Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

When Joe Biden took office, he immediately slammed the brakes on oil drilling in the Arctic refuge. So how did we get here? And, what’s next?

Today, the Trump administration took one of the last necessary steps before it allows oil leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Interior…

Joe Balash, the high-level Alaskan appointee at the U.S. Department of the Interior who pushed to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil leasing, is taking a job with an oil company seeking to develop a major project in Alaska.

Not long after Trump took office, former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke famously proclaimed "the only path for energy dominance is a path through the great state of Alaska." Two and a half years into the administration, lawyers have proven to be significant impediments to that path.

It’s still too early to know if petroleum even exists in the refuge in commercially-viable quantities. But if it’s found, Kaktovik’s residents are simultaneously positioned to be among the biggest beneficiaries, and to experience some of the biggest disruptions.

Sarah James’ desire to preserve the Neets'aii Gwich'in way of life drove her into the thick of the battle over oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The Interior department is re-evaluating the management plan for the reserve, aiming to open up land that's currently off-limits to oil leasing.

A proposal by Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy would strip the North Slope Borough of its power to collect nearly $400 million in property taxes from oil companies each year. The idea gets at a longstanding question: How much money from oil should stay in the North Slope, where it’s pumped from the ground?

A pair of Democratic senators have introduced a bill to designate parts of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as a permanent wilderness area, prompting outrage from Alaska Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski.

One of the largest bipartisan groups of state elected officials will campaign in favor of petroleum development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.