For Immediate Release – December 3, 2025
Fairbanks, AK – Today, the U.S. Senate voted to utilize the Congressional Review Act to overturn the Biden-era Arctic National Wildlife Refuge oil and gas leasing program. This action by Congress follows on actions by the Trump administration to open the entire 1.5 million acres of the Arctic Refuge’s Coastal Plain to oil and gas leasing.
The use of the Congressional Review Act to advance oil and gas in the Arctic Refuge had bipartisan opposition in the Senate, continuing decades of tradition from decision-makers who have worked across the aisle in Washington D.C. to protect the Coastal Plain from irreversible destruction.
The Gwich’in Nation thanks the lawmakers who have listened to our concerns and stand with us against oil and gas development in the Refuge. It is abundantly clear that the drilling program the Trump administration intends to implement blatantly ignores the impacts that leasing and drilling would have in the Arctic Refuge and on our Gwich’in communities.
“The Gwich’in Nation views the decision by lawmakers to leverage the Congressional Review Act to advance oil and gas development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as a deliberate attempt to undercut the standards and laws that are designed to protect this sacred landscape,” said Kristen Moreland, executive director of the Gwich’in Steering Committee. “This action from DC ignores years of consultation and communication with our Gwich’in communities that rely on this landscape for not only our subsistence and survival, but also our culture and spiritual health and well-being. We stand united in our opposition to any oil and gas development in the Arctic Refuge, and will continue to fight this effort from the Trump administration and decision-makers who ignore our voices.”
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For Media Inquiries:
Genae Lako, 303-918-6290
Kristen Moreland, Executive Director, 907-328-9634