Trump Rushes To Lock In Oil Drilling In Arctic Wildlife Refuge Before Biden's Term

In a last-minute push, the Trump administration announced Thursday that it will auction off drilling rights in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in just over a month, setting up a final showdown with opponents before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

The sale, which is now set for Jan. 6, could cap a bitter, decades-long battle over whether to drill in the coastal plain, a pristine expanse that's home to migrating caribou, polar bears and other wildlife. The Trump administration has made it a priority to open the land to development.

"Congress directed us to hold lease sales in the ANWR Coastal Plain, and we have taken a significant step in announcing the first sale in advance of the December 2021 deadline set by law," said a statement Thursday from Chad Padgett, the Alaska state director for the Bureau of Land Management.

https://www.npr.org/2020/12/03/942052004/trump-administration-sets-last-minute-oil-lease-sale-for-arctic-wildlife-refuge?utm_source=npr_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20201203&utm_term=5000585&utm_campaign=breaking-news&utm_id=48780983&orgid=309