Sierra Club is reporting that the Trump administration intends to open areas of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling. It said the administration plans to ask fossil fuel companies where they want to drill, putting irreplaceable lands, Indigenous rights and the climate at risk. The organization highlighted that drilling can only proceed if companies submit bids.
The environmental group stated that the administration is planning a lease sale for June 5, with over 1.5 million acres of the refuge on the auction block. Sierra Club emphasized that drilling in the coastal plain would permanently destroy this sacred place, which the Gwich'in people refer to as "The Sacred Place Where Life Begins." It noted that the protection of this landscape is crucial for the Gwich'in's survival and food security, as their way of life is linked to the Porcupine Caribou's health and migration routes.
Sierra Club is urging public pressure on social media to discourage corporations from bidding on the lease sale. It said that past public pressure has successfully stopped major financial institutions from funding Arctic drilling.