By THE ALASKA STORY
May 8, 2026 – The State of Alaska moved Thursday to shut down a federal lawsuit filed by environmental groups seeking to block the transfer of nearly 1.4 million acres of land along the Dalton Highway Corridor, arguing the court no longer has jurisdiction now that the land has officially been conveyed to the state.
The motion to dismiss comes just one day after the federal government issued Tentative Approval for approximately 1.38 million acres, vesting equitable title in Alaska and marking one of the largest statehood land conveyances in decades.
The legal challenge was brought by 10 environmental organizations against the Department of the Interior’s decision to revoke two long-standing federal land withdrawals dating back to the construction era of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.
Alaska argues the lawsuit became legally defective the moment the land transfer occurred.
“Today’s transfer along the Dalton corridor represents a major step toward fulfilling the promises made to Alaska at statehood more than sixty years ago,” said Alaska Attorney General Stephen Cox. “These lands are tied to Alaska’s future — transportation, energy infrastructure, resource development, and access across some of the most strategically important parts of our State. This case is about Alaska’s sovereignty. And our motion to dismiss makes clear that no state can be hauled into federal court and divested of real property rights without its consent. The Court must dismiss this case.”
At the center of the dispute are Public Land Orders 5150 and 5180, withdrawals put in place during the 1970s to support development and construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.
On Feb. 25, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued Public Land Order 7966, revoking the older withdrawals and reopening the land for possible conveyance to the State of Alaska. After a required 30-day waiting period, the order automatically took effect under provisions of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, triggering the conveyance process.
The Biden-era delays and disputes over Alaska’s remaining land entitlement have become a major political issue for Alaska leaders, who have argued for years that the federal government has failed to fully honor the promises made under the Alaska Statehood Act of 1959.
The Department of the Interior announced the transfer publicly on Wednesday, calling it a significant milestone toward completing Alaska’s long-unfinished land entitlement.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy praised the transfer and tied it directly to President Donald Trump’s push for expanded domestic energy development.
“What we’re seeing now is that promises made to Alaska are finally being kept,” Dunleavy said. “President Trump understands that unleashing Alaska’s resources not only represents a commitment to the people of Alaska, but a benefit to all Americans who will benefit from these resources.”
The transfer includes land adjacent to some of Alaska’s most strategically important infrastructure corridors, including the Dalton Highway, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, and proposed routes tied to the Ambler Road project and the Alaska LNG project.
Alaska Department of Natural Resources Commissioner-designee John Crowther said the conveyance will allow the state to better manage development opportunities while preserving access to surrounding federal lands.
“The Department will eagerly steward these critical lands on behalf of Alaskans while working to ensure they continue to have access to nearby federal lands,” Crowther said. “These actions by DOI and BLM-Alaska are an important step in fulfilling federal promises made decades ago, which have secured millions of entitlement acres for the State to date.”
The environmental groups challenging the transfer argue the federal government failed to adequately analyze environmental impacts before revoking the withdrawals and reopening the land for state selection.
But Alaska’s filing argues the federal court can no longer provide the relief plaintiffs seek because the United States has already transferred equitable title to the state, and Alaska has not consented to being sued in federal court over its land ownership.
If the court agrees, the case could be dismissed without reaching the environmental claims themselves.
The conveyance represents more than 96% completion of Alaska’s total land entitlement under the Statehood Act, according to the Department of the Interior, leaving only a relatively small portion still unresolved after more than six decades.
6 thoughts on “Alaska moves to block environmental groups from stopping transfer of federal land to Alaska”
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is such a breathe of fresh air after the suffocating woke previous Secretary “Karen” Haaland with “daddy’s girl” Lisa parading around the state tying knots in Alaska’s lifeline to energy and mineral production as well as many other developmental restrictions.
Leaders of environmental organization they don’t care about the land . They just care about the leaders who would benefit from land and development are not themselves and their leaders. So until they got their own people to develop the land and resources they’ll against any development.
It’s all about power and control and who has it.
We would not be in this pickle except for Alaska’s “Man of the Century” Ted Stevens, who cooperated with Jimmy Carter to give us ANILCA. Mike Gravel, a liberal, actually fought like a true Alaskan when he warned us that the promises of development were fake, and that Alaska’s economy would go down the drain. Ted kept it afloat only with massive federal grants, which would not last forever. You want lawsuits? How ’bout Alaska suing the federal government that ALL federal properties must be confined to “forts, arsenals, magazines, dockyards and other needful buildings.” See Article I, Sec. 8, Cl. 17. Know how the Alaska Pipeline slipped by the Green Lobby in 1972? Why, they exercised Art. III, Sec. 2: “The supreme court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions and such regulations as the Congress shall make.” Otherwise, the pipeline would have been delayed indefinitely. They could do that any time the Republicans have the majority, which they — ahem — do right now.
“……….We would not be in this pickle except for Alaska’s “Man of the Century” Ted Stevens, who cooperated with Jimmy Carter to give us ANILCA. Mike Gravel, a liberal, actually fought like a true Alaskan when he warned us that the promises of development were fake………”
Hear! Hear!
Rush said years ago the invironmentalist movement is the new home of the Communist Party.
The transfer of that land is in the interest of “statehood land” not ANILCA. The environmentalists should appeal. Statehood Land comes before ANILCA in time and space, distance to the congressional acts of Senators and Reps at the time Alaska became a state. It’s a play on mental intentions but not fact. The land transferred today is “statehood land” and that is first and foremost. Don’t let the Crime Boss Dunleavy and any of those he hired change that fact. Statehood land and ANILCA are two different things. The land transfer is under the guidance of agreement at the time Alaska became a state in 1959. Land use on that land is up to the legislature, not the say so of the Dept of Interior or the Natives or the President of the USA. Dumb bell agreements with the Natives for confidentiality of land that touched the Ambler Road Plan has no merit or reality. So, the legislative body and the Resources Committee needs to get busy to use the land for Alaskans.