The public lands in Alaska known as “D-1 lands” are among the largest intact landscapes left in the country, connecting tens of millions of acres of important habitat that support Native communities, drive the state economy, and slow climate change. They remained protected until January 2021, when the Trump administration attempted to open them to harmful and exploitative industrial extraction, threatening the unique and important wildlife habitat and the subsistence rights of Alaska Native communities across the state. Igiugig Tribal citizen Tess Hostetter spent a day in Washington, D.C., meeting with public officials to advocate for their full protection. In Washington, Hostetter joined members of the America the Beautiful for All Coalition, a group of land, freshwater, and ocean advocates supporting equitable and justice-oriented conservation policies.