Lawsuits challenge renewed push for oil drilling in Alaska petroleum reserve

Conservation groups and Iñupiat community file legal actions over upcoming lease sale in National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska

Published on Feb. 21, 2026

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Conservation organizations and an Iñupiat group have filed legal challenges to the Trump administration's renewed push for oil and gas development in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The lawsuits target an upcoming lease sale on March 18 that they say improperly makes available ecologically sensitive lands that have been long protected.

Why it matters

The National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska is a vast area on the state's North Slope that provides critical habitat for wildlife like caribou, bears, wolves, and migratory birds. The debate over how much of the reserve should be open for oil and gas development has been ongoing, with differing views among Alaska Natives about the impacts on their communities.

The details

The lawsuits argue that the planned lease sale includes tracts of land near Teshekpuk Lake and the Colville River that were previously designated as special areas due to their wildlife, subsistence, and other values. The plaintiffs say the Bureau of Land Management has provided no rationale for including these sensitive areas in the lease sale. One lawsuit also challenges the cancellation of a right-of-way that was aimed at protecting the Teshekpuk caribou herd and its habitat.

  • The upcoming lease sale is scheduled for March 18, 2026.
  • The Trump administration's renewed push for oil and gas development in the reserve began in recent years.

The players

Earthjustice

A non-profit environmental law organization that filed one of the lawsuits on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Earth.

The Wilderness Society

An environmental advocacy group that filed the other lawsuit, along with Grandmothers Growing Goodness, an Iñupiat community organization.

U.S. Department of Interior

The federal agency that oversees the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska and is named as a defendant in the lawsuits.

U.S. Bureau of Land Management

The federal agency under the Department of Interior that is responsible for managing the lease sale and is also named as a defendant.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

The federal agency under the Department of Interior that is named as a defendant in one of the lawsuits.

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What’s next

The courts will decide whether to invalidate any leases issued in the upcoming sale and block future sales based on the plaintiffs' arguments about flawed environmental reviews and land management plans.

The takeaway

This legal battle highlights the ongoing tensions between conservation efforts and the push for oil and gas development in sensitive Arctic ecosystems like the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, with Alaska Natives caught in the middle as they weigh the potential impacts on their communities and traditional ways of life.