Hours after former President Donald Trump was declared the winner of the 2024 election, the Biden administration moved Wednesday to limit oil drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Oil drilling had been banned for decades in the Arctic refuge — a pristine natural region in northeast Alaska home to a wide range of threatened species.

Oil companies could buy oil leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but with new restrictions, under a plan released Wednesday. At least 400,000 acres in the refuge’s coastal plain would be available for oil and gas leasing,

The Biden administration on Wednesday took a step to advance legally mandated drilling in an Alaska wildlife refuge — but plans to do so on the least amount of land possible. The administration said it completed the final environmental analysis for oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — the penultimate

The state of Alaska, through its congressional delegation, repeatedly tried to pass legislation opening the refuge to drilling, but it didn’t find success until 2017, when the delegation — led by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, inserted critical language into a tax bill.

The goal is limiting the footprint where seismic exploration could take place and avoiding polar bear dens and caribou calving areas, the Interior Department said

The auction is slated for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain, which provides critical habitat for polar bears and other wildlife.