U.S. planning oil, gas lease sale in Alaska’s Arctic refuge
JUNEAU, ALASKA >> The U.S. Bureau of Land Management plans to stage an oil and gas lease sale for Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge next month, weeks before President-elect Joe Biden, who has opposed drilling in the region, is set to take office.
Conservation groups criticized Thursday’s announcement as rushed and based on environmental reviews that are being challenged in court as flawed.
“Today we put the oil industry on notice. Any oil companies that bid on lease sales for the coastal plain of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge should brace themselves for an uphill legal battle fraught with high costs and reputational risks,” said Jamie Rappaport Clark, president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife.
Bernadette Demientieff, executive director of the Gwich’in Steering Committee, which was formed by Indigenous leaders who oppose drilling in the refuge, called the news difficult.
“When I got the news, I had to go in my bedroom, lock myself in there and I cried and then I prayed. And now I’m ready to take the next steps to make sure that they don’t get their greedy hands on our sacred land,” she said.
Alaska’s Republican congressional delegation celebrated the passage of legislation in 2017 allowing for drilling in the refuge’s 1.5 million-acre coastal plain, seeing it as a way to boost oil production, create jobs and generate royalties.
The legislation called for at least two lease sales to be held within 10 years. Delegation members cheered Thursday’s announcement.
“As we approach the day when drilling can begin, I will be working hard with our delegation, BLM and the operators who will make our longtime fight a reality,” said U.S. Rep. Don Young.
Alaska political leaders for years pushed for opening the area for exploration in a state that relies heavily on oil.
But the Indigenous Gwich’in people have opposed development within the refuge, citing concerns about the effects on a caribou herd that they have relied on for subsistence. Conservation groups also have fought drilling in the refuge.
In a lawsuit filed in August, opponents alleged that the Bureau of Land Management failed to adequately consider the potential effects of a leasing program on climate change, polar bears, caribou and other resources in its environmental review.
Last month, the land agency announced a 30-day period for parties to nominate or comment on land in the refuge’s coastal plain that could be part of a sale. It said it also would seek comments on whether the size of any tracts of land should be reduced and whether any should receive special considerations.