Senate Votes Through Potus Plan To Drill Inside Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Significant news in what’s been a contentious battle for the opportunity to drill in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, despite pushback arguments that it could devastate caribou herds and other subsistence resources.

From Alaska Public Media:

Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., spoke against the resolution. An outdoorsman who has travelled to the region, Heinrich described the refuge as a breathtaking wilderness that’s vital for hundreds of species of birds and wildlife.

““The Arctic Refuge is the crown jewel of our National Wildlife Refuge System, and it belongs to every single American,” he said. “It deserves our protection.”

Market forces may, in effect, provide that protection. No major oil companies bid when the first Trump administration held an ANWR lease sale in 2021. A lease sale during the Biden administration, with more restrictive conditions imposed, drew no bids at all.