The Trump administration said Friday it will auction oil and gas drilling rights in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on June 5, launching the first sale under a 2025 law requiring expanded leasing in the area.
The sale covers the refuge's 1.56-million-acre Coastal Plain and is part of a mandate for four lease auctions by 2035, reopening the entire region to energy development after years of restrictions and political disputes over drilling in the ecologically sensitive area.
The Bureau of Land Management said it will offer at least 400,000 acres in the sale, the minimum required under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed by President Donald Trump on July 4, 2025.
The agency did not specify how many tracts will be put up for bid.
The sale follows a February call for nominations and a record of decision issued by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum's department on Oct. 23, 2025, which reversed Biden-era restrictions and opened the full Coastal Plain to leasing.
A Federal Register notice of sale must be published at least 30 days before bids are opened.
Acting BLM Director Bill Groffy tied the schedule to last month's lease sale in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, which generated about $164 million in revenue.
"The record-breaking success of last month's lease sale in Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve sent a clear signal: There is robust and continuing demand for Alaskan energy, underscoring the need for more opportunities like the Coastal Plain sale," Groffy said in a statement.
Whether industry interest carries into the refuge is unsettled.
A 2021 sale during Trump's first administration, conducted under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, drew $14.4 million in high bids and resulted in nine leases covering about 437,804 acres. Seven leases went to the state-owned Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, while two were awarded to private bidders.
The Interior Department in 2023 canceled the seven AIDEA leases, citing legal deficiencies in the administrative record underlying the program. The two private lessees had already relinquished their leases.
A second sale, held in the final days of the Biden administration in January 2025, drew no bids.
A federal judge in Alaska vacated the 2023 lease cancellations in March 2025, and Trump later directed agencies to restore the program in an executive order.
The sale is already contested.
Gwich'in Athabascan leaders and environmental groups oppose drilling on the Coastal Plain, citing risks to the Porcupine caribou herd, polar bears, and migratory birds.
Earthjustice filed a notice of intent to sue in December and has said it will challenge the October leasing decision in court.
Inupiat organizations representing the North Slope, including the village of Kaktovik inside the refuge, have generally backed development, citing tax revenue and self-determination.
The outcome depends on whether companies submit bids and whether litigation delays or blocks development. If companies bid and the Interior Department issues leases, exploration permits and seismic approvals would follow under separate environmental reviews.
If the sale again draws no bids, the administration will still have satisfied one of four statutory sales required through 2035.
Ongoing legal challenges to the October decision could delay or limit any leases awarded June 5.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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