The United Tribes of Bristol Bay applauds the move, which comes years into a campaign to safeguard long-protected “D-1” lands from extractive industrial development.

Dillingham, Alaska — Last week, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) took a big step toward finalizing protections for 28 million acres of federally-managed “D-1” lands in Alaska, including 1.2 million acres in the Bristol Bay region. 

The review was prompted when the outgoing Trump Administration threatened to open these long-protected lands for extractive industrial development. BLM’s final environmental impact statement is one of the final steps in the agency’s multi-year review of how lifting existing protections would impact D-1 lands. This included potential impacts on fish and wildlife habitat, subsistence practices, and our Tribal communities who depend on D-1 lands to sustain traditional ways of life. 

“The BLM final environmental impact statement makes it clear that we must retain protections on all 28 million acres of D-1 lands in Alaska,” UTBB executive director Alannah Hurley said in response to the news. “The majority of the federally recognized Tribes in Alaska have voiced support for protecting these critical lands. Lifting protections on these lands will dramatically harm the health and wellbeing of our Tribal communities and threaten the continued vitality of our sacred ways of life. We are grateful for the work to date and now, we urge the Biden Administration to uphold its responsibilities to Alaska Native Tribes and all whose livelihoods depend on clean habitat by finalizing this decision to keep D-1 lands protections in place.” 

Over the last two years, United Tribes of Bristol Bay (UTBB) has actively participated in BLM’s environmental reviews and provided input on how D-1 lands are critical to traditional ways of life for our member Tribes. UTBB is encouraged that BLM recommends existing protections be kept in place, continuing to safeguard these lands from unsustainable development. Following the FEIS release today, BLM is expected to issue a Record of Decision in 30 days. A final decision from Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland is anticipated later this summer. 

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