Energy & Science
Trump’s Arctic Drilling Plan Challenged Over Polar Bear Threat
- Alaska natives, environmentalists fighting lease auctions
- Groups challenge move to lease Arctic refuge’s coastal plain
Photographer: Paul J. Richards/AFP via Getty Images
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Environmentalists and Alaska natives are challenging the Trump administration’s decision to sell drilling rights in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, arguing the government gave short shrift to the impact on polar bears and the region’s other wildlife.
The groups said they filed a pair of lawsuits Monday in a U.S. district court in Alaska, setting up an election-year battle over the controversial plan, even as the Interior Department prepares for a possible auction.