After legal loss, groups drop lawsuit that challenged Alaska oil exploration plan

on March 21, 2026

A coalition of environmental and tribal groups have withdrawn their attempt to stop wintertime survey work by ConocoPhillips in parts of the federally controlled National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska on the North Slope.

Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic, Center for Biological Diversity, and The Wilderness Society filed a notice of dismissal on March 6, a little over one month after U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason struck down their request for a preliminary injunction.

That denial meant ConocoPhillips could proceed with its survey work, and a further challenge would have been moot.

Judge Sharon Gleason approved the dismissal. The groups, represented by the environmental law firm Earthjustice, had argued that the Bureau of Land Management failed to implement sufficient environmental protections during the winter survey season.

“While we are not continuing this case, we will continue to monitor BLM’s compliance with its updated mitigation measures, which BLM adopted after we filed our case, and which now include a commitment to assure adequate snow cover to protect the tundra from oil and gas activities,” wrote Earthjustice attorney Ian Dooley in a prepared statement sent by email.

Several other lawsuits pertaining to oil and gas work in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska NPR-A remain pending in federal court.