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Lawmakers Move to Lock in Permanent Protections for the Arctic Refuge

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Andrew Scibetta
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Elizabeth Heyd
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WASHINGTON, D.C.— House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.), standing with Gwich’in Tribal leaders, today reintroduced the Arctic Refuge Protection Act, legislation that would forever protect the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, barring oil and gas drilling while safeguarding one of the planet’s last truly wild places.

Following is a reaction from Bobby McEnaney, director of Land Conservation at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):  

“This bill is the change that the Arctic Refuge needs. Drilling in the Arctic Refuge is the definition of reckless; this legislation simply recognizes the fact that the Arctic Refuge is too precious to be just given away to the oil and gas industry. Given that the refuge is one of the largest intact wildlands left in the nation, safeguarding it for generations to come is just common sense."

NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd).

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