The U.S. Department of Interior announced that it was suspending leases of the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge pending completion of new comprehensive analysis of potential environmental impacts of the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program. Suspension of the existing oil and gas leases means that while the leases issued may…
The Incidental Harassment Authorization permit required from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was not received before February 13th, the deadline in which Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation was required to complete polar bear den aerial detection surveys.
On February 23, 2021, following their first bilateral meeting, President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau released the “Roadmap for a Renewed U.S. – Canada Partnership” within which they recognized the importance of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and “agreed to work together to help safeguard the Porcupine caribou herd calving grounds that are invaluable to…
Legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives to restore protections to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and prevent oil and gas exploration and development activities from taking place. News from the Senators and Representatives who are leading the efforts is available here.
On January 20, on his first day in office, President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order placing a temporary moratorium on all oil and natural gas leasing activities on the all oil and natural gas leasing activities in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge recognizing the legal deficiencies underlying the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing…
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management signed and issued leases on nine tracts of land totaling 437,804 acres of the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Leases were issued to Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA), Knik Arm Services LLC, and Regenerate Alaska Inc. The BLM released information on the leases here.…
On January 6, 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) received 13 bids on 552,802 acres of the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. High bids totalled $14,412,458. The BLM responded to the bids and released the results here. The first lease sale of the Coastal Plain has been called a failure…
Five major banks in Canada have updated their policies to reject financing of oil and gas exploration and development activities in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge following engagement with Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation and Gwich’in Tribal Council. The Vuntut Gwitchin Government and the Gwich’in Tribal Council issued the following media release regarding the news.
On Friday November 13, 2020, it was reported that the Bureau of Land Management would be issuing a Call for Nominations for the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program on Tuesday November 17, 2020. The Call for Nominations is the first step of the formal lease sale process.Typically, the Call for Nominations period used…
Kaktovik Iñupiat Corporation (KIC) has requested authorization to conduct 3-dimensional (3-D) winter seismic activities on the east side of the Coast Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for the winter season of 2020-2021. The proposal is available here. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management held a two week public comment period of the proposal…