Interior: Oil and gas lease plans include Alaska

WASHINGTON — Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says the government has scheduled 38 oil and natural gas lease sales for public lands next year, including one in Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve.

The proposed Alaska sale would be the first in two years in the Alaska reserve, where environmentalists are seeking permanent protection from oil and gas drilling.

Salazar called the planned Alaska sale evidence that the Obama administration is pursuing a balanced approach to energy production, despite criticism from Republicans and some oil and gas companies that officials have not done enough to open up public lands for energy use.

Salazar said oil, gas and coal will continue to play an important role in the nation's energy mix, along with wind, solar, geothermal and other renewable sources.