The Arctic Refuge Protection Act of 2025 would designate approximately 1.56 million acres of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as federally protected wilderness, making it part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. This designation would permanently prohibit oil and gas drilling, commercial development, and other extractive activities on the protected coastal plain area of the refuge. The bill affects oil and gas companies interested in Arctic development, Alaska's state government, environmental groups, and energy policy broadly, as the Arctic Refuge has been a focal point of debate between energy producers and conservation advocates for decades. No specific funding or implementation timeline is outlined in the legislation—the bill's primary action is simply to legally designate the land as wilderness. The bill was introduced by Senator Markey and nineteen other senators, predominantly from the Democratic caucus, and was referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.
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