Dan Sullivan denounced Biden’s actions as the latest volley in what he called a “war on Alaska.” Our climate is a bit safer and there is renewed hope for permanently protecting one of the last great wild landscapes in America.”Īlaska Republican U.S. “Once again, the Arctic Refuge is free of oil leases. “It is nearly impossible to overstate the importance of today’s announcements for Arctic conservation,” said Jamie Williams, president of the Wilderness Society. government to hold two lease sales in the region by late 2024.ĭrilling opponents on Wednesday urged Congress to repeal the leasing provision from the 2017 law and permanently make the coastal plain off limits to drilling. I will continue to advocate for them and for Alaska’s ability to explore and develop our natural resources.”Īlaska’s congressional delegation in 2017 succeeded in getting language added to a federal tax law that called for the U.S. “This administration showed that it is capable of listening to Alaskans with the approval of the Willow Project, and it is some of those same Inupiat North Slope communities who are most impacted by this decision. Mary Peltola, a Democrat, using a common shorthand for the refuge. “I am deeply frustrated by the reversal of these leases in ANWR,” said U.S. Many of those same voices pressed Biden to approve the Willow project for the same reason. Migratory birds and caribou pass through the plain, which provides habitat for wildlife including polar bears and wolves.Īlaska political leaders - including some Democrats - have long pushed to allow oil and gas drilling in the refuge in part because of its economic impact on Indigenous communities in an area with few other jobs. The plain is marked by hills, rivers and small lakes and tundra. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s 1.5-million-acre (600,000-hectare) coastal plain, which lies along the Beaufort Sea on Alaska’s northeastern edge, is seen as sacred by the Indigenous Gwich’in because it is where caribou they rely on migrate and come to give birth. Willow lies within the reserve but was not expected to be affected by the proposed rules. The proposal still must go through public comment. The Biden administration also announced proposed rules aimed at providing stronger protections against new leasing and development in portions of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska that are designated as special areas for their wildlife, subsistence, scenic or other values. Administration officials said they intend to comply with the law. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who drew criticism for her role in the approval of the Willow project, said Wednesday that “no one will have rights to drill for oil in one of the most sensitive landscapes on earth.” However, a 2017 law mandates another lease sale by late 2024. And at least one Democratic lawmaker said the decision could hurt Indigenous communities in an isolated region where oil development is an important economic driver. Litigation over the approval of the Willow project is pending.Īlaska’s Republican governor condemned Biden’s moves and threatened to sue. Some critics who said the approval of Willow flew in the face of Biden’s pledges to address climate change lauded Wednesday’s announcement. Protections are proposed for more than 20,000 square miles (51,800 square kilometers) of land in the reserve in the western Arctic. The Department of Interior’s scrapping of the leases comes after the Biden administration disappointed environmental groups earlier this year by approving the Willow oil project in the petroleum reserve, a massive project by ConocoPhillips Alaska that could produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil a day on Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope. JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - In an aggressive move that angered Republicans, the Biden administration canceled the seven remaining oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday, overturning sales held in the Trump administration’s waning days, and proposed stronger protections against development on vast swaths of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
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