U.S. gov’t one step closer to expanding oil and gas leases in ANWR
Vuntut Gwitchin and CPAWS Yukon denounce call for nominations for Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has issued a call for nominations and comments in its next step toward expanding oil and gas leasing in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
After the U.S. House of Representatives passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July, the bureau reversed the Biden administration’s lease cancellations and is now expanding leasing in the Coastal Plain.
In its latest move, the bureau opened up 115 tracts of land in the coastal plain for nominations last week, giving anyone the opportunity to nominate portions of land they would like to see available in a lease sale later this year. The public also has the opportunity to comment on tracts until March 5, which is also the deadline for nominations.
The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) Yukon and Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation are both denouncing the calls for nominations.
“This is just another very aggressive step by this administration to try to push through what is socially, environmentally and ethically a very poor choice,” said Laurence Fox, campaigns coordinator with CPAWS Yukon.
Both the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation and CPAWS Yukon say they want to provide submissions during the comment period.
Vuntut Gwitchin Chief Pauline Frost said the Bureau of Land Management is moving the lease sale process forward too fast and the comment period is not long enough.
“There’s not sufficient time for us to put our submissions in … and do the due diligence with respect to impact and effect of interests of this magnitude,” she said.
Frost said she hopes people will take the opportunity to comment and “tell the Bureau of Land Management why this is not a good idea.”
Frost said oil and gas development will devastate the coastal plain ecosystem and the Porcupine caribou herd.
“One of the last great wilderness areas in North America is about to be destroyed and we’re asking for help to protect the sacred area,” she said.
Fox echoed those concerns, saying the habitat degradation and human disturbance that will result from oil and gas development in the coastal plain is not worth the risk, particularly to the Porcupine caribou.
Organization representing Iñupiat in Alaska supports latest move
Despite fierce opposition from groups on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border, the Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat said it supports oil and gas development in the plain.
The non-profit corporation represents eight Iñupiat communities in Alaska, including Kaktovik, the one community located within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
CEO Nagruk Harcharek called the bureau’s latest move a “step in the right direction.”
In 2017, the Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat’s board of directors approved a resolution directing staff to advocate for opening the coastal plain for oil and gas leasing, said Harcharek.
“Everybody benefits from development on the North Slope because of the organizations that we have in place and their ability to tax that infrastructure,” he said.
Frost said she is open to having a conversation with the Iñupiat about the impacts oil and gas development could have on the coastal plain.
“As you look at supporting an economy in your community, you want to do it in a way that’s going to protect your future, protect the future of your children, protect the environment, above anything else,” she said.
Harcharek said oil and gas development in the coastal plain can be sustainable.
“Responsible development has taken place on the North Slope within the [National Petroleum Reserve] and just to the east of that for over 50 years now,” he said.
“We rely on the caribou just like a lot of other folks around the state do, and we wouldn’t want to do anything to jeopardize those things,” he said.
After the March 5 deadline, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management will have 30 days to review the comments and nominations, before it can announce a lease sale. It must issue a notice of sale at least 30 days before a lease is sold.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Bill requiring First Nations’ oil and gas development consent spiked in Yukon
Norway: Norway’s oil minister: “We need new discoveries”, The Independent Barents Observer
Russia: More Russian Arctic oil via Murmansk redirects to India, The Independent Barents Observer
United States: ConocoPhillips can start road work for Willow Arctic drilling project, judge decides, Alaska Public Media
