WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the U.S. Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (ENR), today spoke out against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge during an ENR Committee business meeting. The legislation considered before the committee today would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish and administer an oil and gas program in the Coastal Plain within the refuge.

            “The words ‘wildlife refuge’ mean something it seems to me,” Senator King said. “[…]We’re talking about lot of coverage of this area – in multiple wells – a minimum of 400,000 acres being leased. Alaska is 375 million acres, the state owns 105 million acres, the National Petroleum Reserve is 23 million acres, and it just strikes me that the case hasn’t been made to open up this particular, relatively small area of the state for drilling. Particularly when we’re now projecting – in the news just yesterday – a record oil production in the United States next year of almost 10 million barrels a day, rivaling that of Saudi Arabia.”

The 19-million acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the largest protected refuge in the United States, supports more than 250 animal species, and represents one of the last intact arctic ecosystems on the North American continent. The Coastal Plain, a 1.57-million acre section of the refuge, is the current focus for development. It is also designated as a critical habitat for polar bears under the Endangered Species Act and is an important hub for caribou, musk ox, and other wildlife.

At present, the United States is world’s third largest oil producer after Russia and Saudi Arabia. There are currently 23.6 million acres in Alaska open for development at the National Petroleum Reserve.

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