Black-bellied Plovers are among more than 200 species of birds that nest in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge annually. An abundance of ducks, geese and swans nest on the extensive Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge, including Green-winged Teal.

“Every American is connected to this piece of our national heritage, by virtue of the birds that fly through our backyards to [nest in] one of our most prolific bird nurseries,” said Sarah Greenberger, senior vice president of conservation policy for the National Audubon Society. “Maybe that’s why two-thirds of Americans representing both major political parties oppose oil drilling in the Arctic Refuge. It’s inexplicable that we are considering destroying one of our last wild places.”

“The Arctic Refuge is an ecosystem that is becoming more – not less – vital for birds and wildlife as development and a changing climate chip away at their habitat,” added Greenberger.

On December 20, the eve of the one-year anniversary of the Tax Act that opened the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, The Bureau of Land Management released its draft environmental impact statement (EIS) in preparation for an oil and gas lease sale in 2019 within the ecologically sensitive Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, America’s premier wilderness refuge. This is the latest move by the administration in a rushed process to allow oil development in one of the nation’s most remote and iconic landscapes.

Audubon stands with the following wildlife, conservation and Alaska Native organizations in opposing oil development in the irreplaceable and fragile Arctic National Wildlife Refuge:

The Alaska Wilderness League, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Yukon, Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, EarthJustice, Environment America, Eyak Preservation Council, Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition, Gwich’in Steering Committee, League of Conservation Voters, National Wildlife Refuge Association, Natural Resources Defense Council, Northern Alaska Environmental Center, Sierra Club, Stand.Earth, The Wilderness Society, and Trustees for Alaska.

For the entire article and more information about this unfolding bird conservation issue, see https://www.audubon.org/news/white-house-ramps-plan-drill-arctic-refuge-audubon-calls-it-inexplicable