26 January 2015 Last updated at 12:55
President Barack Obama is to propose setting aside the majority of Alaska's national wildlife refuge as a wilderness area.
This would halt the possibility of fossil fuel exploration in the refuge's potentially oil-rich coastal plain.
The proposal drew an angry response from top state-elected officials.
Some 2.8 million hectares (7 million acres) of the refuge are managed as wilderness.
The new plans would see a further 4.8 million hectares (12.3 million acres) hectares set aside.
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge's coastal plain has long been at the centre of a struggle between conservationists and advocates of greater energy exploration.
In a White House video, President Obama said he was seeking the designation "so that we can make sure that this amazing wonder is preserved for future generations".
The US Department of the Interior has also issued a plan that for the first time recommends the additional protections.
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