Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is one of the most iconic and pristine landscapes in America. Its 1.5 million-acre coastal plain – the biological heart – is home to more than 250 species that migrate from all 50 states and 6 continents each year. The Porcupine Caribou Herd, a primary subsistence food source for the Indigenous Gwich’in people, migrates hundreds of miles each year to the coastal plain to give birth. Because of this, the Gwich’in refer to the coastal plain as “The Sacred Place Where Life Begins.”

Despite the sacred and wild beauty that survives in the Refuge, the Trump administration is barreling towards a drilling program in its fragile coastal plain. After the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R.1) in December, which included the Arctic Refuge drilling mandate, the administration and supporters in Congress have made it abundantly clear that they intend to rush through public processes this while the political winds are in their favor. Please see below for relevant legislation, talking points, fact sheets, and more on what we're doing to defend the Arctic Refuge.

KEY FACTS

Total Acreage – 19.6 million Coastal Plain Acreage – 1.5 million Original Protection – 1960 under Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower Expanded Protection – 1980 under Jimmy Carter in the Alaska National Interest Land Conservation Act (ANILCA) Most Recent Protection – 2015 under President Obama, USFWS Wilderness recommendation transmitted to Congress of 12.28 million acres Wilderness bills – S. 820; H.R. 1889 Repeal bill - H.R. 5911 Wildlife – Polar bears, 200 species of migratory birds, arctic foxes, black & brown bears, Dall sheep, moose, musk oxen, caribou

Jump to Fact Sheets

Recent Legislative Activity

• H.R. 5911, Arctic Cultural & Coastal Plain Protection Act
  • the bill to repeal the provision of the tax bill (H.R. 1) that mandates drilling in the Arctic Refuge and returns to status quo of no drilling

• H.R. 1, Tax Cuts & Jobs Act
  • the overhaul of the American tax code came with a provision that mandated leasing in the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge

• H.R. 1889/S.820, Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness Act
  • landmark legislation that would designate the coastal plain as protected wilderness

Opportunities to Show Support

• Cosponsor H.R. 5911; H.R. 1889/S. 820 - email Logan Ferree (logan.ferree@mail.house.gov) in Rep. Huffman's office & Morgan Gray (morgan_gray@markey.senate.gov) to co-sponsor.

Talking Points

• Last year, a devastating provision was passed as part of the unrelated tax bill that mandates oil and gas development in the iconic Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This damaging drilling provision mandates two lease sales within 10 years, each at least 400,000 acres in size, on the Refuge’s fragile coastal plain. Furthermore, this bill declared oil and gas as a purpose of the Arctic Refuge which has never before been the case, undercutting the integrity of the Arctic Refuge and setting a dangerous precedent for America’s entire National Wildlife Refuge System. The “Arctic Cultural and Coastal Plain Protection Act” would repeal this damaging provision and the stop the aggressive oil and gas development threat that is underway for the Arctic Refuge.
• The scars of 2-D seismic testing completed on the coastal plain in 1984 and 1985 are still visible 30 years later. Modern seismic exploration, however, is done using a 3-D technique that requires a much denser grid of trails. Just an EA will be insufficient- a full EIS is required for a proposal as impactful as seismic testing across the entire 1.6 million acre coastal plain. An EIS was conducted for the seismic performed in the 1980s.
• Seismic activities on the Coastal Plain will also adversely impact wildlife and their habitat, including polar bears. The Coastal Plain is the most important onshore denning habitat for polar bears, a federally listed species under the Endangered Species Act. Seismic activities have the potential to disturb polar bears during their denning season and to cause mothers to abandon their cubs. SAExploration’s seismic activities, which will extend from winter into spring, could also disturb other species like caribou and birds that return in the spring to the Refuge’s biological heart.

Fact Sheets

• Rep. Cole Amendment to FY19 Interior Appropriations Bill
• The Trump Administration's Attempt to Open the Refuge to Seismic Exploration
• Leasing in the Coastal Plain
• Potential Legislative Threats to the Arctic Refuge

Congressional Letters

• Letter from Senate Democrats Against NOI & Arctic Refuge Leasing, June 2018
• Letter from House Democrats Against NOI & Arctic Refuge Leasing, June 2018
• House Natural Resources Committee Democrats Letter to Secretary Zinke, April 2018
• Republican Letter Opposing Arctic Refuge Drilling in Budget Process, June 2017
• Bicameral Letter to Secretary Zinke Opposing Secretarial Order 3352, June 2017

Public Letters

• Scholar Letter, June 2018
• Guide & Outdoor Recreation Professional Letter, June 2018
• Athlete Letter, June 2018
• Gwich'in Steering Committee Letter, May 2018
• Investor Letter, May 2018

Maps

• ASRC Lands in the Arctic Refuge
• Porcupine Caribou Herd Migration Route Map - Gwich'in Steering Committee
• Oil & Gas Leasing in the North Slope
• Arctic Values Map

Reports & Previous Attempts to Drill

• The Most Powerful Arctic Lobby Group You've Never Heard Of - Center for American Progress, August 2018
• Oil Production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Impacts on Deficit and National Energy Security, November 2018
• Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 101, October 2017