Gabby Brown, gabby.brown@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC -- The Trump administration will release its draft environmental review tomorrow of a proposal to conduct destructive seismic exploration in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Despite the permanent damage seismic testing would do to the Arctic Refuge and the wildlife there, the Bureau of Land Management will issue a draft finding of “no new significant impact”---indicating it will rely on the defective and inadequate analysis already being challenged in court. BLM will open up a 14-day comment period once the document is published to the federal register tomorrow.
One of the world’s last intact ecosystems, the Arctic Refuge is one of the few places in the United States that has never been developed or industrialized. Seismic exploration in the coastal plain -- considered the biological heart of the Arctic Refuge -- would bring industrial vehicles and equipment to this sensitive and pristine area, threatening wildlife including denning mother and baby polar bears, and leaving permanent scars on the landscape. A previous plan to allow seismic testing across the entire coastal plain was tabled last year in the face of significant public opposition.
The Trump administration is rushing to hold a lease sale for drilling in the coastal plain in the final days before leaving office, but this leasing program is currently being challenged in court and President-Elect Joe Biden has pledged to protect the Arctic Refuge from drilling.
In response, Sierra Club Senior Campaign Representative Mike Scott released the following statement:
“The American people do not want to see the Arctic Refuge scarred by drilling, and with an incoming administration that shares these concerns, it’s unlikely that this destructive drilling activity will ever occur. Allowing seismic testing to occur now would do severe and permanent damage to this sensitive wilderness before a single drill rig has even been permitted. We will continue to stand with the Gwich’in in defending the Arctic Refuge, and we will continue to explore all legal avenues to ensure that oil exploration never happens in this sacred place.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.