The Biden administration announced Monday that it will move forward with oil and gas lease sales in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as minimally as possible.
The move barely meets the mandates Congress established under the shadow of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The Bureau of Land Management is forced to auction off drilling rights in this pristine wilderness by the end of the year, despite the vocal opposition of many within the Democratic Party. According to To The Hill. This approach includes a lease of exactly 400,000 acres, the minimum required by law.
The impending sale of the rental properties on Jan. 9 is a controversial prelude to the start of the administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office just 11 days later, The Hill reported. The timing could signal a shift toward more expansive energy policies championed by the former Trump administration, which held its first lease sales in 2021.
Trump: “Drill baby, drill… We have more oil and gas, or liquid gold, than any other country. And we’re not using it…
We have the best at our feet and yet we go to Venezuela. These people are crazy! ” pic.twitter.com/2H9ze1P6HR
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 17, 2023
The Biden administration had previously suspended several leases issued during the 2021 sale, citing “multiple legal deficiencies,” according to the paper. Citing the need to protect ecosystems, the current administration has limited future sales to areas deemed to have the highest potential for oil and gas discoveries, and has identified areas important for nesting polar bears and migratory birds. I avoid it. (Related: Biden administration holds major offshore oil and gas lease sale after months of fundraising effort)
Additionally, the Arctic Refuge, which is a sanctuary for species such as grizzly bears, polar bears, gray wolves, and caribou, as well as more than 200 bird species, is revered as a sacred site for the Gwich'in people, The Hill reported. According to the International Gwich'in Council, the Gwich'in people are an indigenous people whose traditional territory spans northern Alaska in the United States and the Yukon and Northwest Territories in Canada. Website.
According to the Gwich'in Council, Gwich'in territory historically stretched from the mountainous headwaters of the Peel and Arctic Red rivers in the south, to the Mackenzie Delta in the north, from the Anderson River in the east to the Richardson Mountains in the west. Centered around herds of porcupine caribou that provided essential food, tools, and clothing, the Gwich'in lived a nomadic lifestyle until the 1870s, when the arrival of fur traders established trading posts and eventually led to permanent settlement. I maintained it.
Biden had aimed to halt all drilling on the East Coast, West Coast and Gulf Coast in 2023, but said legal defeats have thwarted those plans. He made this in response to a question about delivering on his broader promises on climate change and green energy to young voters.
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