Library Search

Press Release September 6, 2023

Earthjustice Celebra Cancelación De Ofertas Para Exploración en Refugios En El Ártico Y Otras Acciones Propuestas

La administración Biden cancela ofertas ilegales y abre nuevos procesos que podrían preservar las preciadas tierras árticas en Alaska, pero se necesita más para abordar la mayor amenaza climática: más perforaciones en los arrendamientos de petróleo y gas existentes en el Ártico occidental.

The 19 million acres of tundra, rivers and mountains of the Arctic Refuge shelter migratory birds from all 50 states and six continents each summer. To the Gwich'in people of northeast Alaska, this is sacred ground. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Press Release September 6, 2023

Earthjustice Celebrates Cancellation of Arctic Refuge Leases and Proposed Future Actions

Biden administration cancels illegal leases and opens new processes that could preserve cherished Arctic lands in Alaska. More is needed to tackle the biggest climate threat: further oil drilling on existing oil and gas leases in the Western Arctic 

A bowhead whale and calf surface in the Arctic Ocean.
(Amelia Brower / NOAA)
feature October 20, 2021

Northern Fights

By land and by sea, America’s Arctic is under attack. Earthjustice is fighting on multiple fronts to protect this irreplaceable region and keep the Arctic’s fossil fuels in the ground.

In the News: National Geographic June 3, 2021

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge just got a reprieve — but it’s not safe yet

Erik Grafe, Attorney, Alaska Office, Earthjustice: “Drilling America’s Arctic refuge is a climate and human rights disaster, and the Biden administration knows the importance of re-establishing leadership on those two critical fronts. Now Congress needs to finish the job.”

Press Release June 1, 2021

Indigenous and Conservation Groups Applaud Suspension of Arctic Refuge Leases but Call for Further Action

Biden previously placed a temporary moratorium on oil and gas leasing activities on the Arctic Refuge coastal plain

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
(U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)
Update June 1, 2021

Oil and Gas Leases in the Arctic Refuge Are Suspended. Here’s What Needs to Happen Next.

If we’re going to avoid the worst impact of climate change, we must keep Arctic oil in the ground.

The 19 million acres of tundra, rivers and mountains of the Arctic Refuge shelter migratory birds from all 50 states and six continents each summer. To the Gwich'in people of northeast Alaska, this is sacred ground. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
case April 28, 2021

Defending the Arctic Refuge from Oil & Gas Drilling

Generations of Americans have protected the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from development. The Arctic Refuge, which spans 19 million acres across northeast Alaska, is one of the planet’s last fully intact wild landscapes. The region’s tundra, rivers, and mountains shelter migratory birds from all 50 states and six continents each summer. Grizzlies, wolverines, musk ox,…

document December 15, 2020

Motion for Preliminary Injunction to Halt Oil Activities in Arctic Refuge

Conservation groups represented by Earthjustice take legal action to halt the oil industry’s imminent advance into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, by asking the Court to put a freeze on oil leasing and seismic activity that would permanently mar the landscape while an existing legal challenge is underway.

Press Release December 15, 2020

Conservation Groups Ask Court to Stop Imminent Oil Activities in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Interior is rushing to sell leases and permit industrial seismic surveying in the Refuge in the next few weeks

Clockwise from top left: a Porcupine Caribou herd crosses the Kongakut River; a male polar bear; a flock of Kittiwakes, one of many migratory bird species found in the Arctic region; a ringed seal.
 (Clockwise from top left: GARY BRAASCH VIA NWF, PAUL NICKLEN / NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE, RALPH LEE HOPKINS / NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE, MICHAEL CAMERON / NOAA)
Update November 18, 2020

Trump Administration’s Final Push to Drill the Arctic Refuge: What Comes Next?

In its waning days of power, the Trump administration is attempting to open the Arctic for oil and gas drilling in sacred and irreplaceable Alaskan wilderness.

Press Release November 13, 2020

Trump Administration Invites Oil Industry to Desecrate Sacred Arctic Refuge

Agency is ignoring impacts to people, climate, and wildlife, and relying on flawed science in its rushed, secretive process

video August 24, 2020

Too Wild To Drill: Journey to the Arctic Refuge in Virtual Reality

With a 360° film experience, we bring you to the threatened coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge, an Arctic Gwich’in village, and the epicenter of oil and gas drilling in America’s Arctic.

document August 24, 2020

Complaint challenging plans for lease sale in Arctic Refuge

Earthjustice filed a lawsuit on Aug. 24, 2020 to defend the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from a lease sale that would auction off the Coastal Plain to the oil and gas industry for fossil fuel development.

The 19 million acres of tundra, rivers and mountains of the Arctic Refuge shelter migratory birds from all 50 states and six continents each summer. To the Gwich'in people of northeast Alaska, this is sacred ground. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Press Release August 24, 2020

Lawsuit Aims to Block Drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Oil and gas leasing would cause irreparable harm to wildlife, tundra, and climate

Ringed seal (Pusa hispida) rests near a breathing hole in the Beaufort Sea, Arctic Ocean.
(Florian Schulz / florianschulz.com)
feature August 20, 2020

Timeline: Defending America’s Arctic

Earthjustice has been advocating against drilling in the Arctic for decades. Here’s how we got to where we are today.

document August 17, 2020

Record of Decision for oil drilling plan in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

The Record of Decision for a lease sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was released on August 18, 2020.

Caribou can be found roaming through the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
(Andre Coetzer / Shutterstock)
Press Release August 17, 2020

Trump Administration Finalizes Plan to Drill for Oil in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Plan ignores climate change; targets cherished public lands area held sacred by Indigenous people

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
(U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)
Press Release March 13, 2019

Public Overwhelmingly Opposes Drilling in Arctic Refuge

More than one million comments submitted to Bureau of Land Management oppose oil and gas lease sales in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge