Trump Administration Seeks Even More Arctic Industrialization

The Trump administration continued its assault today on the fragile ecosystems of Alaska’s Arctic, announcing that it is revising the management plan for the National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska (Reserve) to open more of the area to oil and gas development. As with the aggressive effort to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas leasing and seismic exploration, this move will put critical wildlife habitat in the crosshairs of the administration’s misguided “energy dominance” mission.

The current management plan already allows development on over 11 million acres of the Reserve, not to mention the millions of acres earmarked for oil and gas development by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that are not being used. It also protects the most sensitive wildlife habitat from development impacts, including the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area. One of the most ecologically important wetlands in the entire Arctic, this sensitive area provides habitat for shorebirds and waterfowl including tens of thousands of molting geese, threatened species such as polar bears and the Spectacled Eider, and the 40,000-head Teshekpuk Caribou Herd. The revision is intended to open additional areas to oil and gas drilling, likely including the Teshekpuk Lake area.

Statement from Patrick Lavin, Alaska senior representative for Defenders of Wildlife:

“We should not sacrifice the most important wildlife areas in the Arctic in a blind pursuit for more oil and gas. There are millions of acres in our country already authorized for or being developed. The Trump administration wants to destroy this vital wild place when they already have more access to oil and gas than they use. The Bureau of Land Management has a statutory duty to protect the remarkable fish and wildlife values in the Reserve, and the current management plan accomplishes these goals. The administration should focus its time on pressing issues facing our nation rather than destroying this national treasure.”