Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation Responds to Reckless Lease Sale of Iizhik Gwats’an Gwandaii Goodlit

Last week, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released the Detailed Statement of Sale for the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program, setting the next lease sale for June 5, 2026. That same day, President Trump invoked the Defense Production Act as part of a series of presidential actions aimed at expanding oil, gas, and coal development by easing regulatory and financial constraints.

Once again, the irreplaceable calving grounds of the Porcupine caribou herd within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge are being put up for bidding, treating these sacred lands as commodities to be sold to the highest bidder.

The Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation remains unwavering in our opposition to oil and gas development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and is issuing a clear warning to any company considering participation in this lease sale to not proceed. Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge carries profound human, cultural, and environmental consequences. For the Vuntut Gwitchin, the Coastal Plain is not merely undeveloped lands and waters. It is the sacred birthplace of Vadzaih (caribou), which has sustained our people, culture and way of life for generations.

Participation in leasing the Coastal Plain is not only reprehensible; it exposes companies to significant material, financial, legal and reputational risk. There are ongoing, unresolved legal challenges related to violations of multiple laws in the process used to advance drilling in the Arctic Refuge. At the same time, financial institutions, insurers and investors across the globe have adopted policies restricting or prohibiting support for Arctic Refuge oil and gas development.

Due to the significant foreseeable risks associated with oil and gas development in the Arctic Refuge, the market has already demonstrated a clear lack of interest with all previous lease sales attracting little to no interest. A 2025 lease sale received no bids and the 2021 lease sale failed to attract major oil companies, with revenues falling far short of projections. In the aftermath of the 2021 sale, two of the three leaseholders relinquished their interests entirely.

Despite clear evidence of market disinterest and the substantial risks involved, the BLM is proceeding and on June 5, more than 680,000 acres of the Coastal Plain will be made available for bidding at a minimum price of $25 per acre.

The Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation calls on industry leaders, in undertaking their required due diligence in accordance with international human rights standards, to recognize the profound risks and responsibilities involved in any oil and gas development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and to make the prudent decision to not participate in any future lease sales.

Quotes

“At a time of global instability, including ongoing conflicts and shifting energy markets, attempts to justify drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and defend a so-called “national energy emergency” are both misleading and dangerous. Industrializing one of the world’s most ecologically and culturally significant landscapes is not a responsible solution.

The Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation will continue to stand firmly against the destruction of our sacred lands. We will not accept the violation of our rights. We will hold those responsible to account.”

— Chief Pauline Frost, Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation

“It is unacceptable to place a price on lands that are sacred and irreplaceable to our people. The true value of this place cannot be measured in dollars. It is the heart of our people and is inseparable from our survival.”

— Norma Kassi, Elder, Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation 

“The caribou are very spiritual to us as a nation. It reminds us of where we came from and our ancestral ties to the land. We must care for the lands and waters that sustain the Porcupine caribou, for our children, our grandchildren and all future generations. Protecting the caribou means protecting our shared future.”

— Roger Kyikavichik, Elder, Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation

“The Coastal Plain provides the nourishment the Porcupine caribou need to give birth and raise their calves, something that cannot be replaced. Threatening this place puts the herd and our food security at risk, especially as low salmon returns leave us increasingly dependent on imported food.

Any company considering development of these sacred lands must recognize the serious legal, financial, and reputational risks. Industrializing these lands violates the rights of the Gwich’in Nation, ignores decades of clear opposition, and disregards the broader public interest.”

— Councillor Harold Frost, Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, Gwich'in Steering Committee Co-Chair

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For all media inquiries, please contact:

Riley Smith, Strategic Communications Advisor
riley.smith@vgfn.ca 
(825) 965-8586

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Background

• On December 22, 2017, the first Trump Administration used budget reconciliation to pass the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act which mandated two lease sales in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (Arctic Refuge) for oil and gas development by ‘not later than 10 years after the date of enactment’. 
• Following this mandate, the Trump Administration rushed the leasing process, completing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and initiating the multi-step lease sale process. The first lease sale was held on January 6, 2021, during the final days of the first Trump Administration. Nine leases covering over 400,000 acres of the Coastal Plain were issued to Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA), Knik Arm Services LLC, and Regenerate Alaska Inc..
• The first lease sale generated $14.4 million in initial bid with actual revenue now standing at $9.7 million - less than 1% of the projections made in 2017 by proponents of drilling, which were used to justify inclusion of the program in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.  
• On January 20 2021, President Biden signed an Executive Order which placed a temporary moratorium on all oil and natural gas leasing activities in the Arctic Refuge. In June 2021, the Department of Interior suspended leases in the Arctic Refuge pending a comprehensive analysis of environmental impacts.
• Following this suspension, Knik Arm Services LLC and Regenerate Alaska Inc. cancelled their leases, and the Department of Interior cancelled the remaining leases held by AIDEA, acknowledging that the 2021 lease sale was seriously flawed and based on a number of legal deficiencies. 
• After completing a supplemental environmental review and implementing a more protective oil and gas leasing program which offered a smaller area of the Arctic Refuge available for lease, the Biden Administration held the second lease sale of the Arctic Refuge required by Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in early January 2025. No bids were received. 
• In 2022, Chevron and Hillcorp abandoned their interests in the Arctic Refuge, paying the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation to exit their legacy leases on a small tract of land owned by the Alaska Native Corporation. These leases were originally held by BP and Chevron since the 1980s when the oil companies drilled the only test well in the Refuge, the results of which were never released.
• Major financial institutions, including banks in the U.S. and Canada are among more than two dozen banks around the world that announced they will not fund any oil and gas development in the Arctic Refuge. Additionally, more than 20 international insurers have said they would not insure any drilling in the Arctic Refuge. 
• Partners of the Porcupine Caribou Management Agreement, including the governments of Canada, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Vuntut Gwitchin, Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in, the Gwich’in Tribal Council and the Inuvialuit Game Council, have stated that drilling in the Arctic Refuge presents a direct threat to the survival of the Porcupine caribou herd and remain committed to the goal of permanent protection for the sacred calving grounds for Porcupine caribou in this region of Alaska. 
• On the first day of his new term, President Trump issued “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential,” outlining his Administration’s pathway to reopen the Arctic Refuge for oil and gas drilling, including the rollback of environmental protections and the reinstatement of previously suspended leases.
• In July 2025, The Trump Administration passed the Big Beautiful Bill, mandating four additional oil and gas lease sales of the Coastal Plain under certain timelines, specifically:

                the initial lease sale by July 3, 2026

                a second lease sale by July 3, 2028

                a third lease sale by July 3, 2030

                a fourth lease by July 3, 2032

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• In Fall 2025, the Trump Administration repealed the Biden-era leasing program, reinstating a leasing program that opens the entire Coastal Plain with fewer environmental and cultural protections and reinstated all oil and gas leases held by AIDEA, covering more than 350,000 acres within the Coastal Plain.
• In response, the Gwich’in Steering Committee and 12 allied organizations filed an amended lawsuit against the Trump Administration. The lawsuit alleges that multiple U.S. federal departments have violated federal laws, including the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Wilderness Act, and the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
• On February 5, the Bureau of Land Management issued the Call for Nominations for the 2026 lease sale of the Coastal Plain. The process is used to help identify areas to be offered in a forthcoming lease sale and is typically used for industry to comment on what areas are of most interest for them.