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Indigenous leaders and conservationists urge strongest protections, call Arctic Coastal Plain development a threat to caribou and subsistence
Summary
Public testimony during the BLM/USFWS virtual SEIS meeting featured Indigenous elders, conservation groups and citizens urging no leasing or the most protective alternative to safeguard Porcupine caribou calving grounds, subsistence rights and critical wildlife habitat.
Dozens of callers urged the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to adopt the strongest possible protections for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Coastal Plain, telling agency officials that development threatens the Porcupine caribou herd, Indigenous subsistence and important wildlife habitat.
"As a Nacho Nyak Dun citizen, I rely on the traditional foods harvested within our communities ... The Nacho Nyak Dun are opposed to any development within the Arctic Refuge," said Barbara Buyck, one of several elders who called in during the preregistered public comment period. Norma Kassi, a Vuntut Gwich’in elder, thanked the Biden Administration for cancelling existing leases and urged the administration to "adopt the strongest protection measures possible until the Arctic Refuge receives permanent protection."
Speakers emphasized the cultural and practical importance of the Porcupine caribou herd to Gwich’in communities and described accelerating local impacts from climate change and food insecurity. Diloola Erickson described declines in moose and fish populations in Interior Alaska and called the caribou one of the few remaining accessible food sources for some Indigenous communities.
Conservation groups and private citizens also urged tight limits on leasable acreage and stronger stipulations. "This draft SEIS has made many improvements, but more needs to be done to ensure strong protections for the land, wildlife and subsistence resources in compliance with the law," said Ashley Davis, Climate and Justice Partnership Organizer with Alaska Wilderness League.
Commenters repeatedly recommended Alternative A (No Action) where possible, or, if not legally permissible, the most protective action alternative (Alternative D). Several speakers flagged risks from seismic exploration, horizontal drilling and disturbance of denning and calving habitat, and warned that permafrost thaw and greenhouse gas emissions make new development particularly harmful.
Other callers reinforced the cross‑continent support for protection. "Our home, our mother, our planet, is experiencing great ecological turmoil," said Norma Kassi. "The fight to protect this place must continue."
The public comment record remains open through Nov. 7, 2023. Agency officials reiterated that written comments may be submitted on the BLM ePlanning site or by mail and that the agencies will consider testimony and written submissions as they prepare the Final Supplemental EIS.
