Today 10 a.m., the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining will hold a legislative hearing on 15 bills, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski's Alaska Native Claims Settlement Improvement Act, S. 1481.
Robert Dewey, vice president of government relations and external affairs, Defenders of Wildlife, issued this statement:
"The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Improvement Act is a massive public lands giveaway. The bill would sell off hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands within the Tongass National Forest and the National Wildlife Refuge System to private profit. Lands that belong to the American people within the biologically sensitive coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would be privatized and opened to oil and gas development. These actions would have significant impacts on the wildlife that rely on old-growth forest and the Arctic Refuge to survive."
For nearly 80 years, Defenders of Wildlife has worked to protect and restore America’s wildlife at risk of extinction, advancing a vision of a future in which wildlife thrives, sustained by broad public support and a resilient network of healthy lands and waters. With a network of more than 2 million supporters, Defenders is an advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard wildlife for generations to come. To learn more, please visit https://defenders.org/newsroom or follow us on Instagram @defendersofwildlife.
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