Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Arctic Refuge lease sale falls flat
------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, January 9, 2025
Caribou in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Danielle Brigida ([link removed]) , CC BY-2.0 ([link removed])
A congressionally-ordered oil and gas lease sale in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ended with a whimper this week ([link removed]) , as no oil companies submitted bids for the right to drill in the refuge.
The sale marks the second time in four years ([link removed]) that an attempt to sell oil leases in the refuge has fallen flat, suggesting that President-elect Donald Trump's "energy dominance" initiative may be dead on arrival.
Both sales were required by a 2017 tax bill passed by Republicans which predicted the leases would generate $2 billion in royalties over 10 years. In the first sale, held during the first Trump administration, only half of the parcels received bids, and all but two of those came from the State of Alaska itself ([link removed]) . The sale brought in less than $15 million in bids.
“The lack of interest from oil companies in development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge reflects what we and they have known all along: There are some places too special and sacred to exploit with oil and gas drilling,” said Laura Daniel-Davis ([link removed]) , the Acting Deputy Secretary of the Interior. Davis suggested that the industry start with the millions of acres of existing leases it already holds, rather than engaging in speculative leasing in the Arctic.
The New York Times reported that major banks have declined to finance drilling in the refuge ([link removed]) , citing high costs and the lack of existing facilities.
Law professor eviscerates Utah land grab lawsuit
Law professor John Leshy penned a devastating op-ed ([link removed]) taking apart Utah's lawsuit attempting to seize control of 18 million acres of national public land. Writing in the New York Times, Leshy, the former top lawyer at the Interior department, says that Utah is using "a mishmash of arguments that the property clause does not mean what it says," while ignoring a string of Supreme Court decisions dating back to the post-Civil War era.
Leshy warns that if the Court were to somehow accept Utah's arguments regarding the property clause, America's national parks would be at risk—including Utah's "Mighty Five"—along with all of the nation's public lands. Last August, Professor Leshy spoke to CWP about Utah's lawsuit on our podcast ([link removed]) , The Landscape.
** Quick hits
------------------------------------------------------------
What if you held an oil lease sale and no one came?
Alaska Beacon ([link removed]) | Alaska Public Media ([link removed]) | Associated Press ([link removed]) | New York Times ([link removed])
Interior denies oil company's request to delay Arctic offshore development for a 12th time
Anchorage Daily News ([link removed])
Trump says "no windmills" will get built during his second term
The Hill ([link removed])
Devastating L.A. fires sparked by collision of climate factors
Axios ([link removed]) | KQED ([link removed]) | New York Magazine ([link removed]) | ABC News ([link removed])
Utah Sen. Mike Lee schedules confirmation hearings for Interior, Energy nominees before providing FBI checks and ethics disclosures
Politico ([link removed])
Utah governor heads to Mar-a-Lago to push for nuclear power in Utah
Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])
Biden signs EXPLORE Act into law, enacting a host of outdoor recreation initiatives
Outside ([link removed])
Utah monuments to get pre-Trump defense at SLC rally
Axios ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
------------------------------------------------------------
” The total failure of the second lease sale demonstrates the overwhelming public opposition to oil and gas drilling in the Refuge. We continue to maintain our unrelenting opposition to any development on these sacred lands—grounds that are not only central to our cultural and spiritual identity, but fundamental to the subsistence way of life that has sustained our people for countless generations.”
—Curtis Gilbert, first chief of the Arctic Village Council, Alaska Beacon ([link removed])
** Picture This
------------------------------------------------------------
@mypubliclands ([link removed])
Join us this year as we celebrate 25 years of National Conservation Lands!
These landscapes are some of our nation’s most spectacular sights, including National Monuments, National Conservation Areas, Wilderness and Wilderness Study Areas, Wild and Scenic Rivers, and National Scenic and Historic Trails. Designated by Congress and the President to preserve unique features, the National Conservation Lands encompass more than 37 million acres, from red-rock deserts and winding rivers to historical sites and mountain vistas.
============================================================
** Website ([link removed])
** Instagram ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Medium ([link removed])
Copyright © 2025 Center for Western Priorities, All rights reserved.
You've signed up to receive Look West updates.
Center for Western Priorities
1999 Broadway
Suite 520
Denver, CO 80202
USA
** View this on the web ([link removed])
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
