HELP PROTECT OUR SACRED ARCTIC

Dear Secretary Burgum and Acting Director Raby,

I write to strongly urge the Department of the Interior (DOI) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to uphold the 2024 “Management and Protection of the NPR-A” Rule and to protect the NPR-A from any oil and gas development that threatens key areas and iconic species essential to the subsistence way of life. I vehemently oppose striking down these critical protections, which are foundational to the health, culture, and continuity of the Iñupiat people and our communities.

The Western Arctic is home to beluga and bowhead whales, polar bears, migratory birds, and America’s largest caribou herd – the Teshekpuk Caribou Herd – which is a vital food source for over 40 Indigenous communities. These lands are not merely a wildlife habitat; they are the ancestral home and source of sustenance for generations of our people, whose lives and cultures are inextricably linked to the land and its resources.

The 2024 NPR-A Rule is a long-overdue framework that finally balances oil development with the protection of our Iñupiat subsistence, health, and cultural continuity. Crucially, this rule is built around the principle of "subsistence first, consultation always." It embeds subsistence as a “significant resource value” that must be given maximum protection in every Special Area decision and guarantees reasonable access for hunters and fishers, mirroring ANILCA 811. Furthermore, it requires BLM to base every Special Area designation, boundary change, or protective measure on “the best available scientific information, including Indigenous Knowledge, and the best available information concerning subsistence uses.” These provisions ensure that subsistence needs and Tribal voices are not side notes but the organizing principle of NPR-A management.

Taking away critical protections for more than 13 million acres in the Western Arctic would put this fragile ecosystem and our vital subsistence practices at extreme risk of expanded oil and gas industrialization. Road-building, industrial traffic, and construction, as well as emissions associated with fossil fuel development, would directly disrupt caribou migration, harm marine mammals, and contaminate the lands and waters that provide our traditional foods. This would worsen the impacts of climate change in a region already warming faster than anywhere else on the planet, severely undermining our food security and cultural traditions.

The 2024 Rule also includes crucial procedural safeguards: before any oil project may proceed in a Special Area, it requires the BLM to consult with affected Tribes and prepare a public Statement of Adverse Effects that details subsistence harms, evaluates practicable alternatives, and prescribes avoidance, minimization, or compensatory mitigation measures. It further requires a 10-year (or sooner) Special Area review to update protections as climate and subsistence conditions change, again with mandatory Tribal consultation and public participation. These are essential for upholding BLM’s legal duties and trust responsibility to the Iñupiat people.

I urge the Department of the Interior not to repeal the NPR-A rules, which were established to protect millions of acres of public land, a diverse range of wildlife, and the traditions and subsistence practices of Indigenous peoples who have stewarded and lived in harmony with the land since time immemorial.

If BLM believes changes are necessary, it must first undertake a thorough NEPA analysis and an ANILCA 810 subsistence evaluation, and conduct meaningful consultation with all affected Iñupiat Tribes and communities before any action.

Signed,

[First name] 

[Last name]

[email address] 

[zip code]