The Biden administration is moving forward with controversial oil and gas lease sales on wildlife refuges for the lowest possible amount.
The Bureau of Land Management is required under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to auction off drilling opportunities in Alaska's wildlife refuges by the end of this year.
Many Democrats oppose oil drilling there, and the Biden administration has now said it only plans to auction off the minimum 400,000 acres required by law.
The rights to train at the shelter will be auctioned off on January 9, just 11 days before President-elect Trump takes office.
This is the second lease sale required by law. The Trump administration conducted its first drilling in 2021, but amidst significant activist backlash against drilling in the refuge, there was little interest in actually drilling there when it was first offered drilling rights. There wasn't.
A small number of drilling leases issued at the time were later suspended by the Biden administration, citing “multiple legal deficiencies.”
In the new decision, the Biden administration also said it would limit sales to locations with the highest potential for oil and gas discoveries.
Additionally, we do not propose digging in polar bear burrows or migratory bird nesting areas, and we work to protect other species such as caribou and porcupine.
The Arctic Refuge is home to grizzly bears, polar bears, gray wolves, caribou, more than 200 species of birds, and includes land considered sacred by the Gwich'in people.
