On Sunday, the White House announced that President Obama will ask Congress to classify 12 million acres in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska as wilderness, which would forbid drilling for oil and gas and the construction of roads on the land.
The refuge covers 19 million acres, and is home to polar bears, gray wolves, musk oxen, and caribou. "This is a big deal," Gene Karpinski, president of The League of Conservation Voters, told The New York Times. "Big oil has long wanted to get its hands on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. ... We wholeheartedly agree and celebrate this announcement by the Obama administration."
The proposal is already receiving opposition from several Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who called the proposal "a stunning attack on our sovereignty" and vowed to "fight back with every resource at our disposal." Since the refuge was created in 1980, lawmakers in Alaska have tried to open the area for drilling and development, the Times reports.
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