>

There's definitely a large share of Alaskan residents who think it's still the wild west and they should be allowed to exploit whatever resources are available.  Many of them moved there just for that 'opportunity'.
I'm sure there are others who want to preserve much of Alaska's natural beauty.  Reality is that politics seems to be ruled by the money, IOW, follow the money.
This is probably one of the wildest and beautiful places in the US. This is good. >

How much damage was done in the mean time? >

Great. Now designate the federal portions of Bristol Bay’s watershed a National Monument through Presidential Proclamation. >

No shit! Drive a stake through the heart of the Pebble Mine! >

I speak for the trees, Jack >

Of all the shitty Trump things did, this was just another one. >

Welcome to America, where our politics just take turns rolling back each other's initiatives instead of actually advancing our society. (This IS a good rollback though, didn't mean for this to come off as a waste.) >

Great, but why did he allow oil extraction in the gulf? >

And it only took him two YEARS >

Over the political will of Alaska, which pushed heavily for the initial rollbacks.