Fish and Wildlife Service, caribou from the Porcupine caribou herd migrate onto the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Alaska.
The U.S. government held its first-ever oil and gas lease sale Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 for Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an event critics labeled as a bust with major oil companies staying on the sidelines and a state corporation emerging as the main bidder.
Fish and Wildlife Service via AP, File)JUNEAU, Alaska – The U.S. government held its first-ever oil and gas lease sale Wednesday for Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an event critics labeled as a bust with major oil companies staying on the sidelines and a state corporation emerging as the main bidder.
Critics of the lease sale say the region is special, providing habitat for wildlife including caribou, polar bears, wolves and birds, and should be off limits to drilling.
The land management agency has said under an “optimistic, aggressive hypothetical scenario" exploration could begin within two years after a lease sale, with production eight years after a sale.