16. Department of the Interior · Minor
Lift BLM Public Land Orders blocking Alaska and Alaska Native land selections
Printed page 530 16. Department of the Interior
“Standing in the way are Public Land Orders (PLOs) issued by the BLM seizing that land for the agency. Those PLOs must be lifted to permit Alaska and Alaska Natives to select what was promised by Congress.”
What has happened
- Partially done
BLM issued Public Land Order 7966, partially revoking Public Land Orders 5150 and 5180 over about 2,127,845 acres of the Dalton Utility Corridor and opening them to location and entry. Interior's announcement puts it in the Quote's own terms: the revocation "allows approximately 2.1 million acres of 'top filed' land … to become effective state selections" against Alaska's remaining 5.2-million-acre statehood entitlement, and 1.4 million acres were transferred to the State by May 2026. Congress added the Cape Fox Land Entitlement Finalization Act (P.L. 119-93) and the Alaska Native Vietnam Era Veterans Land Allotment Extension Act (P.L. 119-63). A large piece of the entitlement, not the whole of it: 2.1 million acres of a 5.2-million-acre shortfall, and the other Public Land Orders standing in the way remain.
- BLM: Public Land Order No. 7966; Partial Revocation of Public Land Order Nos. 5150 and 5180, as Amended, Modified, or Corrected; Alaska — about 2,127,845 acres in the Dalton Utility Corridor opened
- Interior press release: Department of the Interior Opens 2.1 Million Acres in Alaska's Dalton Corridor — revoking PLOs 5150 and 5180 to make "top filed" land effective state selections against Alaska's remaining 5.2-million-acre entitlement
- Interior press release: Interior Transfers 1.4 Million Acres in Dalton Utility Corridor to State of Alaska
- Public Law 119-93, Cape Fox Land Entitlement Finalization Act of 2025
- Attempted
Interior finalized a land transfer to the NANA Regional Corporation, the first of the Alaska conveyance actions in the window, and EO 14153 and SO 3422 directed the wider review. Congress enacted the Alaska Native Village Municipal Lands Restoration Act (P.L. 119-23, 2025-07-07) and the Alaska Native Settlement Trust Eligibility Act (P.L. 119-22) the same month. No Public Land Order had yet been lifted.
Research log
What was searched, and what didn’t count as evidence
Research notes
Congress and the Department both moved on this: three Alaska land Acts became law, and BLM revoked the Dalton Corridor withdrawals that had kept 2.1 million acres out of the State’s reach.
- Action
- withdraw
- Object
- BLM Public Land Orders blocking Alaska and Alaska Native entitlements
- ID
- 1483