U.S. approves oil and gas leasing plan for Arctic wildlife refuge
ALASKA
The coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, seen here with the Brooks Range as a backdrop, is home to a caribou herd that some Alaska Natives rely on. Natives and environmentalists have vowed to fight in court to prevent oil and gas drilling on the refuge. U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE
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The Trump administration finalized plans Monday to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, achieving a goal Republicans have sought for 40 years. It marks a capstone for an administration that has ignored environmentalists’ calls to reduce fossil fuel consumption in the face of climate change.
The move will allow leasing on the 1.6 million-acre coastal plain, the center of a nearly pristine wilderness home to migrating caribou and waterfowl as well as polar bears and foxes that live there year-round. It marks a major step toward reviving fossil fuel development in an area that has been untouched for three decades.
Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said that his department was following through on the 2017 budget bill that instructed the federal government to conduct oil and gas leasing on the refuge.
“President Trump’s leadership brought more than three decades of inaction to an end,” Bernhardt told reporters in a conference call, adding that the plan was “carefully tailored” to minimize its impact on the surrounding environment.
“This is no ordinary oil and gas program on public lands.”
Environmentalists and some Alaska Natives — including the Gwich’in, who live outside the refuge but rely on the Porcupine Caribou Herd that migrates through it — have pledged to fight the drilling plan in court. Under the 2017 law, the federal government must conduct two lease sales of 400,000 acres each by December 2024.
The first auction would be held by Dec. 22, 2021, according to the plan, though Bernhardt said it was possible that it could take place by the end of this year.
The refuge provides habitat for more than 270 species, including 900 denning polar bears. Congress authorized drilling on the coastal plain in 1980, but opponents have managed to block energy development.
Adam Kolton, executive director of the Alaska Wilderness League, said the administration ignored science and the law in making this decision.
“Our climate is in crisis, oil prices have cratered, and major banks are pulling out of Arctic financing right and left. And yet the Trump administration continues its race to liquidate our nation’s last great wilderness, putting at risk the indigenous peoples and iconic wildlife that depend on it,” Kolton said.
Juliet Eilperin, the Washington Post
The move will allow leasing on the 1.6 million-acre coastal plain, the center of a nearly pristine wilderness home to migrating caribou and waterfowl as well as polar bears and foxes that live there year-round. It marks a major step toward reviving fossil fuel development in an area that has been untouched for three decades.
Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said that his department was following through on the 2017 budget bill that instructed the federal government to conduct oil and gas leasing on the refuge.
“President Trump’s leadership brought more than three decades of inaction to an end,” Bernhardt told reporters in a conference call, adding that the plan was “carefully tailored” to minimize its impact on the surrounding environment.
“This is no ordinary oil and gas program on public lands.”
Environmentalists and some Alaska Natives — including the Gwich’in, who live outside the refuge but rely on the Porcupine Caribou Herd that migrates through it — have pledged to fight the drilling plan in court. Under the 2017 law, the federal government must conduct two lease sales of 400,000 acres each by December 2024.
The first auction would be held by Dec. 22, 2021, according to the plan, though Bernhardt said it was possible that it could take place by the end of this year.
The refuge provides habitat for more than 270 species, including 900 denning polar bears. Congress authorized drilling on the coastal plain in 1980, but opponents have managed to block energy development.
Adam Kolton, executive director of the Alaska Wilderness League, said the administration ignored science and the law in making this decision.
“Our climate is in crisis, oil prices have cratered, and major banks are pulling out of Arctic financing right and left. And yet the Trump administration continues its race to liquidate our nation’s last great wilderness, putting at risk the indigenous peoples and iconic wildlife that depend on it,” Kolton said.
Juliet Eilperin, the Washington Post