ASRC & North Slope Borough Join AIDEA’s Lawsuit Against Biden, Eco-Left’s ANWR Actions

December 9, 2021

From time immemorial, Iñupiat Esikmos of the northernmost areas of Alaska have depended on sound ecosystems for their subsistence-based, traditional lifestyles.  They’ve counted on the lands and seas above the Arctic Circle to sustain their families and communities. 

For 50 years, they have also learned how to balance those ecosystems with responsible development; realizing that working with energy producers to maximize their financial and employment returns, while minimizing the environmental impact of extraction of oil, gas and minerals, was the optimal way to maintain their traditional lands.

When the Biden Administration – on its first day in office – fulfilled a campaign promise and shut down future development steps in the 10-02 area of ANWR, the Iñupiat found themselves in the crosshairs of environmental extremism.  Throughout their region, people were upset over being denied jobs, the opportunity to prosper and being relegated to second-class status behind indigenous groups who had no direct connection to the northernmost areas of Alaska.

When the Alaska Industrial Development & Export Authority (AIDEA) had its binding leases within the 10-02 suspended by executive actions of the Department of the Interior, then stymied during its attempts to engage Interior to see how to be able to restart its exploratory process on their leased areas, they fought back by filing suit against the President and a number of federal agencies.

Now, the two most directly-impacted groups have joined together in the suit, as the area’s Regional Corporation (Arctic Slope Regional Association) and local government entity (the North Slope Borough) were added as plaintiffs this week.  Their unified attempts to hold the administration accountable for its actions are welcomed by all of us at Power The Future, and should be celebrated and championed by rational, reasonable Alaskans.