No oil leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

The Trump Administration is pushing a dangerous and shortsighted plan to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas companies, putting these habitats and the wildlife that call them home in peril.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has fast-tracked the environmental review process to lease in areas home to polar bears, the Porcupine caribou herd, and hundreds of species of migratory birds. Tell the BLM that the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge that you oppose the plan to establish an oil and gas leasing program on the Arctic Refuge coastal plain.

Your comment will be submitted to the BLM as a part of the public comment process.

To: United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
From: [Your Name]

I am writing in strong opposition to holding an oil and gas lease sale and conducting seismic exploration in the 1002 area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

As one of our last pristine wild places, the Arctic Refuge is just too special to drill. It is home to endangered species such as the polar bear, and other iconic wildlife, including muskoxen, Arctic foxes, and wolverines. Our entire nation is connected to the Arctic Refuge, as birds from all 50 states migrate to this unique habitat. The Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge also bears witness to the migration of the Porcupine Caribou Herd, one of the largest animal migrations in North America. The Coastal Plain is considered sacred by the indigenous Gwich’in people, who have for centuries depended on these lands to sustain themselves and their culture.

Oil and gas drilling would have devastating and irreversible impacts on the people and wildlife that call the Arctic Refuge home, as well as on our climate. Recent scientific research concludes that Arctic oil and gas reserves must remain in the ground to avoid dangerous levels of global warming. Alaska is already warming twice as fast as the rest of the nation and experiencing harsh impacts, from community relocation to permafrost melt to wildfires, that will only be exacerbated if more fossil fuels are extracted and burned.

Drilling and exploring for oil and gas in the 1002 area of the Arctic Refuge is irresponsible and unnecessary at a time when we should be transitioning to a renewable energy future. I proudly stand with the Gwich’in and the vast majority of Americans in opposing drilling on the Coastal Plain and defending the Arctic Refuge.

Thank you for your consideration of my comments.