In one fell swoop, the Biden-Harris administration claimed nearly 7% of Alaska’s land area.
The Bureau of Land Management’s announcement came Tuesday afternoon. 28 million acres of land and waters were closed off and 13 million acres in the western Arctic, including 2.8 million acres of the Beaufort Sea, were given what the administration called “maximum protection.” The entire U.S. Arctic Ocean was closed off to new oil and gas leases. The order prevents the Ambler Road from being built to the state’s mining area in Ambler, access to which is guaranteed by a federal law passed by Congress.
Today’s order also reduced the pool of land available to Alaska Vietnam veterans to fulfill their promised land allotments. Instead of being able to choose from 28 million acres, they are now limited to 100,000 acres – less than 2% of the land the Trump administration had awarded them.
About 1,900 elderly Alaska Natives, who date back to the Vietnam War, have the right to choose their 160-acre land claim under the Dingell Act.
The land grab carried out by Biden and Harris under the Public Land Order will be entered into the Federal Register on Thursday, the government said.
Congressional candidate Nick Begich responded immediately to the attack on Alaska:
“LOCK ALASKA: Democrats have done it again. This time they are locking down another 10% of the entire state of Alaska, destroying hopes for Ambler and robbing us of our ability to maintain and grow our own economy. Unfortunately, Mary Peltola has proven to be an irrelevant voice, completely incapable of deterring her side of the aisle from their ongoing attacks on our state. Alaska must fight back with every means available to restore access to this land and make it available to Vietnam veterans, villages and other Alaska Native communities. In Congress, I will fight for Alaskans and do everything I can to ensure Alaska is not continually overrun by the radical left,” he said.
This story will be updated shortly.
