1. United States
2. Wash.
3. Letter

I urge the Department of the Interior to finalize a National OCS Program that includes no new offshore oil and gas leasing *in any region*. It’s the federal government’s responsibility to safeguard coastal economies, sensitive ecosystems, and endangered species, and this proposal — to expand leasing off nearly all U.S. coasts — flies in the face of that responsibility by putting people, marine wildlife, and oceans at unacceptable risk. Oil spills are an unavoidable consequence of offshore drilling. Catastrophic incidents like Deepwater Horizon in 2010 show that spills devastate ecosystems and economies for decades. They harm coastal tourism and recreation, as well as the ancestral homelands and cultural resources of Indigenous communities who live in or near the proposed drilling regions. Increased drilling activity and oil spills also hurt wildlife, including endangered species struggling to survive in an increasingly hostile world. In the Gulf of Mexico, critically endangered Rice’s whales are one of the most imperiled marine species on Earth, with only an estimated 51 individuals left. Much of their habitat lies within areas threatened by the Interior’s proposal. Along with vessel strikes and chronic noise, more spills could push this species to extinction. In Alaska, highly imperiled Cook Inlet belugas already suffer from habitat disturbance, vessel traffic, pollution, and climate stress. More offshore oil and gas activity in the Cook Inlet region will undermine recovery efforts and compound the pressures they face. Arctic marine ecosystems are also experiencing dramatic and rapid shifts due to warming waters and diminishing sea ice, leaving polar bears, walruses, bowhead whales, and other wildlife increasingly vulnerable. New oil and gas leasing will likewise exacerbate these threats. Congress just mandated dozens of new offshore lease sales in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. By adding even more new oil and gas leases through the Interior’s plan, the government will only fan the flames of climate change and all its dangers. The scientific consensus is clear: Avoiding the worst climate outcomes requires a rapid transition away from new oil and gas development and a phaseout of existing fossil-fuel production. Federal policy should accelerate the transition to clean and affordable energy — not hinder it by committing public waters to new fossil-fuel extraction. Please protect marine wildlife, honor Tribal and coastal community leadership, and advance the recovery of our oceans by including absolutely zero new offshore oil and gas leasing in the National OCS Program.