Interior transfers 1.4 million acres in Dalton corridor to Alaska

The U.S. Department of the Interior announced Wednesday that it has transferred about 1.4 million acres along the Dalton Utility Corridor to the State of Alaska, a move federal officials described as one of the largest recent steps toward completing Alaska's statehood land entitlement.

The Alaska Statehood Act of 1958 granted the state the right to select 105 million acres from federal lands. The land lies north of the Yukon River along a corridor that includes the Dalton Highway and portions of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System corridor. Interior said the transfer brings the Bureau of Land Management to more than 96% of Alaska's entitlement, with about 3.8 million acres still remaining.

The announcement follows Public Land Order No. 7966, which opened about 2.1 million acres in the Dalton corridor for state selection. The order allowed land Alaska had previously selected, but could not receive while federal withdrawals remained in place, to become valid for conveyance.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum tied the transfer to the Trump administration's energy policy, saying it would advance the Alaska LNG project, the Ambler Road and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Gov. Mike Dunleavy called the transfer "a leap forward in advancing Alaska's ability to responsibly develop its resources and advance economic opportunity across Alaska."

John Crowther, commissioner-designee of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, said the transfer secured "long-promised critical infrastructure lands." He said the state would steward the lands while preserving access to adjacent federal lands.

Legal challenge

Some Alaska Native tribes have filed a lawsuit challenging aspects of the state's land selections in the region, though details of the litigation were not available at press time.

Public access questions

The corridor also carries a public-access issue for hunters, travelers and subsistence users. The Alaska Department of Natural Resources says state law restricts motorized access within the Dalton Highway Corridor, and the department is collecting public feedback through June 26 on future access corridors across the newly acquired state land.

DNR says its process is meant to identify existing travel routes and access points, determine where future access corridors should be established, and ensure federally qualified rural subsistence users can reach adjacent federal public lands. The department says it will work with corridor communities, nearby villages, local governments and tribal entities.

Sources: U.S. Department of the Interior press release, May 6, 2026; Alaska Department of Natural Resources Dalton Highway Corridor Public Access page.