Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) is expressing concern following the U.S. Department of the Interior’s announcement transferring significant acreage within the Dalton Utility Corridor to the State of Alaska after the revocation of Public Land Orders (PLO) 5150 and 5180. TCC warns the transfer places important subsistence lands, wildlife habitat, and culturally significant areas at increased risk and is calling for meaningful Tribal consultation as future decisions regarding these lands move forward.
The Department of the Interior has described the transfer as part of Alaska’s Statehood Act land entitlement process and as an opportunity to expand energy and resource development across the region. TCC, however, cautions that the decision could have long-term consequences for Tribal communities throughout Interior Alaska.
“For our Tribes, these lands are not just acreage on a map,” said Chief/Chairman Sharon Hildebrand. “These are our ancestral homelands. They are places where our people have hunted, fished, gathered, traveled, and passed down our ways of life for generations. When protections are removed and development pressures increase, it puts the lands, wildlife, and subsistence resources our communities rely on at risk.”
The transfer follows the Department’s revocation of PLO 5150 and 5180, which for decades limited development in portions of the corridor and helped safeguard important wildlife habitat, subsistence use areas, and cultural sites. With the transition from federal to state ownership, large portions of these lands will no longer be subject to the federal rural subsistence priority under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA).
“This decision changes how these lands may be managed in the future,” said Chief Hildebrand. “Our Tribes must not be left out of those conversations. Tribal consultation cannot be treated as an afterthought when decisions have the potential to impact our lands, our waters, our wildlife, and our people. Contacting Tribal leadership the evening before a major federal announcement is not meaningful consultation. Our Tribes deserve to be engaged early, respectfully, and as true partners in decisions that impact our homelands and ways of life.”
TCC also expressed concern over the Department’s emphasis on oil, gas, mining, and infrastructure development as a primary justification for the transfer. Federal officials have pointed to the corridor’s development potential, including areas connected to major pipeline, mining, and road proposals. TCC warns that large-scale industrial activity, if not carefully constrained, could disrupt wildlife migration patterns, damage habitat, impact water quality, and threaten subsistence harvests relied upon by rural communities across the Interior.
“Our people have always understood the responsibility that comes with caring for the land,” said Chief Hildebrand. “We know these ecosystems are connected. What impacts the land impacts the wildlife, and what impacts the wildlife impacts our communities. Development cannot move forward without recognizing that responsibility and without listening to the people who have stewarded these lands since time immemorial.”
TCC is urging the State of Alaska and federal agencies to ensure Tribal governments are meaningfully involved in future decisions affecting the corridor and surrounding lands. The organization says it will continue working closely with its member Tribes to advocate for the protection of subsistence resources, cultural sites, and Tribal sovereignty.
“Our communities deserve a future where our voices are heard and our ways of life are protected,” said Chief Hildebrand. “We will continue standing together to protect these lands for the generations who come after us.”