Trump administration finalizes plan to open Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
(Image credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Getty Images)

The Trump administration announced on Monday it has finalized a plan to open up part of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas drilling.

Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said drilling leases will soon be auctioned off so companies can start exploring for oil and gas, and this move "marks a new chapter in American energy independence." Under a 2017 law, there must be two lease sales in the refuge by 2024, and Bernhardt said he believes "there could be a lease sale by the end of the year."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.