
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) โ The Department of the Interior on Monday approved an oil and gas leasing program within Alaskaโs Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the sprawling home to polar bears, caribou and other wildlife.
Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt signed the Record of Decision, which will determine where oil and gas leasing will take place in the refugeโs coastal plain, a 1.56-million acre swath of land on Alaskaโs north shore with the Beaufort Sea.
โCongress directed us to hold lease sales in the ANWR Coastal Plain, and we have taken a significant step in meeting our obligations by determining where and under what conditions the oil and gas development program will occur,โ Bernhardt said in a statement.
Congress approved the program in 2017, and the Interiorโs Bureau of Land Management in December 2018 concluded drilling could be conducted within the coastal plain area without harming wildlife.
โTodayโs announcement marks a milestone in Alaskaโs forty-year journey to responsibly develop our state and our nationโs new energy frontier,โ Gov. Mike Dunleavy said.
The Republican governor called Mondayโs decision โa definitive step in the right direction to developing this areaโs energy potential,โ which he estimated at 4.3 and 11.8 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil reserves.
Environmental groups immediately assailed opening the refuge and promised litigation.
โThe Trump administrationโs so-called review process for their shameless sell-off of the Arctic Refuge has been a sham from the start. Weโll see them in court,โ said Lena Moffitt with the Sierra Clubโs Our Wild America campaign.
โOur climate is in crisis, oil prices have cratered, and major banks are pulling out of Arctic financing right and left,โ Adam Kolton, Executive Director at Alaska Wilderness League, said. โAnd yet the Trump administration continues its race to liquidate our nationโs last great wilderness, putting at risk the indigenous peoples and iconic wildlife that depend on it.โ