JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — In an aggressive move that angered Republicans, the Biden administration canceled the seven remaining oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday, overturning sales held in the Trump administration’s waning days, and proposed stronger protections against development on vast swaths of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.

The Department of Interior’s scrapping of the leases comes after the Biden administration disappointed environmental groups earlier this year by approving the Willow oil project in the petroleum reserve, a massive project by ConocoPhillips Alaska that could produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil a day on Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope. Protections are proposed for more than 20,000 square miles (51,800 square kilometers) of land in the reserve in the western Arctic.

Some critics who said the approval of Willow flew in the face of Biden’s pledges to address climate change lauded Wednesday’s announcement. But they said more could be done. Litigation over the approval of the Willow project is pending.

“Alaska is home to many of America’s most breathtaking natural wonders and culturally significant areas. As the climate crisis warms the Arctic more than twice as fast as the rest of the world, we have a responsibility to protect this treasured region for all ages,” Biden said in a statement.

His actions “meet the urgency of the climate crisis” and will “protect our lands and waters for generations to come,” Biden said.

Alaska’s Republican governor condemned Biden’s moves and threatened to sue. And at least one Democratic lawmaker said the decision could hurt Indigenous communities in an isolated region where oil development is an important economic driver.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who drew criticism for her role in the approval of the Willow project, said Wednesday that “no one will have rights to drill for oil in one of the most sensitive landscapes on earth.” However, a 2017 law mandates another lease sale by late 2024. Administration officials said they intend to comply with the law.

The Biden administration also announced proposed rules aimed at providing stronger protections against new leasing and development in portions of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska that are designated as special areas for their wildlife, subsistence, scenic or other values. The proposal still must go through public comment. Willow lies within the reserve but was not expected to be affected by the proposed rules.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s 1.5-million-acre (600,000-hectare) coastal plain, which lies along the Beaufort Sea on Alaska’s northeastern edge, is seen as sacred by the Indigenous Gwich’in because it is where caribou they rely on migrate and come to give birth. The plain is marked by hills, rivers and small lakes and tundra. Migratory birds and caribou pass through the plain, which provides habitat for wildlife including polar bears and wolves.

Alaska political leaders — including some Democrats — have long pushed to allow oil and gas drilling in the refuge in part because of its economic impact on Indigenous communities in an area with few other jobs. Many of those same voices pressed Biden to approve the Willow project for the same reason.

“I am deeply frustrated by the reversal of these leases in ANWR,” said U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, a Democrat, using a common shorthand for the refuge. “This administration showed that it is capable of listening to Alaskans with the approval of the Willow Project, and it is some of those same Inupiat North Slope communities who are most impacted by this decision. I will continue to advocate for them and for Alaska’s ability to explore and develop our natural resources.”

Alaska’s congressional delegation in 2017 succeeded in getting language added to a federal tax law that called for the U.S. government to hold two lease sales in the region by late 2024.

Drilling opponents on Wednesday urged Congress to repeal the leasing provision from the 2017 law and permanently make the coastal plain off limits to drilling.

“It is nearly impossible to overstate the importance of today’s announcements for Arctic conservation,” said Jamie Williams, president of the Wilderness Society. “Once again, the Arctic Refuge is free of oil leases. Our climate is a bit safer and there is renewed hope for permanently protecting one of the last great wild landscapes in America.”

Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan denounced Biden’s actions as the latest volley in what he called a “war on Alaska.”

Two other leases that were issued as part of the first-of-its-kind sale for the refuge in January 2021 were previously given up by the small companies that held them amid legal wrangling and uncertainty over the drilling program.

After taking office, Biden issued an executive order calling for a temporary moratorium on activities related to the leasing program and for the Interior secretary to review the program. Haaland later in 2021 ordered a new environmental review after concluding there were “multiple legal deficiencies” underlying the Trump-era leasing program. Haaland halted activities related to the leasing program pending the new analysis.

A draft environmental review was released Wednesday.

The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, a state corporation that won seven leases in the 2021 sale, sued over the moratorium. But a federal judge recently found the delay by Interior to conduct a new review was not unreasonable.

The corporation obtained the leases to preserve drilling rights in case oil companies did not come forward. Major oil companies sat out the sale, held after prominent banks had announced they would not finance Arctic oil and gas projects.

Bernadette Demientieff, executive director of the Gwich’in Steering Committee, thanked the administration for the lease cancellation — but issued a warning.

“We know that our sacred land is only temporarily safe from oil and gas development,” she said. “We urge the administration and our leaders in Congress to repeal the oil and gas program and permanently protect the Arctic Refuge.”

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Eklutna is a small native community within the Municipality of Anchorage, in the United States state of Alaska. Alongside the Cook Inlet, about 30 minutes from Downtown Anchorage, my husband Lloyd and I found that Eklutna, dating back to 1650, is the oldest inhabited Athabascan Indian community in the Anchorage area, and that it has approximately 800 years of human history.

This Indian village of Eklutna was inhabited by the Tanaina Tribe of the Athabascan people who occupy this area. Just about all residents of the Eklutna Village are either Alaska Native or part Native, most of them being members of the federally recognized Native Village of Eklutna.

The first non-Native settlers arrived here around the 1840s and were Russian Orthodox missionaries. Their influence is still evident at this Eklutna Historical Park Cemetery.  When the Russians appeared, they supposedly criticized the natives for burying their dead above the ground, and beneath rock clams.

When Alaska was sold to the United States, many Russians went back to Russia. However, their influence remained, and Russian Orthodox now is the biggest Christian faith in Alaska.  A blending of Russian Orthodox Christianity and native Athabascan traditions developed, bringing about these colorful graves, with more than eighty native spirit houses, being positioned over traditional graves. We viewed the sacred burial ground of the Dena’ina Indians, also called Tanaina. Following custom, these highly decorated spirit houses provide shelter for the spirits of the departed. 

This cemetery is the most photographed graveyard in Alaska and outweighs any other features of the village. The cemetery at Eklutna, founded around 1650, is famous for its small and decorative spirit houses, which are miniature houses built atop the graves. They are made in a diversity of styles and colors, with unusual styles and colors distinctive to certain families and family members.  The blending of colors is from a marriage between two families, and every family has its own color scheme and style.

Some graves also are marked with an Orthodox Christian cross, which honor the resting places of the Orthodox non-native members of the church. The graves originally contained guns, cups, and other items that the deceased might need in the afterlife. 

The Dena’ina Athabascan village of Eklutna is the last of eight villages that existed before the Alaska Railroad was built, which brought an arrival of American colonists around 1915. An Alaska Railroad siding and station house were constructed near the village Eklutna in 1918. The federal government managed a boarding school for native children near the village prior to World War II, and the U.S. Army established a facility close-by in the mid-20th century, which now is gone.

We saw two Russian Orthodox churches at Eklutna, the historic Old Log Russian Orthodox Church and the new Orthodox Church. The charming little old log church is kept up for historical purposes, is on the National Register of Historic Places, and states, “Most Holy Theotokos Save Us.” The lovely church originally was built in Knik around 1870, and relocated to Eklutna around 1900, where it was used until replaced by the new church.

Lloyd and I also saw the new St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, which was built in 1962 by the people of Eklutna, and still is a fully functioning church. An adjacent sign described the history of the restoration of the church to us.

A distinguishing feature of Russian Orthodox churches is the onion-shaped domes on top of the cupolas. Many historians do not agree about the origin of this individualistic design, but some of the historians mention the influence of Persia on this aspect of Russian church architecture.

The interior of Alaska is home to the Athabaskan Native Peoples, and the Heritage House Museum provides tours and information about the merging of the Athabascan and missionary cultures. Just about all the Eklutna Village are Alaska Native or part Native, the majority being members of the federally recognized Native Village of Eklutna. For employment, most Tribal Members commute to work in Anchorage, Eagle River, or the Matanuska-Susitna Valley. 

Eklutna first was seen on the 1930 United States Census, listed as an unincorporated village, with 158 residents. It continued to report on the census until 1970 and was annexed into Anchorage in 1975. 

While Lloyd and I were visiting Eklutna Historical Park, we came upon an arts and crafts fair at the entrance, where we learned that Qiviut is combed from the undercoat of the musk ox. This fiber is rarer than cashmere, is eight times warmer than wool, is light as a summer breeze, and is used for sweaters and scarves.

From enchanting Eklutna, we drove to Anchorage, 24 miles distant, and continued our terrific 27-day guided sightseeing tour of Alaska and the Yukon.

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