1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

I urge you to oppose any further oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and support permanent protection for its Coastal Plain. ANWR belongs to all Americans. It should not be handed over to private interests for drilling. Its Coastal Plain sustains caribou, polar bears, migratory birds, and the culture and subsistence traditions of the Gwich’in people. Roads, pipelines, heavy equipment, and drilling would permanently damage this irreplaceable ecosystem. There is not even a credible economic justification. In June, the government offered nearly 689,000 acres, but bids covered only about 72,000 acres and generated just $3.7 million. Major oil companies stayed away. The administration is risking permanent destruction for negligible revenue and leases the industry itself largely does not want. It is especially grotesque for an administration that talks about taking land from other countries while selling drilling rights to some of the finest land Americans already own. Please repeal the ANWR leasing mandates, block federal funding for additional sales and development, and permanently protect the Coastal Plain. Stop selling off the best parts of America. Some places should be protected, not destroyed.