Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) is holding a forum in Washington, D.C. to give tribal members and public land defenders a platform to discuss the importance of protecting Alaska’s pristine wilderness in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Last year, Republicans inserted a provision in their Tax Scam bill that mandates oil and gas leasing in the iconic Arctic Refuge. This damaging provision mandates two lease sales within 10 years, each at least 400,000 acres in size, on the Refuge’s fragile coastal plain. The bill also declared oil and gas development as a purpose of the Arctic Refuge, which has never before been the case, undercutting the integrity of the Arctic Refuge and setting a dangerous precedent for America’s entire National Wildlife Refuge system.

Media Advisory 

• Grijalva to Hold a Forum on the Dangers of Opening Alaska’s Arctic Refuge to Oil and Gas Drilling (5/21)