Ian Brickey, ian.brickey@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Trump Administration held a massive auction for oil and gas drilling rights in the largest contiguous area of national public lands in the United States.
The auction in the Western Arctic, mandated by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, resulted in 1,334,967 acres leased for drilling by oil and gas companies. At more than 23 million acres in size, the Western Arctic is roughly the size of Indiana and larger than any other contiguous area of national public lands in the United States. It also contains critical habitat for wildlife, including millions of acres of wilderness-quality lands that support migratory birds, threatened species, and Arctic wildlife. These landscapes also sustain the subsistence traditions of Iñupiat communities who have depended on these lands and waters for generations.
The Trump Administration has spent much of its time back in power seeking to sell out public lands to private industry. Most recently, the administration revoked two decades-old public lands orders protecting more than 2 million acres in northern Alaska, to enable a transfer to state authorities and possible privatization.
In response, Mike Scott, Sierra Club’s oil and gas campaign manager, released the following statement:
“Donald Trump is making Big Oil CEOs richer, and it’s coming at the cost of our environment. The Western Arctic is not just any landscape – it’s one of the last true wild places in the country, home to rare and threatened wildlife and cultures that have subsisted on the land for thousands of years. Drilling in the Arctic won’t solve our energy crisis, but it will cause irreversible damage to these pristine landscapes. Big Oil has been champing at the bit to get its hands on these lands, and Trump is making their wishes come true.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.