In an appearance on “Face the Nation,” Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) vehemently criticized the Biden administration’s decision to block access to millions of acres of Alaskan wilderness for oil drilling and critical mineral mining. Sullivan likened this move to “national security suicide.”
“It’s without legal basis. He lacks the authority to make such decisions. … It’s, as I’ve stated, a perilous risk to national security,” Sullivan remarked. Alaska’s longstanding contention with the federal government over the utilization and safeguarding of its vast natural resources intensifies, particularly during Democratic administrations.
Recently, the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management dealt a significant blow to resource development in Alaska. They officially recommended against the construction of the Ambler Road, a proposed 211-mile roadway aimed at expanding mining activities into an untouched region of the state. This recommendation effectively terminates the project, rendering zinc and copper deposits inaccessible.
Furthermore, the Interior Department issued a final rule that excludes the entire U.S. Arctic Ocean, along with 11 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska and nearly 3 million acres of federal waters off the Alaska coast, from consideration for new oil and gas leasing. While this decision garnered praise from environmental and conservation organizations, as well as some indigenous tribes, Senator Sullivan noted on Sunday that not all native tribes share this sentiment.
“When this president, along with Secretary Haaland, announced on Friday that they took this action because the Alaska Native and indigenous peoples of the North Slope of Alaska requested it, they were mistaken. The leaders of the North Slope of Alaska unanimously opposed this decision,” Sullivan stated.
However, other local tribes praised the Biden administration’s move, asserting that the Trump administration failed to consult with them before greenlighting the project.