With all of the hostile anti environmental propositions coming out of the recently elected US House of Reps..................It is Nice to finally see a pro Arctic Wilderness bill come forward that would ban oil drilling in this most sensitive of regions....It would also finally designate a large section of the unprotected Arctic Coastal Plain as off-limits to oil extraction...............So critical for this to be passed so as to ensure the Porcupine Caribou herd a pristine home into the forever

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Reintroduced

On 5 January 2011, House Natural Resources ranking member Ed Markey (D-MA) reintroduced the "Arctic Wilderness Act (H.R. 139)," a bill that would protect Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil and gas drilling. The same bill was introduced by Markey in the previous Congress and proposes approximately 1.5 million acres of wilderness on the coastal plain, a region of the refuge not yet designated as wilderness and of interest for oil development.

Markey encouraged support for the bill and noted concerns about the devastating impacts of oil spills and the ability of authorities to respond to such spills, particularly in cold climates. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the largest of all of the nation's refuges and recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. The refuge is best known for "wilderness, undisturbed wildlife and ecological processes, and unique recreational and scientific opportunities."

The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources. On 25 January 2011, Joe Lieberman (D-CT) introduced to the Senate a partner bill (S.33) that designates 1.5 million acres of wilderness along the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Similar to the Arctic Wilderness Act, this bill strengthens protections from oil and gas development on the refuge. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Environmental and Public Works.

Sources: The Library of Congress THOMAS, E&E News, LLC (E&E Daily), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.