** We will be sharing this email with additional coalition lists, apologies if you get duplicate emails

Today the Department of the Interior announced a Request for Information (RFI) process to identify opportunities for new and expanded Special Areas in the NPR-A. This builds on the protections of +13 million acres of America's Arctic that we saw just a few months ago and will provide an opportunity for identifying new areas for protection and conservation values. The RFI will be 60 days and is a key opportunity for organizations and the public to weigh in. Below you will find a social toolkit that can be used to amplify today’s news, press releases, and background on the NPR-A and the recent decisions. Additional resources including sample alert language and additional social will be shared as they become available. 

Grandmothers Growing Goodness/ Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic (SILA)/Native Movement  (Attached)      

What are the Special Areas in the NPR-A:

Special Area is a term specific to the NPR-A and refers to an area that has been officially established because of key ecological, cultural and biological values. When Congress passed the NPRPA it included a directive for the Secretary of the Interior to designate Special Areas to protect “significant subsistence, recreational, fish and wildlife, or historical or scenic value[s]” in the NPR-A and provides that any “exploration” in Special Areas “shall be conducted in a manner which will assure the maximum protection of such surface values. Five Special Areas currently exist in the Western Arctic: Teshekpuk Lake, Colville River, Kasegaluk Lagoon, Utukok River Uplands, and Peard Bay. Read more about the Reserve’s history here. 

In April of 2024 the Biden Administration finalized a new regulation for the Western Arctic that strengthened protections for 13 million acres of "Special Areas" in America's Arctic. This was a historic and major step forward for climate conservation and the protection of sacred land. The new protections will safeguard subsistence hunting traditions crucial to Alaska Natives in an area that is home to polar bears, wolves, moose, one of the largest caribou herds in the world, and birds that travel from all seven continents to nest. The RFI that was announced today is that process by which the Administration will begin to identify opportunities for new and expanded Special Areas. Through this process, the public will be able to weigh in on where and why new specific lands deserve to be protected as “Special Areas” – a federal designation unique to the Western Arctic. As a result, Alaska Wilderness League and the Arctic Defense Campaign (a coalition of organizations working to expand protections for America’s Arctic) is excited to bring forward science-based proposals that prioritize protections for critical habitats.