Media Center

Groups Push to Block Arctic Refuge Drilling Plan

January 14, 2026 Press ReleaseArctic

Updated complaint restarts paused litigation and challenges Interior’s 2025 move to readopt Trump‑era program opening all 1.56 million acres of the Coastal Plain to oil and gas leasing.

Interior’s Repeal of the NPR-A Protections Threatens the Western Arctic

November 13, 2025 Press ReleaseArctic

The Interior rescinded the 2024 Bureau of Land Management rule governing the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska, dismantling essential safeguards for the single-largest ecologically intact landscape in the United States.

Amid Shutdown, Trump Administration and Congress Move to Sell Off 1.56 Million Acres in the Arctic Refuge for Oil and Gas

October 23, 2025 Press ReleaseArctic

Expanded leasing on the refuge's coastal plain threatens Indigenous communities, wildlife, and taxpayers.

Interior Department Moves to Dismantle Landmark Public Lands Conservation Rule

April 17, 2025 ReactionAlaska, United States

The U.S. Department of the Interior is taking steps to repeal the Bureau of Land Management’s Public Lands Rule and eliminate key protections for 13 million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska.

Environmental Groups Sue to Block Trump’s Repeal of Offshore Drilling Protections

February 19, 2025 Press ReleaseArctic, East

A coalition of environmental organizations, led by the NRDC and Earthjustice, sued to challenge President Trump’s executive order that revokes protections for more than 625 million acres of ocean.

New Arctic Oil-Drilling Lease Sale OK’d

December 9, 2024 Press ReleaseArctic

The Interior Department finalized a legally mandated decision to hold a lease sale for oil and gas development in the Arctic Refuge, one of the nation’s most pristine and treasured wildlife refuges.

Biden Administration Approves Massive Oil Drilling Project in Alaska

March 13, 2023 Press ReleaseAlaska

The Biden administration approved a massive expansion of oil drilling in Alaska, giving ConocoPhillips permission to begin its Willow project in the state’s western Arctic.

Destructive Alaska Oil Expansion Has No Place in Energy Future

February 1, 2023 Press ReleaseAlaska

The Biden administration is expected to take a step toward a massive expansion of oil drilling on Alaska’s Western slope, according to media reports, with the imminent release of a final environmental impact statement on ConocoPhillips’ destructive Willow project.

EPA Protects Bristol Bay, Alaska with Pebble Mine Veto

January 31, 2023 Press ReleaseAlaska

The Biden Administration today dealt a blow to the massive and controversial gold and copper mining project in Bristol Bay, Alaska called the Pebble Mine. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Final Determination under Section 404(c) of the Clean…

Tribes, Commercial Fishermen, Chefs, Seafood Industry Leaders, Conservation Groups Celebrate Record-Breaking Fishing Season

August 10, 2022 Press ReleaseAlaska

Advocates Double Down, Urge EPA to Finish the Job, End the Threat of Pebble Mine Now

EPA Signals It Will Protect Alaska’s Bristol Bay

September 9, 2021 Press ReleaseAlaska

WASHINGTON – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it will ask a federal court to allow the agency to vacate its own prior decision to lift safeguards against Pebble Mine, the massive open-pit gold and copper mine proposed for…

329,866 Lead Pipes May Deliver Water to Homes in Wisconsin

July 16, 2021 Press ReleaseWisconsin

Wisconsin is ranked #1 in the nation for most lead pipes per 100,000 people

NRDC Expands Regional Food Matters Project to Reduce Food Waste in 5 Great Lakes Cities and Counties

January 19, 2021 Press ReleaseChicago, Cincinnati, Madison, Detroit, Ohio

NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) announced the expansion of the Food Matters Project in the Great Lakes region with the goal of furthering larger-scale change related to food waste throughout the region. Building on projects previously launched in the Mid-Atlantic…

Lawsuit Aims to Block Drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

August 24, 2020 Press ReleaseAlaska

Oil and gas leasing would cause irreparable harm to wildlife, tundra, and climate

Trump Opens Arctic Refuge to Polluters

August 17, 2020 Press ReleaseArctic

Interior Secretary David Bernhardt today is expected to formally open the Arctic Refuge to oil and gas leasing. The agency’s Record of Decision will pave the way for fossil fuel leasing to begin in the 1.5 million-acre Coastal Plain in…

Brouillette Comments on Arctic Oil & Gas Financing Deeply Offensive

May 18, 2020 Press ReleaseArctic

In offensive comments published today, Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette likened the reluctance of major banks to finance oil and gas development in the Arctic to the discriminatory practice of redlining.

Pioneering Study Tallies Huge Hidden Health Costs from Climate Change

September 18, 2019 Press ReleaseColorado, Florida, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin

Climate change is taking a huge toll on Americans’ health, so much so that it could constitute a public health crisis, a new study by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the University of California, San Francisco, suggests.

Trump Administration Moves to Open Arctic Refuge

September 12, 2019 Press ReleaseArctic

The Bureau of Land Management today took a key step to open the Arctic Refuge to polluters, releasing its final environmental impact statement for oil and gas leasing.

U.S. House Passes Legislation to Protect Arctic Refuge in Historic Vote

September 12, 2019 Press ReleaseArctic

The Arctic Cultural and Coastal Plain Protection Act reinstates key safeguards that the 2017 tax bill stripped from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Senate leaders introduce Arctic Refuge Protection Bill

September 12, 2019 Press ReleaseArctic

U.S. Senators take important step toward protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.