Zinke said the administration is interested in partnering with private entities to ship coal or liquefied natural gas through naval installations or other federal facilities. He added it's still early in the process.

"I respect the state of Washington and Oregon and California," Zinke said. "But also, it's in our interest for national security and our allies to make sure that they have access to affordable energy commodities."

Accomplishing that, he said, may require the use of "some of our naval facilities, some of our federal facilities on the West Coast."

Zinke specified only one site that could serve as an export hub, for natural gas: the former Adak Naval Air Facility in Alaska's Aleutian Islands, which he suggested could receive fuel by barge from the North Slope. The base closed in 1997 and has been largely abandoned. Roughly 300 people live in the town of Adak, the westernmost community in the United States

Zinke did not reveal government properties that could serve as potential coal ports.

Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden said the Trump administration was "disregarding the realities around climate change" and "trampling on local communities" that have rejected prior port proposals.