Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

KEY FACTS

Size: 19.6 million acres, roughly the size of South Carolina. The 1.6 million acre coastal plain is considered its ‘biological heart’. Protection History: Established by President Eisenhower in 1960 with bipartisan support as the Arctic Wildlife Range, with the purpose of protecting an entire ecosystem. It was expanded in 1980 under President Carter through the Alaska National Interest Land Conservation Act (ANILCA) to create the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Most Recent Protection: In 2015, President Obama transmitted to Congress a wilderness recommendation for more than 12 million acres within the Arctic Refuge, including the entire 1.6 million areas of the coastal plain. In 2019, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1146 which would repeal the mandate in the 2017 Tax Act to lease the coastal plain for oil and gas development. Tax Reform Fallout: In December 2017, as a component of its tax reform bill, Congress opened the Arctic Refuge to oil and gas leasing and development. Oil and Gas Development Threats: The Trump administration is aiming to hold its first lease sale as soon as possible, and aims for 3D seismic exploration as well. Climate Change: Rising Arctic temperatures are leading to melting permafrost, receding sea ice, coastal erosion, changes in vegetation growth patterns, altered caribou migration routes, increased forest fires, shrinking lakes, and more. Wildlife: The Arctic Refuge is home to polar bears, 200 species of migratory birds, arctic foxes, black & brown bears, Dall sheep, moose, musk oxen, caribou, wolves, wolverines and more. Significance to Alaska Natives: The Gwich’in people call the coastal plain “The Sacred Place Where Life Begins.” Protecting the Porcupine caribou herd that calves each summer on the coastal plain is a matter of basic human rights for the Gwich’in.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is America’s largest wildlife refuge, comprising 19.6 million acres of one of the wildest corners left in North America. Its biological heart – the 1.6 million acre coastal plain – is home to countless species of birds and numerous land mammals, like caribou, musk oxen and polar bears. The place holds special meaning to the Gwich’in people, who today rely on caribou for their sustenance, as they have for thousands of years. For many adventurers, a visit to the Arctic Refuge is the wilderness experience of a lifetime. It is no wonder that the Arctic Refuge earned protections in 1960 shortly after Alaska became a state, which remained in place until December of 2017.

Today, for the first time in decades, the coastal plain faces the threat of oil and gas leasing, which would forever change this landscape. As the tax reform debate came to a close in 2017, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski slipped two pages of drilling text into the final bill, undermining decades of thoughtful management and protections. In an unprecedented mad dash, the Trump administration has moved to hold an oil and gas lease sale before the true impacts of Arctic Refuge development can be understood. Please see below for relevant legislation, talking points, fact sheets and more on what we're doing to defend the Arctic Refuge.

Fact Sheets | Congressional Letters | Public Letters | Maps | Research & Reports

Recent Legislative Activity

• H.R. 7876 Polar Bear Cub Survival Act (116th Congress)
  • This bill would prohibit any oil and gas activities from occurring within 1 mile of polar bear maternal denning habitat in the coastal plain.
  • Sponsored by Representative Huffman (D-CA).

• S. 2461 Arctic Refuge Protection Act (116th Congress)
  • This bill would designate the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge as protected wilderness.
  • Sponsored by Senators Markey (D-MA), Schumer (D-NY), Cantwell (D-WA), Bennet (D-CO), Carper (D-DE), and Udall (D-NM).
  • Support letter from over 50 organizations

• H.R. 1146 Arctic Refuge Cultural & Coastal Plain Protection Act (116th Congress)
  • This bill would repeal the provision of the tax bill (H.R. 1) that mandates leasing in the Arctic Refuge.
  • H.R. 1146 passed the House of Representatives on September 12th, 2019 and became the first stand alone bill to protect the Arctic Refuge to pass in Congress.
  • Support letter from over 50 organizations

• H.R. 1 Tax Cuts & Jobs Act (115th Congress)
  • The overhaul of the American tax code came with a provision that mandated two oil and gas lease sales in the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge.
  • This provision claimed that these lease sales would raise a total of $1 billion in revenue for the Federal Treasury

Talking Points

• The Trump administration cut corners to expedite oil and gas development. Interior’s rushed process to lease the coastal plain in place of a measured, science-driven effort that provides for robust public input is a disservice to the American people. Leaked memos from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other Department of the Interior agencies suggest that the BLM’s data is lacking and outdated and identify at least 20 major studies that should be conducted before giving oil and gas the green light.
• Indigenous voices in particular are being ignored. This is yet another example of the Trump administration disregarding Indigenous rights and public wishes in the rush to sell out our public lands to oil interests. Using a hurried, predetermined plan to complete an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) within one year and limit it to 150 pages is incompatible with protecting the wilderness and wildlife values of the Arctic Refuge or the subsistence needs of the Gwich’in people.
• The Arctic is ground zero for climate change; temperatures in the Arctic are rising at three times the rate of the rest of the planet. Villages are eroding into the sea, permafrost melt is making infrastructure insecure and food sources are disappearing. Burning Arctic Refuge oil threatens to release 4.3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent into the atmosphere, according to the BLM estimate that there are 10 billion barrels of extractable oil in the coastal plain. This is equivalent to the annual emissions from more than 1,100 coal-fired power plants and would contribute significantly to the climate crisis. Just the process of extracting oil and gas from the coastal plain alone would create an additional 26 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions throughout the lifetime of the program according to BLM.
• Drilling in the Arctic Refuge is widely opposed by the American people. According to public opinion research commissioned by the Center for American Progress, two thirds of Americans oppose drilling in the Arctic Refuge, with a majority (52%) “strongly opposed.” And according to recent public polling done by Yale Climate Connections, a large majority of American voters (70%) oppose drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Those strongly opposed outnumber those who strongly support the policy by more than 4 to 1.
• For more than five decades, the Arctic Refuge has been a symbol of what we want for our future – the preservation of a way of life, climate justice, and the protection wild places. Not only does the mad dash to develop the Arctic Refuge threaten the place today, but it also will greatly shape the legacy we leave for future generations.
• Banks are adopting policies that would preclude them from financing drilling in the Arctic Refuge. Financial institutions understand drilling in the Arctic Refuge would be a toxic investment and too big of a financial risk to take. All six major U.S. banks (Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo), along with over a dozen international banks, have rejected financing for drilling in the Arctic Refuge. Congressional leaders have written letters to the remaining major U.S. banks urging them to take this stance as well.

Fact Sheets

• Banks Reject Financing For Arctic Refuge Drilling
• Oil and Gas Activities Threaten Arctic Refuge Polar Bears
• Arctic Refuge Leasing Revenue Projections Do Not Add Up
• S. 2461 - Arctic Refuge Protection Act
• H.R. 1146 - Arctic Cultural & Coastal Plain Protection Act

Congressional Letters

• Letter from House Natural Resources Committee to DOI Secretary Bernhardt Regarding the Arctic Refuge Leasing Program, December 2020
• Letter from Senate Democrats to Insurance Companies Asking them to Refuse Insuring for Oil Development in the Arctic Refuge, December 2020
• Letter from House Democrats to DOI Secretary Bernhardt Opposing Arctic Refuge Lease Sale and Seismic Exploration, December 2020
• Letter from Senate Democrats to DOI Secretary Bernhardt Opposing Arctic Refuge Lease Sale and Seismic Exploration, December 2020
• Letter from Senate Democrats to the Comptroller of Currency on Arctic Refuge Financing Decisions, October 2020
• Letter from House Natural Resources Committee and Subcommittee Chairs to DOI Secretary Bernhardt on the Biological Opinion for the Arctic Refuge Leasing Program, July 2020
• Letter from House Democrats to Banks Asking them to Refuse Financing for Oil Development in the Arctic Refuge, February 2020
• Letter from Senate Democrats to Banks Asking them to Refuse Financing for Oil Development in the Arctic Refuge, January 2020
• Letter from House Democrats Supporting the Arctic Refuge Provision of the FY20 House Interior Appropriations Bill, November 2019
• Letter from Senate Democrats Supporting the Arctic Refuge Provision of the FY20 House Interior Appropriations Bill, November 2019
• Letter from the House Natural Resources Committee to DOI Secretary Bernhardt on the Arctic Refuge Leasing Program Draft EIS, July 2019
• Letter from Senate Democrats to Acting DOI Secretary Bernhardt to Request an Arctic Refuge Leasing Program Draft EIS Comment Period Extension, January 2019

Public Letters

• Letter from Scholars and Teachers to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Opposing the Draft EIS, March 2019
• Letter from Scientists to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Opposing the Draft EIS, March 2019
• Letter from the Gwich'in Steering Committee Opposing Development in the Arctic Refuge, May 2018
• Letter from Investors Worth $2.52 Trillion Opposing Development in the Arctic Refuge, May 2018

Maps

• Arctic Refuge Map - National Geographic
• Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC) Lands in the Arctic Refuge
• Porcupine Caribou Herd Migration Route Map - Gwich'in Steering Committee
• Oil and Gas Leasing Along Alaska's North Slope
• Arctic Values Map
• Bird Migration Map

Research & Reports

• Trump’s Energy Policies Put Alaska in the Climate Crosshairs - Center for American Progress, November 2019
• Taxpayers Lose on Arctic Drilling: Big Revenue Promises Don't Add Up - Taxpayers for Common Sense, August 2019
• The Energy and Climate Impacts of Oil Drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge - Symons Public Affairs, July 2019
• The Most Powerful Arctic Lobby Group You've Never Heard Of - Center for American Progress, August 2018
• Americans Oppose Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - Yale Climate Connections, December 2017
• Oil Production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Impacts on Deficit and National Energy Security, November 2017
• Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 101 - Center for American Progress, October 2017