Washington, D.C. March 13, 2023 – Alaska Wilderness League is expressing deep disappointment with President Biden’s decision to greenlight the massive Willow oil and gas project, a defining decision for his administration’s climate legacy. Today, the U.S. Department of the Interior released a Record of Decision that moves forward ConocoPhillips’ Willow oil and gas project […]
Alaska Wilderness League
Posted inEnviro
Conservation, Indigenous Groups and Public Call for Swift Restoration of Tongass Roadless Protections
Washington, January 25, 2022 — Monday, more than 175,000 comments from throughout Alaska and across the country were submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Forest Service calling for the restoration of Roadless Rule protections on the Tongass National Forest. ALASKA WILDERNESS LEAGUE * AUDUBON ALASKA * ENVIRONMENT AMERICA * EARTHJUSTICE * NATIONAL […]
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Conservation and climate groups call on USDA to end taxpayer subsidies for Tongass logging
Washington, April 19, 2021 — A coalition of conservation and climate organizations have submitted a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, asking his agency to “take the fiscally responsible step of prohibiting federal funds from being used to pay for, subsidize, design, study or construct roads for logging in the Tongass National Forest.” […]
Posted inEnviro
Interior Secretarial Orders revoke destructive Trump policies in Alaska and America’s Arctic
Washington, April 16, 2021 — Today, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland issued two Secretarial Orders “to prioritize action on climate change throughout the Department and to restore transparency and integrity in the Department’s decision-making processes.” She also revoked Secretarial Orders issued during the previous administration found to be “inconsistent with the Department’s commitment to protect public […]
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Interior to review federal fossil fuel program, Trump public land fire sale
Washington, March 9, 2021 — Today, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced the commencement of a comprehensive review of the federal oil and gas program. As stated in the Biden administration’s executive order of January 27, 2021: This will “provide a chance to review the federal oil and gas program to ensure that it […]
Posted inEnviro
Interior Department harassment authorization in ANWR risks the lives of threatened polar bears
Washington, December 10, 2020 — The U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published in the Federal Register a proposed Incidental Harassment Authorization and accompanying draft environmental assessment that would greenlight the harassment of polar bears during seismic exploration on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The […]
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House Climate Solutions Bill Would Ban New Arctic Ocean Oil and Gas Leasing
Washington, October 20, 2020 — House Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl Grijalva has introduced the Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act of 2020, a bill that would take advantage of our oceans’ potential in the fight against climate change by promoting offshore renewable energy, protecting blue carbon, supporting climate-ready fisheries, expanding marine protected areas, improving ocean health […]
Posted inOp-Ed
Adam Kolton: Equal access to wilderness in today’s America should be a priority for us all
June 2, 2020 – Like so many Americans, we at Alaska Wilderness League are sickened and outraged over the recent violence against George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and Tony McDade. These acts of racism, of police brutality and hatred must come to an end. Addressing the reality of our country’s enormous failings in the […]
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Interior Department, Bureau of Land Management announce plan that could gut protections in Western Arctic
Washington, D.C.—The Bureau of Land Management announced today it is seeking public input on a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for a new integrated activity plan (IAP) for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The Notice of Availability will officially publish in the Federal Register tomorrow, Friday, Nov. 22, 2019. Alaska Wilderness League issues the following statements […]
Posted inEnviro
Groups Applaud DOI Spending Provision To Hold Trump Admin. Accountable for Misleading Arctic Refuge Promises
Washington, D.C. June 21, 2019 — The United States House of Representatives yesterday evening rejected a bid to amend its Interior Department spending bill that includes language requiring any Arctic National Wildlife Refuge oil and gas lease sales offered by the Trump administration to meet revenue projections promised by the 2017 Tax Act. Specifically, the […]
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Congress Seizes New Opportunity to Restore Arctic Refuge Protections
Washington, D.C. May 1, 2019 — In response to today’s U.S. House Natural Resources Committee vote passing the bipartisan Arctic Cultural and Coastal Plain Protection Act out of committee (the bill passed 22-14), Alaska Wilderness League, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, The Wilderness Society, Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges, Defenders of Wildlife, Environment […]
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Seismic exploration on hold for Arctic Refuge; polar bears breathe a sigh of relief
Washington, Feb. 8, 2019 – Media inquiries to the Department of the Interior have confirmed that SAExploration will not be conducting seismic exploration on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge this winter during the 2018-2019 seismic season. We continue to await BLM’s release of its Environmental Assessment of SAE’s seismic proposal, to […]
Posted inOp-Ed
Adam Kolton: Former Oil Lobbyist Known for Altering/Omitting Arctic Refuge Data to be next Interior Secretary
WASHINGTON, DC, Feb. 4, 2019 – Today, in a tweet, President Donald Trump confirmed that Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt – Acting Interior Secretary since Secretary Ryan Zinke’s resignation – would be nominated to be the next Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Statement by Adam Kolton, Executive Director, Alaska Wilderness […]
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Trump ramps up reckless assault on the Arctic Refuge
Washington, D.C. December 21, 2018 – On the eve of the one-year anniversary of the tax act that opened the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, The Bureau of Land Management released its draft environmental impact statement (EIS) in preparation for an oil and gas lease sale in 2019 within the ecologically sensitive coastal plain […]
Posted inEnviro
Newly revealed seismic exploration plan threatens every inch of the Arctic Refuge coastal plain
WASHINGTON, May 31, 2018 – Today the American public learned the Bureau of Land Management has received and is considering a plan to conduct 3-D seismic exploration on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge this winter. The plan was submitted by SAExploration, Inc., in conjunction with the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation and […]
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New legislation would repeal disastrous Arctic Refuge tax bill drilling provision
WASHINGTON, May 22, 2018 – Today, Representative Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), joined by original cosponsors Representatives Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.) and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), introduced the “Arctic Cultural and Coastal Plain Protection Act” in the U.S. House of Representatives that would repeal a provision in the controversial December tax legislation mandating drilling in the […]
Posted inOp-Ed
Adam Kolton: We must not allow the Trump administration under the guise of ‘energy dominance’ to pry open the Arctic Refuge
WASHINGTON, April 19, 2018 – Today, the Trump administration launched a process to hold its first lease sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, rushing forward with plans for destructive oil and gas drilling while disregarding the biological, cultural and climate impacts on a rapidly warming Arctic. The Department of the Interior has announced it […]
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Trump Administration Conceded with Florida that Offshore Drilling Poses Serious Danger to Coastal Communities
Washington, D.C. January 16, 2018 – Given the tidal wave of bipartisan opposition that it has triggered since its unveiling earlier this month, the Trump administration’s controversial plan to expose nearly all U.S. coastal waters to the risk of oil spills will attract vocal national and local criticism when listening sessions kick off this week […]
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Leah Donahey: Congress uses SECURE Act to giftwrap American’s public lands and waters for oil and gas industry
WASHINGTON, Nov. 8, 2017 – Today, the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources advanced the Strengthening the Economy with Critical Untapped Resources to Expand American Energy (SECURE Act), a bill that targets every inch of the Arctic coastline and federally designated Special Areas in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska for destructive and unwanted oil and gas […]
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Obama administration closes Arctic Ocean to future risky and reckless drilling
WASHINGTON, DC Nov. 18, 2016 – – Today, President Obama and his administration made an announcement about future drilling in America’s Arctic Ocean. The 5-year leasing plan (2017-2022) that was announced today does not include the Beaufort and Chukchi Sea because of extensive public input and analysis of the best available scientific data. The Department’s […]