration’s commitment to strengthening tribal sovereignty, promoting economic opportunities, and enhancing the quality of life for Indigenous people.

The Bureau of Land Management this week conducted a competitive online sale through the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act. Eight parcels totaling nearly 42 acres in the Las Vegas Valley were sold, generating more than 16 and half million dollars. Eighty-five percent of those funds will go to projects throughout Nevada, such as the development of parks, trails, and natural areas, hazardous fuels reduction, landscape restoration projects and more.

And our social media Picture of the Week, here’s to warmer temperatures, new life and dramatic splashes of every imaginable color, as spring finally arrives in the Northern Hemisphere. Here at Redwood National and State Parks in California, it won't be long before the fields and hills are covered with the park's iconic blooms of lupine, as far as the eye can see.  

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That's This Week at Interior

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