Alaska Native Communities Denounce Move to Sell Off Public Lands Around Teshekpuk Lake, Millions of Acres Across the Western Arctic for Oil & Gas Drilling During Government Shutdown

(Nuiqsut, Alaska)– Earlier this week, despite the government being shut down, the Trump administration began the process to sell off roughly 16 million acres of public lands in the Western Arctic for oil and gas drilling. The Bureau of Land Management is calling for nominations on all available unleased areas for oil and gas development in the Reserve, kicking off a 30-day public comment period. Simultaneously, the Trump Administration is pursuing multiple other rollbacks to remove protections and open additional acreage in the Western Arctic to oil and gas development. 

“Native communities on the Northern Slope have stewarded these lands for millennia and spoken out time and time again to advocate for their long-term protection,” said Rosemary Ahtuangaruak, Executive Director of Grandmothers Growing Goodness. “Opening every inch of this landscape to oil and gas leasing and drilling, including surrounding Teshekpuk Lake, which our communities rely on for subsistence, tradition, and livelihood, will have far-reaching harms on the people, wildlife, and economies in the Western Arctic. This is a disaster in the making for America’s Arctic. We will remain united against this attempt to sell off precious lands.” 

Nauri Simmonds, Executive Director of Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic, added, "This isn’t just about policy—it’s about the wellbeing of our relatives, human and more-than-human, who depend on these lands to live, breathe, and thrive. The Western Arctic holds deep ecological and cultural intelligence. Teshekpuk Lake is not a commodity—it’s a living system that nourishes our communities and teaches us how to be in the right relationship. Opening millions of acres to extraction during a government shutdown is not only irresponsible—it’s a betrayal of our shared responsibility to protect what’s sacred. We will continue to advocate for stewardship rooted in care, accountability, and long-term vision.”

These areas were previously protected from development to safeguard the food security, cultural traditions, and health of communities on the North Slope from expanded oil and gas development. These protections were developed with robust input from scientists and wildlife experts, Indigenous communities who live in harmony with these lands and the wildlife they support, and supportive comments from more than 200,000 people across the country.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act directed the BLM to hold at least five lease sales over the next 10 years, offering a minimum of 4 million acres at each sale. As such, this is expected to be only the first of many negative actions taken by the Administration with devastating consequences for the environment, wildlife, and the Indigenous communities that rely on protections for this region, specifically around Teshekpuk Lake. Teshekpuk Lake and its surroundings are vital for the Teshekpuk Caribou Herd, providing calving grounds, summer habitat, and migration routes. The area is also integral to Indigenous subsistence practices, supporting hunting, fishing, and gathering.

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