Defend the Western Arctic from oil and gas drilling

The Trump administration is recklessly moving to open over 18 million acres in Alaska's Western Arctic to oil and gas development, prioritizing fossil fuel industry profits over one of Earth's most vital ecosystems.

The Administration plans to lease the nation’s largest intact tract of public land to drilling companies. The Western Arctic is home to caribou, polar bears, migratory birds, and includes essential habitat that sustains both wildlife and Indigenous people. Its permafrost stores vast amounts of carbon, and its reflective sea ice helps cool the planet. Drilling here accelerates the climate crisis for all of us.

When Congress transferred management of the Western Arctic to the Bureau of Land Management in 1976, it embedded protections in the National Petroleum Reserves Protection Act specifically to safeguard this globally significant ecosystem. Now the Trump administration is trying to dismantle these legal safeguards to give fossil fuel companies what they want.

The Arctic is already warming faster than anywhere else on the planet. Oil and gas drilling would destroy critical habitat, contaminate pristine waters, and push us toward climate catastrophe. Protecting this region is essential not only for preserving biodiversity but also for slowing global warming and avoiding the worst impacts of climate change. 

Add your voice and demand the Bureau of Land Management protect the Arctic — not drill it for oil and gas.