Spanning the temperate rainforests of Southeast Alaska to north of the Arctic Circle, Alaska’s D-1 lands are among the largest intact landscapes left in the country, representing tens of millions of acres of protected public lands. Safeguarding these critical lands from harmful extractive industrial development, such as mining or oil extraction, is essential for preserving important habitat that supports Alaska Native communities, preserving the state’s robust recreation economy, and slowing climate change.
Healthy, intact public land is essential for maintaining Alaska Native communities' food security and way of life that has thrived for millennia. Ensuring protections for their homelands is essential for health and recognition of sovereign rights.
OF ALASKA’S 227 FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED TRIBES URGED THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TO PROTECT THEIR HOMELANDS
of unexploited Alaska public land is one of our nation’s greatest climate resiliency walls
Ensuring protections for millions of acres of Alaska’s homelands from harmful extractive industrial development is critical to mitigating climate catastrophe.
Opening up Alaska’s D-1 lands to extractive industrial development would wreak havoc on millions of acres of important habitat, endangering some of our nation’s most iconic wildlife.
caribou
bald eagle
waterfowl
sockeye salmon
generated annually by outdoor recreation in Alaska
in Alaska’s outdoor recreation industry are at risk
Throughout Alaska, connected lands support thousands of small, local, and family-owned businesses. These operations help visitors experience unmatched outdoor recreation excursions. Maintaining protections from harmful extractive development is essential to grow and maintain this important industry.
For millennia, modern-day protected D-1 lands have served as the breadbasket for thousands of Alaska Native peoples. To this day, they are a foundation for Alaska Tribal communities’ subsistence diet and way of life. Additionally, the lands support diverse economies, from commercial fishing to outdoor recreation and tourism.
In the 1970s, the lands were justifiably designated for potential protection and remained so until the Trump administration attempted to open them to harmful and exploitative industrial extraction. If left unprotected, caribou migration routes, bald eagle sanctuaries, critical wild salmon habitat, and more could be decimated by industrial development.