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The Trump administration has also finalized a plan to open the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 19.3 million acres in northeastern Alaska that provides critical habitat to several species, to drilling, The Associated Press reported. The plan calls for at least four lease sales to take place within the refuge over a 10-year period.

This is the second time Trump has reversed previously established environmental protections for the Western Arctic. In January 2021, the first Trump administration opened 18.6 million acres -- roughly 80% of the National Petroleum Reserve -- for oil and gas development, removing Obama-era protections.

\"PHOTO:
Lance King/Getty Images, FILE
PHOTO: A view at the beginning point of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) on May 9, 2025, at Pump Station 1 in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. The 800-mile-long, 48-inch diameter pipeline pushes oil from Prudhoe Bay to the port of Valdez.
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Upon taking office later that month, former President Joe Biden moved to narrow the scope of the lease in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, placing a temporary moratorium on oil and gas activity in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and revoked the permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline.

The suspension was finalized in 2022, when the Biden administration shrank the amount of land eligible for drilling, enabling leasing of up to 52% of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska for oil and gas exploration. The move reversed the Trump-era plan that opened 82% of the reserve for drilling.

In September 2023, the Biden administration authorized the cancellation of the remaining seven oil and gas leases and proposed new regulations that would ensure maximum protection for the more than 13 million acres of \"Special Areas\" in the reserve, as well as support subsistence activities for the native communities.

A federal judge ruled in March that the Biden administration lacked the authority to cancel the leases.

\"PHOTO:
Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post via Getty Images, FILE
PHOTO: In this July 1, 2024, file photo, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which is about the size of South Carolina, in Alaska.
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Environmental groups questioned the legality surrounding the decision to overturn the Biden-era rule, accusing the Senate of misusing the Congressional Review Act to serve the GOP's agenda. Using the CRA in this fashion \"is inconsistent with responsible public land management and will create uncertainty for government agencies, the public and the conservation industry,\" according to the Defenders of Wildlife.

\"The CRA is being incorrectly used as a tool to shape the future of the Western Arctic and sets a dangerous precedent for future environmental rollbacks, encouraging policymakers to disregard the ripple effects of these actions,\" said Robert Dewey, vice president of government relations at Defenders of Wildlife, in a statement. \"This vote will authorize the fossil fuel industry’s continued destruction of habitat and landscapes that are critical for wildlife to survive.\"

Environmental groups lambasted the federal government for making such a decision amid a government shutdown that has lasted for five weeks.

\"Donald Trump and his allies in Congress have gotten us into a crisis, and now they’re exploiting it to hand over our public lands and wild places to corporate polluters – it’s shameful,\" Athan Manuel, director of the Sierra Club’s Lands Protection Program, said in a statement.

\"PHOTO:
Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post via Getty Images, FILE
PHOTO: In this June 28, 2024, file photo, caribou gather in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which is about the size of South Carolina, in Alaska.
>

Esquivel accused Republicans of \"taking advantage of the shutdown to roll back critical public lands protections crafted with robust stakeholder engagement.\"

Opening up more of the Arctic for drilling will put a \"national treasure\" at risk, according to the Center for American Progress.

\"The Trump administration is once again selling out America’s public lands to the highest bidder with little regard for the public interest or future generations,\" Jenny Rowland-Shea, director of public lands at the Center for American Progress, said in a statement. \"Drilling in the Arctic Refuge puts a national treasure at risk for marginal benefits.\"

During the 2024 campaign, Trump promised to increase oil production in the U.S. if elected for a second term, vowing during the 2024 Republican National Convention to \"Drill, baby, drill,\" despite the U.S. already producing and exporting a record amount of crude oil under the Biden administration.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.

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