FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Bristol Bay Tribes Celebrate BLM Decision to Protect 28 Million Acres in Alaska

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, August 27, 2024
Contact:
Alannah Hurley, (907) 843-1633 or ahurley@utbb.org

Bristol Bay Tribes Celebrate BLM Decision to Protect 28 Million Acres in Alaska

Dillingham, Alaska | August 28, 2024— Today, we express our gratitude to Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the Biden Administration for taking a monumental step to protect 28 million acres of federally-managed “D-1” lands in Alaska, including 1.2 million acres in the Bristol Bay region. This decision is a significant victory for the Tribal communities across Alaska, whose voices have been crucial in advocating for the protection of these lands.

The threat of opening these long-protected lands to extractive development was a grave concern for Bristol Bay communities. The BLM’s final environmental impact statement (FEIS) and the Secretary's decision confirm the importance of retaining protections on D-1 lands. These lands are vital to the health of our lands and waters that sustain the Yup’ik, Dena’ina, and Alutiiq traditional subsistence ways of life for our Tribal communities.

“We are thankful that Secretary Haaland and the Biden Administration have listened to the voices of the majority of federally recognized Tribes in Alaska,” said Alannah Hurley, Executive Director of the United Tribes of Bristol Bay (UTBB). “The final decision to protect these lands is a testament to the strength and unity of our Tribal communities and safeguards our cultural and spiritual vitality that sustains our way of life. We are deeply grateful for this commitment to uphold the responsibilities to Alaska Native Tribes and ensure the continued protection of D-1 lands.”

Over the past two years, UTBB has been actively involved in BLM’s environmental reviews, advocating for the protection of D-1 lands as essential to the survival of Yup’ik, Dena’ina, and Alutiiq traditional ways of life.

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ABOUT THE UNITED TRIBES OF BRISTOL BAY

UTBB is a Tribal consortium working to protect the traditional Yup’ik, Dena’ina, and Alutiiq ways of life in Southwest Alaska that depend on the pristine Bristol Bay watershed and all it sustains, most notably Bristol Bay’s wild salmon. UTBB represents 15 federally recognized Tribes in Bristol Bay which constitutes over 80 percent of the region’s population.