Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Senate voted today to approve a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to dismantle the Bureau of Land Management’s Integrated Activity Plan that protects 13.3 million acres of irreplaceable public lands and waters in the Western Arctic (called the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska (NPRA).  This legally-questionable use of the CRA will erase years of public engagement and scientific collaboration, overturning balanced management that supports Indigenous communities, wildlife, and the global climate. Once the U.S. House of Representatives passes it and the president signs it, as is expected, vast swaths of the Reserve will be open to expanded industrial oil and gas development, an action that directly undermines commitments to Tribal sovereignty, biodiversity, and climate resilience in one of the fastest-warming regions on Earth. Below is a statement from Jocelyn Torres, Chief Conservation Officer for the Conservation Lands Foundation: “Using the Congressional Review Act to undo protections in the Western Arctic is reckless and a deliberate attack on the Alaska Native communities that have cared for these lands for generations and were involved in establishing the framework that protects these lands. The Integrated Activity Plan represents years of collaboration between Tribes, local communities, scientists, and the American public to ensure the survival of vital and sensitive landscapes including Teshekpuk Lake and the Utukok Uplands. “Repealing this plan will further expose the region’s wildlife and people to devastating and irrevocable industrial impacts, all to serve short-term fossil fuel interests in a place already warming at four times the global average. It will also continue a dangerous new precedent that began earlier this month empowering Congress through the CRA to wreak havoc on how the public’s lands are managed across the country, jeopardizing the stability and predictability that communities and industries alike depend on. “The American people have made their priorities clear: they want clean air, safe water, and healthy public lands that future generations can enjoy. We will continue to stand with local communities and fight these extreme measures that decimate the natural environment that the people and wildlife of the Western Arctic depend on.” Background The National Petroleum Reserve Alaska (NPRA) is the largest unit of public land in the United States, encompassing nearly 23 million acres of critical habitat for caribou, polar bears, muskox, migratory birds, and fish. More than 40 Indigenous communities depend on the Reserve for subsistence and cultural practices that have persisted for millennia. In 2024, following extensive consultation with Alaska Native Tribes and corporations, the Biden administration finalized a rule restoring and strengthening protections for 13.3 million acres of Special Areas within the Reserve—Teshekpuk Lake, Utukok Uplands, Colville River, Kasegaluk Lagoon, and Peard Bay. This plan balanced subsistence needs with responsible land management and was widely supported by the public, with more than 250,000 comments favoring conservation. ###