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Tell the Bureau of Land Management—NO Seismic Testing on the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge

Polar Bears in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska

Arctic Refuge Coastal Plain Threatened by Massive Seismic Exploration for Oil and Gas
Comments due November 6

On October 23, the Trump Administration’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) presented a permit application to do seismic testing across 450,000 acres of federal public land on the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, as well as 92,000 additional acres inside the Refuge that are owned by Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation. This latest bid to destroy part of the irreplaceable Arctic Refuge must be stopped. Comments are due November 6, so please take action today!

What does this mean?

Over the course of the winter of 2020-2021, crews would work 24 hours a day to drive multiple 90,000-pound "thumper" trucks across the land in a grid, slamming into the ground with over 60,000 pounds of force.
They’d build temporary airstrips—75 feet wide and half a mile long with flashing lights—and bring in equipment like bulldozers, tractors, fuelers, and incinerators.
Hundreds of helicopter and airplane flights would take place, and a camp of 180 people will be literally drug through this delicate landscape.

What’s at stake?

The Refuge coastal plain is critical maternal denning habitat for the threatened southern Beaufort Sea polar bear population. Bears could be crushed or prematurely driven from their dens. Such heavy-handed industrial activity has no place in a wildlife refuge and will endanger these polar bears whose population is already suffering the consequences of climate change.
Protective snow cover is sparse and uneven due to hilly terrain and persistent high winds on the Refuge coastal plain. These conditions make vegetation and sensitive permafrost soils extremely vulnerable to significant long-term damage from such seismic operations.

The idea of a project of this scale in one of the last intact undeveloped ecosystems in North America is outrageous enough, but it gets worse. Under the Trump administration's new rules, BLM plans to fast track this permit application, allowing only 14 days for the public and experts to review the plan in detail and provide comments.

This isn't just an attack on the last wild places, it's an attack on our ability to be part of our government's decisions. We’re demanding that the BLM provide more time for detailed analysis and public comment. Will you join us?

We need you to tell the BLM 14 days is not enough time and just a demonstration that this plan could not hold up to scrutiny. If we are able to get an extension, we will be able to build a meaningful record and provide feedback to the agency.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge can remain a Refuge, but only if we work together to stop these destructive plans. Please take action today!

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No Seismic Blasting on the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge!

BLM Arctic Seismic Blasting

Subject: Comments on Marsh Creek East Seismic Exploration EA

Message:

Dear Bureau of Land Management staff, Please accept these comments on the Marsh Creek East Seismic Exploration EA. I oppose the proposed seismic exploration on the Coastal Plain. This is no place for oil and gas exploration or development. The hasty and reckless effort to push seismic exploration in the Refuge is counter to science, human rights, and the intent of these public lands. The rushed, 14-day window to comment on this proposal is not nearly long enough. The Arctic Refuge and the Gwich’in people who rely on the Coastal Plain and the Porcupine Caribou Herd deserve far more than a reckless and rushed decision-making process. Denning polar bears and the Coastal Plain’s wilderness characteristics will also be at risk. I request that the BLM grant at least a 45-day extension. A full environmental impact statement (EIS) should be prepared for this action. This is a highly controversial, 40-year national debate over whether oil and gas development on the Coastal Plain should be allowed. It requires deserves a full EIS and a robust public comment period under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), not just the rushed, bare-bones environmental assessment. Thank you.

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Tell the Bureau of Land Management—NO Seismic Testing on the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge

No Seismic Blasting on the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge!

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