No drilling in the Arctic Refuge

Winter is coming, and for polar bears in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, that means it’s time to bundle up for a long hibernation. But what will these bears awaken to in the spring?

Will they be shaken awake by seismic shocks? Will they encounter heavy machinery crawling across the snowy landscape in search of oil? Will they find new oil wells dirtying the air and turning the snow black?

Not if we can help it. We’re urging the Biden administration to cancel the planned sale of oil and gas drilling leases in the Arctic Refuge.

The Arctic Refuge is vital habitat for polar bears.

As winter approaches the Arctic Refuge, pregnant polar bear mothers dig their dens deep in the snow, where they’ll give birth to their cubs.

If this land is auctioned off for oil and gas exploration, heavy machinery will traverse the tundra, sending seismic shock waves deep into the ground in search of oil.

These seismic shocks can scare polar bear mothers from their dens, leaving helpless cubs behind. Sadder yet, dens can be crushed under the trucks’ heavy treads with sleeping polar bears still inside.

With only 900 Southern Beaufort polar bears left, we can’t risk losing any more of them to oil and gas activities.

So far, we’ve been able to protect the polar bears of the Arctic Refuge from the threat of oil and gas drilling.

You stood with us when Congress tried to force banks to finance drilling in the Arctic Refuge. You helped us convince Chevron not to buy a drilling lease in the refuge. And just this fall, following years of outcry from wildlife defenders like you, the Biden administration canceled the remaining oil and gas leases from a sale held in 2021.

We can’t let more drilling leases be sold. Together, if we continue to raise our voices, we can continue to keep the Arctic Refuge safe.