Biden to place temporary moratorium on ANWR leases

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Wednesday, January 20th, 2021 12:35pm

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President Joe Biden

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — President Joe Biden has signaled plans to place a temporary moratorium on oil and gas lease activities in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

This is after the Trump administration issued leases in a remote, rugged area considered sacred by the Indigenous Gwich’in.

The plans and other proposed executive actions were announced on a fact sheet by the new administration on Biden’s inauguration day.

A U.S. Bureau of Land Management spokesperson in Alaska says issuing leases was a Trump administration priority following a 2017 law calling for lease sales and that agency had not received guidance on Biden presidential orders.

 Drilling critics hope Biden moves to provide permanent protections.

 

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