Sponsors (23)
The bill secures permanent wilderness protection for about 1.56 million acres of the Arctic coastal plain—locking in conservation, climate, and recreation benefits—while forgoing potential fossil‑fuel development, related local economic gains, and imposing new land‑use constraints that may affect some Indigenous activities.
Residents — especially rural and Indigenous communities — and the public gain permanent wilderness protection for about 1.56 million acres of the Arctic coastal plain, preserving habitat, recreation access, biodiversity, and ecosystem services such as carbon storage.
Federal, state, and local governments gain clearer, long‑term legal guidance for managing the designated coastal plain under Wilderness Act standards, reducing future regulatory uncertainty for conservation decisions.
Energy companies and workers, and nearby local communities, lose the opportunity to develop oil and gas on roughly 1.56 million acres, which reduces potential industry activity, local jobs, and lease royalties that some communities would have received.
Indigenous communities that rely on the area for certain economic activities or infrastructure may face new regulatory constraints on land use and development choices within the newly designated wilderness.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Designates about 1,559,538 acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain as wilderness and adds it to the National Wilderness Preservation System.
Introduced April 29, 2025 by Edward John Markey · Last progress April 29, 2025
Designates approximately 1,559,538 acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain as wilderness and adds that area to the National Wilderness Preservation System. The designation relies on a map dated October 20, 2015 (Map ID 03–0172) held in the Secretary’s offices and would subject the area to the protections and restrictions of the Wilderness Act, limiting most new development and extractive activities.