(Anchorage, AK) – The State of Alaska is challenging the 2020 Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) decision that found land in dispute at the northwestern boundary of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) belongs to the federal government and not the State of Alaska.

In 2016, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) denied the State’s request for land conveyance, which, if granted, would have recognized the State’s ownership of the land.

“At stake is approximately 20,000 acres of public land, which has important implications for oil and gas development on the eastern North Slope,” said Attorney General Treg Taylor. “Alaska is just asking BLM to give back what is rightfully the State’s.”

Alaska is arguing that BLM incorrectly surveyed the western boundary of ANWR. The legal boundary of the refuge is described as the Canning River but the maps provided by the federal agency put the boundary several miles to the west, at the Staines River.

Public Land Order 2214, which established the northwestern boundary of ANWR, describes the boundary as extending from Brownlow Point southwesterly to “the extreme west bank of the Canning River.” IBLA, however, found that the “intent” of PLO 2214 was that the boundary follow the extreme west bank of the Canning River to an undescribed point, then climb a nine-foot embankment, then cross over 10 miles of open tundra, and then, finally, follow the west bank of the Staines River to its mouth.

“IBLA’s view of the ‘intent’ of boundary location is strained at best,” said Taylor. “Had BLM properly recognized the boundary of the refuge as the Canning River, the State would have received the disputed acres by operation of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.”

Alaska administratively appealed to the IBLA following BLM’s initial decision in 2016. The IBLA issued a decision in favor of BLM in November 2020. The State is now pursuing an appeal of IBLA’s decision in federal district court.

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