Trump Administration to Lift 28M Acres of Alaska Land Withdrawals
The planned change would open federal land in Alaska to development and transfer to the state or Alaska Native corporations.
Updated on Nov. 13, 2026 in National Parks
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The Trump administration is preparing to lift D-1 withdrawals covering 28 million acres of federal land in Alaska, a move that would allow development and transfer of the land to the state or Alaska Native corporations. The Bureau of Land Management has stated its intent to revoke the withdrawals before the end of 2026.
Why it matters
The D-1 withdrawals currently prevent development on the affected lands, so lifting them could open acreage across Alaska to mining, oil and gas drilling, and timber sales. The stated intent of the change is to spur more resource development in the state.
The 28 million acres under D-1 withdrawal compare with the 2 million acres the federal government ceded to Alaska in Interior Alaska less than a year before the planned change. Whether the revocation will proceed on the stated schedule remains unconfirmed.
The players
Trump administration
The federal executive branch led by President Donald Trump, which is pursuing the removal of the Alaska land withdrawals as part of an effort to expand resource development.
Bureau of Land Management
The Interior Department agency that manages most federal public land and is responsible for carrying out the revocation of the D-1 withdrawals.
Biden administration
The prior federal administration that reviewed the 2021 land orders and reversed them, keeping all of the D-1 withdrawals in place.
The details
The Secretary of the Interior has the authority to remove the withdrawals, and the Bureau of Land Management is holding government-to-government consultations with tribes on possible changes. A new Trump executive order titled "Unleashing Alaska's Natural Resource Potential" directs the plan, after public land orders issued in the final days of the first Trump administration were reversed by the Biden administration, which kept all withdrawals in place.
Timeline
Final days of the first Trump administration (2021): Public land orders issued to remove the 28 million acres of withdrawals
2024: Biden administration review named the Palmer Project and Haines State Forest logging as reasonably foreseeable future developments
Before the end of 2026: Bureau of Land Management intends to revoke the withdrawals
Seasonal Patterns
The D-1 withdrawals date to decades of federal land protection in Alaska under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, and the planned revocation would reverse that protective status for 28 million acres. The move follows a 2024 review that had identified logging and mining projects as reasonably foreseeable future developments on the same land.
Visitors planning trips to Alaska's wild landscapes may see changes in the character of some areas if the withdrawals are lifted and development proceeds. Travelers interested in the Chilkat Valley and Haines region should watch for any resulting shifts in land use there.
The takeaway
Land-use decisions in Alaska can reshape both resource development and the wild landscapes visitors come to see, so tracking the final revocation order will show how much acreage actually changes hands. Readers planning Alaska trips should keep an eye on the Chilkat Valley and Haines State Forest areas, where the changes would be most visible.
What happens next
The Bureau of Land Management has stated its intent to revoke the withdrawals before the end of 2026, and government-to-government consultations with tribes are ongoing.
Further reading
For background on the protected landscapes at stake, explore National Parks coverage across Alaska.
Source note: This article includes information reported by KHNS Radio | KHNS FM.
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