End Oil and Gas Drilling in the Arctic

Before the Arctic Refuge was given its name, it was known as izhik Gwats’an Gwandaii Goodlit (The Sacred Place Where Life Begins) -- a major cultural and subsistence resource for the Gwich’in and Inupiat peoples. Known for its clean air and water and nourishing large caribou populations, the Arctic National Refuge has been well looked after for eons before the implementation of the national lands and reserves.

Despite its status as a refuge, the oil and gas industry attempted to get the permits and leases to drill into this land for years. Luckily, this all changed on September 6, when President Biden and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced that all remaining oil and gas leases for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge have been revoked.

But that doesn’t mean this land has permanent protection. Oil and gas companies can still try to get new bids into drilling these lands. That’s why we need deeper and more long-term protections.

Fortunately, decision-makers are currently listening to the public's demands about the Arctic Refuge and surrounding protected lands. On September 8, the very same week of the lease cancellation, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced two comment periods that we can use to leverage further protections for the Arctic Refuge and the Western Arctic) nearby.

A Supplemental Environmental Impact statement (SEIS) on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s Coastal Plan, which would allow another lease sale on the land.
A rule to protect approximately 13-million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, in addition to Reserve Special Areas.

They both have major flaws. While the new SEIS is an improvement on the study conducted by the Trump administration, it fails to offer a plan that would provide maximum protection for the Arctic Refuge from destructive oil and gas drilling. And even while the proposed rule will preserve a good chunk of the NPR-A, the rest of the Reserve land is still open and available for drilling. The good news is that the BLM can strengthen both the rules and the plan for the Refuge! In doing so, they can create a plan that will restrict oil and gas development and create the smallest possible footprint. We just need to guide them there.

This is a once-in-lifetime opportunity to demand that lands regulators take a holistic approach to protecting the Indigenous lands and natural spaces around Alaska. We need to make this chance count -- spread the word and flood the Bureau of Land Management with your messages about why this land needs to be protected.

Submit your comment to the Bureau of Land Management today and tell them to limit all possibilities of oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.

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Comment on Arctic Refuge SEIS and NPR-A Rule

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The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska encompass irreplaceable natural wonders. Treating the Arctic region as a commodity colony, ignoring the ecological value and the subsistence value to the people and cultures that thrive in this landscape, is unacceptable. I'd like to express sincere gratitude for the decision to revoke the remaining oil leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, issue a Supplemental Environmental Impact statement on the Refuge, and to protect 13-million acres in the Reserve. These combined actions are bold and deeply appreciated. More must be done, however. For many reasons, leasing and permitting oil development in the Arctic must stop. But to the extent that the disastrous 2017 Tax Act senselessly requires another lease sale in the Refuge, I am urging you to use the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge to create the most restrictive oil and gas leasing and drilling program possible. The Alternatives Presented in the SEIS do not go far enough to protect the people and wildlife in the Arctic Refuge and must be strengthened. While revising the draft, I urge the BLM to: -Expand the analysis of impacts on subsistence to include the Gwich'in people. The Gwich'in are dependent on the Porcupine Caribou Herd, a dependence that is well documented and foundational to their ability to exist as they are. To only study the impacts on the City of Kaktovik is short sighted and ignores the significant impacts to the Gwich'in. -Eliminate the numerous loopholes in the so-called conservation alternative that would allow for harmful infrastructure and activities in areas that are identified as no surface occupancy (NSO). The NSO requirements should instead provide maximum protection. -The conservation alternative should limit the leasable area to no more than the minimum needed for any mandatory sale, and not an acre more. -Better protect vitally important polar bear denning areas in the northwestern part of the Refuge. Even under the conservation alternative, those areas inexplicably remain vulnerable to seismic exploration, which poses severe danger to polar bear cubs. The proposed conservation alternative fails to provide adequate protection to this incredibly imperiled population. The proposed regulations for management of the Reserve offer an excellent foundation to build on and I urge the BLM to use these to restrict oil and gas drilling and damaging infrastructure as much as possible. The decision to permit the Willow project was a massive setback in our ability to maintain intact ecosystems that people and wildlife depend on and to address the climate crisis. There are still lingering threats from future development that could move forward in the region. As the BLM revises the draft rules, I urge you to take every opportunity possible to expand protections for not only the 13 million acres of existing designated Special Areas, but also to other areas in the Reserve that could be harmed by further oil and gas development. Again, thank you for your actions thus far and for the careful consideration, I am sure this comment will receive.

Image by Len Necefer | Image of a baby caribou standing on grass looking in the direction of the camera, purple and blue snow-capped in the backdrop