U.S. moves closer to opening Arctic refuge for oil leasing

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration moved closer on Thursday to opening thousands of miles within Alaska’s pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas leasing, issuing a draft report that concluded the polar bears, caribou and other wildlife could safely share their untouched wilderness with oil and gas producers.

The report released by the Bureau of Land Management studied the environmental impact of opening between two-thirds and all of 1.65 million acres of coastal plain within the remote refuge for oil and gas leasing.

The release of the legally required environmental impact statement marks one of the last major actions in office by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, an ardent supporter of the oil and gas industry who leaves office Jan. 2 amid ethics investigations.

In a statement, Zinke called the step toward opening Alaska’s North Slope for oil and gas development a move toward an “energy-dominant America.”

A strong leasing program within the wilderness area “helps us realize our tremendous energy potential without harming our environment or way of life,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, chairwoman of the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee, in another statement.

The administration’s environmental review acknowledged that opening the coastal plains within the nation’s largest wildlife refuge would impact Alaska Native hunters, as well as caribou herds and other arctic animals and migratory birds that depend upon the refuge.

The report concluded, however, that the lease sales could be carried out “while balancing biological and ecological concerns.”