Latest News - The Last Great Herd

U.S. BLM publishes Scoping Report for Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program

On December 1, 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management published the scoping report for the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program. This scoping report summarizes the scoping process and the comments received during the formal scoping period, including those provided during internal and public scoping meetings. Read the report…

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U.S. House of Representatives passes Build Back Better Act with provision to restore protections to the Coastal Plain

On November 19, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act (Act) with a provision to restore protections to the Coastal Plain of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Act effectively repeals the Trump Administration’s mandate for oil and gas development in the Coastal Plain and cancels the leases issued. The Build…

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AIDEA sues Biden Administration over Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program Actions

On November 4, 2021, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) filed a lawsuit against President Joe Biden, Secretary of the Department of the Interior Deb Haaland, and other members of the Biden Administration in response to what they have started are “unlawful actions to obstruct and delay the development of valid oil and…

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Website looks at 88 Energy and their interest in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

New website provides information on “88 Energy’s Risky Business” in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. “Australia’s 88 Energy is moving forward with plans to develop the Arctic Refuge for oil and gas despite the widespread risk of material and reputational loss for the company, with diminishing support from investors, financiers, and insurers, and without the…

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WWF Releases Report Evaluating The Economics of Oil Development in The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

New report released by the World Wildlife Fund analyses the economics of oil and gas development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge finding that the leases sold are unlikely to be economic to produce oil, and that the United States will not therefore achieve significant revenue from the oil and gas leasing program. ~~ “In…

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Alaska lawmakers seek allies to save ANWR drilling

E&E News reports Alaska’s Republican senators say they are actively exploring avenues to ensure the still-in-flux reconciliation bill does not restrict drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Full article here.

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Chair Grijalva, Reps. Huffman and DeGette Lead 60 Members in Urging President Biden Support Repeal of Arctic Refuge Drilling Program in Build Back Better Act

Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee Raúl M. Grijalva and Representatives Jared Huffman and Diana DeGette sent a letter on September 22, 2021 signed by 60 House Democrats to President Biden urging him to support the repeal of the oil and gas leasing program for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and a buyback of…

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Natural Resources Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives Passes Bill Restoring Protections to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

On September 9, 2021, the Natural Resources Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives passed their 10-year budget reconciliation package with language that would repeal the mandate for the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program within the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and buy back existing leases. Read more here. House Natural Resources…

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U.S. Bureau of Land Management Begins Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement Process

On August 4, 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management published the Notice of Intent to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to the September 2019 Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program EIS in accordance with the Secretary of Interior’s Order 3401, Comprehensive Analysis and Temporary Halt on all Activities in the Arctic…

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Biden Aims to End Arctic Drilling. A Trump-Era Law Could Foil His Plans (New York Times)

The administration suspended leases that were auctioned in the waning days of the Trump White House. But a 2017 law requires another sale. President Biden may be forced to hold a new lease sale for oil drilling in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, despite his vows to slash fossil fuel pollution and his action…

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