WASHINGTON, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. administration announced on Thursday that it has taken "bold steps" to expand energy, local control and land access in Alaska, including reopening the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas leasing.

At an event with Alaska's congressional delegation and governor, the Department of the Interior announced a "sweeping package of actions to boost energy development, modernize land and resource management across Alaska," it said in a statement.

The department has issued a new record of decision reopening 1.56 million acres (approximately 6,313 square km) of the Coastal Plain to oil and gas leasing -- reversing the previous administration's 2024 plan that restricted development to the statutory minimum, the statement said.

During his first term, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a 2017 tax bill that required two oil and gas lease sales in the coastal plain. Joe Biden's administration later halted and ultimately revoked those leases.

New steps also include completing right-of-way permits for the Ambler Road, moving forward with the King Cove-Cold Bay Road corridor through a land exchange, and providing land allotments for eligible Alaska Native Vietnam-era veterans.

Environmental groups are expected to file lawsuits. "We will fight any attempt to industrialize the fragile coastal plain of the Arctic refuge and every option is on the table," Kristen Miller, executive director of the Alaska Wilderness League, was quoted by The New York Times as saying in an email. ■