What’s going on in Alaska and what can we do to help?
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Photo credit: Mason Cummings, The Wilderness Society
You may have heard that the Trump administration has been moving to lease off the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska for oil and gas drilling, and open the state’s largest national forest in its final days in office.
These activities will have serious consequences for the climate, the livelihood of local tribes, and for the outdoors and recreation economy. Here’s what’s happening and what we can do about it:
Back in September, the Trump administration announced it was opening up the Tongass National Forest – the largest National Forest in the country – to old growth logging, road building, and other development. It did this by rolling back Roadless Rule protections, which had previously protected large backcountry areas of National Forests from industrial development. These rollbacks also included an exemption from the usual ban on exporting unprocessed timber, which means that industry will be able to ship raw logs overseas without generating any jobs for mill workers. Recent studies have shown that timber sales in the Tongass actually lose money, costing taxpayers millions each year. You can read more about what happened here.
The Trump administration has also prioritized opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling and has cut public comment periods short in a rush to lease off the arctic before the end of its term. There are a bunch of moving pieces here, including the administration pushing through seismic testing in the days around the election, asking developers to bid on parcels in the arctic, and attempting to discriminate against banks who withdraw financing for arctic drilling.
In both cases, the consequences of increased drilling, logging, and development are serious, with potentially devastating effects for the climate, wildlife, and Indigenous rights. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is home to the Gwich’in people, who rely on protected lands in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and who have been calling for permanent protection of the region and their way of life.
Alaska is the most wild place in North America, and looms large in the imagination of the outdoor community whether you have been able to visit or not. Iconic paddling, climbing, hiking, rafting, and backcountry skiing are a part of Alaska’s growing outdoor recreation economy.
Alaska’s large swaths of protected land are also critical bulwarks against the worsening effects of climate change. The effects of climate change are costly and enduring – climate change has cost the U.S. billions this year alone. Drilling and logging in Alaska’s protected wild landscapes will have devastating effects for our climate, the health of all people, and our economy. Oil runs out, but climate disasters will endure.
The Trump administration and the current Congress are unlikely to take swift action to protect Alaska. But the incoming Biden administration has said that protecting wild lands in Alaska is a top priority, and the best thing we can do now is call on the incoming administration to take day one action.
We are working to gather 5,000 signatures to demonstrate the support of the outdoor community to protect Alaska’s public lands and waters. Stand with Outdoor Alliance in asking the Biden-Harris administration to take day-one action to save one of the last best places in North America. With the Biden transition team already reaching out to determine how they will spend their first 100 days, we have the opportunity to demonstrate resounding support for protections in Alaska.