All major oil companies refused to bid; one small oil company and a state of Alaska-sponsored corporation snapped up five leases in a rush to exploit the Refuge’s Coastal Plain
Erik Grafe, Managing Attorney, Alaska Office: “The Western Arctic is the place that has the most industry interest, and the administration is going all out.”
Western Watersheds Project and WildEarth Guardians sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help secure Endangered Species Act protections for the pygmy rabbit – the world’s smallest rabbit species.
Today’s lease sale notice sets into motion this administration’s radical agenda to industrialize the Refuge to benefit oil companies – not the American people
Steve Mashuda, Managing Attorney, Oceans Program: “There has been no instance of the committee meeting and talking about an exemption and deciding the fate of species in less time than it takes to watch a rerun of a ‘Friends’ episode. …. That is almost unfathomable for a decision of this…
The unprecedented blanket-exemption would leave numerous Gulf species and ecosystems unprotected and vulnerable to extinction, including the critically endangered Rice’s whale, sea turtles, fish, rays, corals, and birds.
