As Trump officials visit Alaska, feds announce plans to remove some restrictions on Arctic drilling
A few snow drifts remain on June 18, 2004, on the Arctic coastal plain of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. (Photo by Craig McCaa/U.S. Bureau of Land Management)
The Trump administration plans to lift environmental protections on roughly half of the National Petroleum Reserve on Alaska's North Slope, reopening the area to possible oil and gas drilling.
The new move would reverse actions taken during the Biden administration to restrict development in the 23 million-acre reserve.
The plans, announced Sunday in Utqiagvik and formally on Monday by the U.S. Department of the Interior, open a public comment period, with final action to come later. The plans were announced as three of the Trump administration's top officials visit Alaska.
U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and Lee Zeldin, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, are in Alaska this week for a series of events, including a speaking engagement at Gov. Mike Dunleavy's annual sustainable energy conference, which begins Tuesday in Anchorage.
During a brief question-and-answer session with reporters on Sunday, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, sat alongside the three cabinet members and called the effort to restrict development in NPR-A the 'most egregious effort of the Biden administration,' adding that 'one of the top priorities is to get the NPRA back to where it was supposed to be by the intention of Congress, to develop oil and to remove all the regulations that the Biden guys put on NPR-A, and that is a huge priority.'
While large oil companies have expressed little interest to date in drilling within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which lies to the east of the Prudhoe Bay oil fields, there has been interest in drilling within the reserve, which lies to the west.
Since the first days of the second Trump administration, federal officials have said that they are prioritizing an effort to eliminate obstacles for companies interested in digging or drilling for natural resources in Alaska.
Burgum, Wright and Zeldin traveled to the North Slope after meeting with state officials in Anchorage on Sunday and were scheduled to tour Pump Station No. 1 of the trans-Alaska Pipeline System before returning to Anchorage on Tuesday to participate in the governor's energy conference.
The two-hour Anchorage event was largely closed to the public, but reporters were able to listen to closing remarks and ask limited questions at the end.
There were no new details about the potential construction of a trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline, and officials did not address the Trump administration's decision to freeze or rescind grants awarded to renewable energy projects in Alaska.
Burgum, speaking in Anchorage, noted that Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport offers direct flights to 16 countries and talked about the 'rise of the Pacific' in terms of global commerce.
'Alaska can play such a huge role in this, but we've got to get the federal government out of your way. That's what the three of us are here to do,' he said.
In response to a question, Burgum said the administration plans to prioritize development of the planned Ambler Road, a 211-mile mining access road through the Brooks Range, and the proposed King Cove Road, an 11-mile road connecting King Cove to the Cold Bay airport, among other projects.
On Monday, environmental groups responded to the NPR-A decision with scorn and concern.
Grandmothers Growing Goodness, an environmental group that supports Indigenous communities in the Arctic, said that the repeal of the Biden administration protections would significantly impact Teshekpuk Lake and its surroundings, which are important for the Teshekpuk caribou herd. 'The area is also integral to Indigenous subsistence practices, supporting hunting, fishing, and gathering,' they said, in an email statement with the announcement
Protest demonstrations are planned in Anchorage for Monday and Tuesday to oppose the proposed Alaska LNG pipeline project and 'other fossil fuel projects promoted by Gov. Dunleavy's 'sustainable energy conference,'' according to organizers.
'It's hard to overstate the havoc this could wreak on the Western Arctic's undisturbed habitat for caribou, polars bears and belugas,' said Marlee Goska, Alaska attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. 'Trump's fixation on plundering Alaska's ecosystems for short-term gain is matched only by the stupidity of turning this precious place into a fossil fuel extraction site. Alaska's vast expanses of wild lands are a big part of what makes our state so special, and we'll do everything possible to protect these places.'
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19 minutes ago
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Business of Fashion
22 minutes ago
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A portion of the profits goes to the LGBTQ+ youth shelter. Beauty brands sticking with Pride campaigns include decades-long supporters like Kiehl's and MAC and younger brands like Glow Recipe. Beekman 1802's Pride collection for 2025. (Beekman 1802) 'Some companies give too much credence or weight to what they think is going to happen,' said Ridge. In a politically fraught time, collections heavy on neutral and black can be seen as a way of laying low, even for brands that continue to support LGBTQ+ organisations and Pride parades. 'A lot of companies … now seem to have the attitude, 'We've been doing it for this long, and it would be a big deal if we didn't do it, so here's just something that is non-offensive and quiet,'' Clary said. Blending In Pride collections typically include their share of basic T-shirts and tanks alongside edgier items. The scarcity of more provocative looks could be viewed as either a tasteful or fearful turn — or possibly both. 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Clary has called out five brands so far for putting out Pride-labeled items that could pass for everyday clothing, including plain denim items, a green oxford shirt and shorts set and a Britney Spears tank top from Abercrombie & Fitch; an earlier year saw the brand's collection draw on American artist and activist Keith Haring. In the UK, Adidas labels a Jeremy Scott collaboration as a 'Pride' collection, but doesn't connect it to the celebration on its US site. There, the Pride landing page displays sneakers available year-round, along with a mention of its partnership with the LGBTQ+ nonprofit Athlete Ally. An Adidas representative said the Jeremy Scott collaboration 'is available in the US as part of the Pride collection,' pointing out a banner saying 'love lifts us up' on a separate landing page minus the term 'Pride.' The titles of the Jeremy Scott Adidas collaboration page on the brand's UK site (top) and US site (bottom). (Screenshots) Standing Up Not all labels are shying away from rainbows or provocation this year, as shown by a bright watch capsule by Guess and a lascivious Diesel collection and campaign cast from the social networking app Grindr. Whether bland or bold, most brands' Pride items are combined with donations to LGBTQ+ causes. Pride is a crucial fundraising month for advocacy, but takes on more urgency this year amid what a Trevor Project representative called 'uniquely challenging political environment' in the US. Abercrombie & Fitch, Lululemon, Sephora, MAC Cosmetics and Rare Beauty are among The Trevor Project's continued supporters. Levi's 2025 collection doesn't have anything as bold as the purple gender-neutral dress by a non-binary textile artist it offered for Pride in 2023. But it was designed in collaboration with the GLBT Historical Society, and the company is one of a small number of large brands to publicly stand by its DEI efforts. The denim brand also tags several pride products with the triangle symbol used by queer activists starting in the 1970s, 'proving that you can go beyond rainbows and remind people that the personal is political,' said Michael Wilke, the founder and executive director of LGBTQ-focused marketing consultancy AdRespect. Beauty labels that have stood by the LGBTQ+ community for decades are also staying active. Kiehl's, a Pride supporter since the 1980s, has an in-store campaign and is donating $150,000 to the Ali Forney Center, while MAC Cosmetics' 30-year-old Viva Glam initiative will donate $1 million and 100 percent of proceeds of a special-edition Kim Petras lip gloss to charities. Sephora teamed up with Haus Labs and Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation for a Pride campaign donating $1 from every purchase. Aesop is sponsoring its fifth annual Queer Library in select stores, giving away free copies of books by queer authors in partnership with Penguin Random House and the ACLU. Kim Petras poses with MAC Cosmetics' special-edition lip gloss for Pride 2025. (MAC Cosmetics) Pairing Pride marketing and merchandise with donations helps brands counter accusations of rainbow-washing. Experts also highlight the importance of continuing to elevate the work of smaller artists in the community, especially in the face of right-wing backlash. Not all brands have given in to their own customers' blowback. Nascar has eschewed critics of its kitschy rainbow Pride shirts with phrases like 'Slaytona.' One with 'Yaaascar' in rainbow letters was among the only Pride items that Clary has accepted as a PR gift. 'The move is to crop it and then wear it,' said Clary.
