Interior to rescind Biden order on Alaska reserve drilling curbs

Driving the news: Department officials said in a statement that the Biden administration's imposition of restrictions "exceeds the agency's statutory authority" under a 1976 law while imposing "unnecessary barriers to responsible energy development."

• Interior under Biden unveiled final plans last year to protect more than 13 million acres in the 23-million-acre reserve, with an outright ban on new oil and gas leases on 10.6 million acres.
• Large hydrocarbon deposits underlie sensitive wildlife habitat in the Alaska expanse.

What they're saying: "Congress was clear: the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska was set aside to support America's energy security through responsible development," Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said.

• But Marlee Goska, Alaska attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said the move could wreak havoc on undisturbed habitat for caribou, polar bears and belugas.
• "[President] Trump's fixation on plundering Alaska's ecosystems for short-term gain is matched only by the stupidity of turning this precious place into a fossil-fuel extraction site," Goska said in a statement.