Environmental and Indigenous groups announced Monday they are suing the Trump administration over plans to open up a region in an Alaska wildlife refuge to drilling, The Hill reported.
According to the suit, the federal government failed to adhere to environmental laws that require "thorough, transparent, and careful analysis of the impacts" when assessing the environmental effects of drilling.
Interior Secretary David Bernhardt moved forward last week to open up 1.56 million acres of the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge's (ANWR) total 19.3 million acres to drilling.
Objecting to the move, Bernadette Demientieff, executive director of the Gwich'in Steering Committee, said the Indigenous Gwich'in people, who hunt caribou in the region and to whom ANWR land is sacred "have lived and thrived in the Arctic for thousands of years."
She stressed the Gwich'in people "have listened and learned from our elders, and we know we must stand united to protect future generations, and that means going to court to protect the caribou herd and sacred lands."
Other critics have warned drilling in the refuge could harm animal species found there – such as grizzly and polar bears, as well as gray wolves and arctic foxes – and could also negatively affect the landscape itself.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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