Washington, Jan. 6 -- Today, just two weeks before leaving office, the Trump administration held the first-ever lease sale to sell off the delicate coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas drilling. The sale attracted a tepid response from bidders, bringing in only $14.4 million in revenue. When Congressional Republicans pushed through a rider opening the Arctic Refuge for drilling as part of the 2017 tax bill, they claimed that two lease sales in the Refuge would generate $1 billion of revenue
The coastal plain has been protected from drilling for decades because of its significance to Indigenous peoples in Alaska, unique ecosystem, and treasured landscape. In their rushed review process for drilling in the coa...