Anchorage, AK

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced yesterday that the agency will reverse plans by the previous administration to expand oil leasing in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A). The agency also said it will include stipulations in any new plans to protect threatened and endangered species.

“The Trump administration opened most of the Reserve’s 22 million acres to oil and gas drilling despite the implications for the climate crisis and for wildlife, including threatened polar bears that den in the Reserve,” said Defenders of Wildlife’s Alaska Program Director, Nicole Whittington-Evans. “This is a welcome rejection of that move and a first step toward fundamentally changing the Reserve’s management from abetting a climate and biodiversity catastrophe to one of responsible stewardship that protects wildlife and local subsistence activities.”

Image
Polar Bears
Debbie Tubridy

If confirmed in a new record of decision (ROD), this preferred alternative would revert management of the NPR-A to the 2013 IAP, while including specific more protective lease stipulations and operating procedures for threatened and endangered species from the 2020 IAP.
 
“This decision reflects the Biden-Harris administration’s priority of reviewing existing oil and gas programs to ensure balance on America’s public lands and waters to benefit current and future generations,” stated BLM on its website.

For over 75 years, Defenders of Wildlife has remained dedicated to protecting all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With a nationwide network of nearly 2.1 million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife for generations to come. To learn more, please visit https://defenders.org/newsroom or follow us on X @Defenders.

  

Media Contact

Senior Vice President, External Affairs
lsheehan@defenders.org
(202) 772-3244

News

Image
Endangered Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus), Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge, Florida
Washington, D.C.

Defenders Responds to Redefinition of Harm Under ESA

Andrew Bowman, Defenders of Wildlife President and CEO, today released the following statement in response to the Trump administration’s notice that it intends to rescind the regulatory definition of “Harm” under the Endangered Species Act:
Image
California Condor Take Off - Big Sur - California
Washington, D.C.

Defenders Intervenes to Protect Biden ESA Regulations

Defenders today filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit filed in federal court in the District of Columbia that challenges the Biden administration’s 2024 Endangered Species Act regulations.