US approves oil, gas leasing plan for Alaska wildlife refuge The Department of the Interior has approved an oil and gas leasing program within Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife RefugeANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The Trump administration gave final approval Monday for a contentious oil and gas leasing plan on the coastal plain of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, where critics worry about the industry's impact on polar bears, caribou and other wildlife. Environmentalists have promised to fight opening up the coastal plain, a 1.56-million acre swath of land along Alaska’s northern Beaufort Sea coast after the Department of the Interior approved an oil and gas leasing program. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt signed the Record of Decision, which will determine a program for where oil and gas leasing will take place. President Trump insisted Congress include a mandate providing for leasing in the refuge in a 2017 tax bill. The Interior’s Bureau of Land Management in December 2018 concluded drilling could be conducted within the coastal plain area without harming wildlife.

Source: ABC News August 17, 2020 13:49 UTC