By Alliance Intern Eleanor Hulan, U of MN
In March 2026, several oil companies including Repsol/Shell, ExxonMobil, and Armstrong Oil and Gas successfully submitted bids to buy land in the Western Arctic. 1.3 million acres in total has been bid on, some of which is among the most ecologically sensitive in the Arctic.
These companies aim to continue expanding the dirty process of fossil fuel extraction without mind to the displacement and murder of millions of migrating birds, grizzly and polar bears and wolves. The Western Arctic also includes the largest caribou population in Northern America. Fossil fuel companies will continue to do their best to extract profit and drain the lifeblood from a formerly pristine region that is now warming four times faster than the rest of the world.
Additionally, native people who have made the Arctic their home for thousands of years will lose natural resources, their traditions, and their livelihoods should this deal go through, per the NRDC. It should also be noted that a 2026 court order ruled that a Native coalition’s land agreement – the Nuiqsut Trilateral Conservation Right-of-Way – which protects the Nuiqsut Tribe and the land they inhabit around Teshekpuk Lake, “shall remain in full force and effect”. This makes the legality of the deal questionable at best.
An additional administrative order, the cancellation of the Trilateral Conservation Easement, is currently being challenged in court, but, per the Trump playbook, the deal is moving ahead regardless of court order.
After witnessing 430 successful bids, Kirsten Miller, executive director at the Alaska Wilderness League, said “Congratulations to the oil companies who showed up today to bid on our shared Arctic heritage. You got a dirty deal. The rest of us — and every generation that comes after us — got the bill.”
Time is expiring on submitting comments to the administration – the deadline is July 6. Please join the Alliance in signing the NRDC petition to voice your opposition to the continued destruction of animal habitats and tribal land in the name of profit.