News & Commentary

The Biden Administration Protects Millions of Acres of Arctic Alaska

April 19, 2024 Latest NewsAlaskaJenny Shalant

The new Special Areas Rule in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska could boost biodiversity and empower Indigenous Peoples to defend the lands they’ve relied on for generations.

Pebble Mine: Citing EPA Veto, Army Corps Re-Affirms Permit Denial

April 17, 2024 Expert BlogAlaska, United StatesJoel Reynolds

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Army Corps”) re-affirmed its November 2020 denial of Pebble’s application for a federal Clean Water Act permit.

The Long, Long Battle for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

March 15, 2024 ExplainerAlaskaBrian Palmer, Nicole Greenfield

For decades, politicians have vacillated between protecting Alaska’s refuge as one of the last unspoiled places on earth and plundering it for oil.

Pebble Mine: SCOTUS Denies Original Review of EPA Veto

January 8, 2024 Expert BlogAlaska, United StatesJoel Reynolds

In the latest defeat for the embattled Bristol Bay mining scheme, the Supreme Court unanimously rejects the Dunleavy Administration’s motion for review.

Pebble Mine 2023: Tribes Win Veto, State Hail Marys SCOTUS

December 14, 2023 Expert BlogUnited States, AlaskaJoel Reynolds

Pebble Mine: Year in Review. After EPA issues rare veto of massive Bristol Bay mine, Dunleavy Administration throws lifeline to Canadian owner, lodging dubious claims in U.S. Supreme Court.

Gulf Whale Artist Series: Florida Artist Blends Art with Education

November 13, 2023 Expert BlogUnited States, FloridaLexi Nutkiewicz

Based in St. Petersburg, Florida, Kelly Quinn is the Co-founder and Art Director of Canvas of the Wild (COTW) where she designs natural landscape murals for educational campaigns, creates illustrations for coloring and activity books, and develops scientific graphics for communicating research. Quinn…

Why the Willow Project Is a Bad Idea

November 13, 2023 Latest NewsAlaskaJeff Turrentine

The oil drilling proposal would be disastrous for Alaska and the planet (not to mention President Biden’s climate legacy). 

Biden Administration Expands the Gulf's Waters to Oil and Gas Drilling

October 3, 2023 Expert BlogUnited States, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, TexasAndrew Wetzler

The region's communities and marine life will continue to be exposed to the catastrophic risk and ongoing damage of these inherently hazardous industrial operations at sea.

Taxpayers Still on Hook for Oil and Gas Clean-up, Despite New Rule

September 25, 2023 Expert BlogTexas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, AlaskaRebecca Ramirez

BOEM's proposed rule falls short in requiring oil and gas companies to demonstrate they are financially able to fully remove and clean up platforms & pipelines.

Did Pebble Mine Shareholders “Blink” in Securities Fraud Suit?

June 16, 2023 Expert BlogAlaska, United StatesJoel Reynolds

Pebble Mine owner agrees to settle shareholder claims that company failed to disclose secret plan for exponential expansion of widely opposed Bristol Bay mine.

Study Shows 14,000 Unplugged Oil and Gas Wells in Gulf of Mexico

May 23, 2023 Expert BlogTexas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, FloridaRebecca Loomis, Rebecca Ramirez

Industry has neglected thousands of unused oil and gas wells in the Gulf of Mexico. They will cost an estimated $30 billion to plug and decommission.

President Biden Celebrates Pebble Veto: “The Mine Will Not Be Built.”

May 15, 2023 Expert BlogAlaskaJoel Reynolds

In the Rose Garden celebration of conservation achievements, President Joe Biden elevates the Pebble Mine veto—calling the Bristol Bay fishery "a marvel."

Goodbye Verner, Fearless Fighter Against the Pebble Mine

April 19, 2023 Expert BlogUnited States, AlaskaJoel Reynolds

Bristol Bay tribal and environmental leader Verner Wilson III personified the next generation of committed opposition in decades-long battle against destructive Bristol Bay mining scheme.  

On International Day of Forests, the Global North Must Show Leadership

March 21, 2023 Expert BlogInternational, Canada, United States, AlaskaElly Pepper, Carolyn Ramírez

On International Day of Forests, the Global North must show leadership on forest protection and acknowledge its own role in forest loss.

Holding Interior to Account on Gulf Oil and Gas Leasing

March 6, 2023 Expert BlogAlabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, TexasIrene Gutierrez

Continuing to extract oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico will have a steep price for the environment and coastal communities in the region. That's why NRDC and our partners took BOEM to court.

Alaska’s Tongass National Forest Gets the Protections It Deserves

February 17, 2023 NRDC in ActionAlaskaCourtney Lindwall

After a decades-long fight, the newly reinstated Roadless Rule will safeguard these wildlands from road construction and logging.

Crushing Alaska’s Pebble Mine

February 13, 2023 NRDC in ActionAlaskaNicole Greenfield, Jeff Turrentine

The EPA’s decision to veto the project is fantastic news—but the fight to save Bristol Bay isn’t over yet.

New Ads Thank EPA for Vetoing Pebble Mine

February 1, 2023 Expert BlogAlaskaTaryn Kiekow Heimer

Full page ads running in Washington, D.C., Seattle and Alaska thank EPA for stopping the Pebble Mine and restricting future mining of the Pebble deposit in Alaska’s Bristol Bay.

Epic Victory for Bristol Bay: EPA Kills Pebble Mine

January 31, 2023 Expert BlogAlaskaTaryn Kiekow Heimer

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency just blocked a massive gold and copper mine in Alaska.

EPA Blocks Pebble Mine with Rare Veto. What Happens Next?

January 31, 2023 Expert BlogAlaskaJoel Reynolds

Following EPA’s grant of Bristol Bay Tribes’ petitions for veto of destructive mining scheme in Bristol Bay headwaters, underfunded Canadian project owner hopes to overturn or circumvent lengthy agency review.