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Washington, D.C. – In response to reports that the Interior Department will move ahead with an oil and gas lease sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge – apparently without first doing an overall environmental review and plan for how the refuge will be managed – the League of Conservation Voters released the following statement from Deputy Legislative Director Alex Taurel:
“First Republican leaders in Congress snuck a provision to destroy the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge into their disastrous tax bill – which Trump himself admitted they tried to keep secret because selling out one of our most majestic landscapes to the oil industry is deeply unpopular. Now Secretary Zinke is racing to transform this pristine wildlife refuge into an industrial oil field, apparently by waiving environmental review, planning, and local consultation that drilling supporters like Senator Murkowski assured would take place at each step in the process. We will continue to stand with the native Gwich’in people and work to block drilling every step of the way.”