BLM seeks public input on impact of lifting protections on 28 million acres in Alaska

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is seeking public comments on so-called D-1 lands that cover 28 million acres in Alaska and could soon lose federal protections.
The lands were set aside under section 17(d)(1) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. The intent was to reserve undeveloped land for future claims by Native corporations and the state. But they were never conveyed, and over the last two decades, BLM has been reevaluating the status of this land.
If protections on these 28 million acres are lifted, the land could be opened for mineral entry and state management—including large swathes of land surrounding the area where Graphite One wants to build a mine north of Nome.
On Dec. 15, BLM published a nearly 400-page draft of an environmental impact statement, or EIS, that outlines the potential impacts of revoking these protections. The document is meant to guide U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland in her decision whether to lift the D-1 protections.
The draft EIS examines four possible options. Alternative A would retain all D-1 protections, while Alternative D would lift all D-1 protections. Under Alternatives B and C, some protections would be retained and some would be lifted.
The Bering Sea Interior Tribal Commission, which represents 38 tribes in Western Alaska and the Interior, is advocating for all protections to be retained. The newly formed group is also seeking to create co-management agreements with federal agencies like BLM so that member tribes can have more say on what happens in these D-1 lands, according to Alaska Public Media. The Holy Cross tribe recently won a $1.2 million federal grant to form conservation district across this land with other tribes in the commission. It would be “the first indigenous sovereign habitat Tribal conservation district,” according to the November announcement of grants given through the America the Beautiful Challenge.
“With the released Draft EIS, the Bering Sea Interior Tribal Commission will continue its advocacy for the no-action alternative to protect millions of acres of Tribes’ ancestral land and safeguard Indigenous peoples’ traditional landscapes that not only support food security but give essential meaning to culture and way of life,” a statement from the group said.
Frank Katchatag, vice chair of the Bering Sea Interior Tribal Commission and president of the Native Village of Unalakleet added: “Once our lands are scarred and our waters spoiled, they will never be the same. We are calling on the Bureau of Land Management to honor our culture and traditions and protect these lands just as we have always done.”
According to BLM’s draft, revoking all protections would result in the loss of federal subsistence priority in more than one million acres of use areas.
Other groups—including SalmonState, Mother Kuskokwim Tribal Coalition, Norton Bay Watershed Council and Wild Salmon Center—have also advocated for all D-1 protections to remain in place.
“These 28 million acres represent some of the largest intact landscapes left in the country,” Emily Murray, of Elim, vice president of the Norton Bay Watershed Council, said in a press statement. “The Seward Peninsula and Alaska are experiencing one of the quickest rates of climate change in the United States. These lands’ migratory connectivity and the natural climate refugia they provide are essential to buffer critical resources against rapidly changing conditions, so that communities can continue to practice traditional ways of life.”
D-1 lands in the Seward Peninsula include areas that surround the site where Graphite One wants to build its mine. The company is still exploring the possibility of creating a graphite mine on state land in the Kigualik Mountains. It has said it will need to design a much bigger mine than initially proposed based on projected demand for graphite, a key component in electric vehicle batteries.
Graphite One might have more land available for mineral extraction under some of the alternatives that BLM is considering. If D-1 protections are revoked on this land, it will be conveyed to the state and become more likely to be developed.
“Although the Graphite One mine could be developed on existing State lands regardless of whether the Secretary revokes the 17(d)(1) withdrawals, lands adjacent to those lands could experience expanded or additional development,” the draft EIS says. “In 2019 and 2021, the State of Alaska requested that the BLM open lands around the Graphite One Mine site to allow State selection (with high priority) and resulting conveyance.”
BLM has invited the public to submit comments until Feb. 14.
They can be submitted online through the “Participate Now” link at the BLM National NEPA Register: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2018002/510
Comments can also be delivered by mail, addressed to:
Attn: ANCSA 17(d)(1) Withdrawals EIS, Anchorage District Office, 4700 BLM Road, Anchorage, AK 99507.

 

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