Otago Daily Times

Polar bear protection rule stalls Arctic oil surveying plan

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ANCHORAGE: Plans for surveys to help find oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska have fizzled due to a lack of protection for polar bears, according to a statement from the United States Department of the Interior.

Kaktovik Inupiat Corp, the firm that applied to conduct the survey, failed to do the required work to identify polar bear dens in the area that would be surveyed, department spokeswoma­n Melissa Schwartz said.

There has been a decadeslon­g ambition to convert the refuge into an oil frontier.

Expresiden­t Donald Trump passed tax legislatio­n in 2017 that would allow drilling in the refuge, and the federal government held a lease sale in the last days of his presidency; President Joe Biden opposes oil developmen­t there.

 ?? PHOTO: REUTERS ?? A polar bear and her young in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
PHOTO: REUTERS A polar bear and her young in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

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