BLM renews reindeer grazing permits for public lands within Alaska’s Seward Peninsula
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Today the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) signed an environmental assessment (EA) permitting the next ten years of reindeer grazing activity on approximately three million acres of public lands on the Seward and Baldwin peninsulas. Free-ranging herds graze on large, unfenced grazing ranges that may extend across one million acres of land, stretching across different land management agency jurisdictions. BLM serves as the lead on a collaborative permitting process that involves the State of Alaska, National Park Service and other land managers that issue reindeer grazing permits.
This EA renews 15 existing grazing permits for a 10-year term through state and federal land management agencies and also allows for up to five additional grazing permits if the BLM receives new applications. The EA also allows for construction of range improvements to support successful reindeer grazing, such as line cabins and livestock corrals.
This action supports the continuation of Alaska Native ways of life and traditions and authorizes a unique piece of BLM’s multiple use mission in Alaska authorized by the Reindeer Industry Act of 1937. That law directed establishment of a permanent, self-sustaining reindeer industry for Alaska Native people and remains foundational for ensuring that reindeer husbandry continues as a culturally significant and locally controlled industry in Alaska.
“By signing this environmental assessment, we’re excited to continue supporting Alaska Native traditions and this uniquely Alaskan use of our shared public lands,” said Jacob Vialpando, BLM Anchorage Field Office Manager. “Traditional reindeer grazing is just one of many multiple uses of the almost 25 million acres of public lands the Anchorage Field Office is dedicated to managing.”
Applications for grazing permits and grazing management plans are required prior to grazing on BLM managed lands within the Kobuk-Seward Peninsula Resource Management Plan (RMP) and the Bering Sea Western Interior RMP areas. Visit the BLM reindeer grazing webpage to learn more about reindeer grazing on public lands in Alaska.
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The BLM manages about 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.