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As one of the most oil-rich and bucolic states in America, Alaska has for decades been at the center of tensions between fossil fuel production and environmental preservation — and those tensions are reaching new heights.On Sunday, the Department of Interior announced that President Obama will ask Congress to designate more than 12 million acres of Alaskan land as wilderness, including adding some 1.5 million acres of coastal plain being eyed for oil and natural gas development. It would be the largest wilderness designation since the Wilderness Act became law in 1964."Alaska's National Wildlife Refuge is an incredible place," Obama said in a video about the announcement. "I'm going to be calling on Congress to make sure that they take it one step further: designating it as a wilderness so that we can make sure that this amazing wonder is preserved for future generations."The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is home to 45 mammal species, including polar bears, wolves, moose, and wolverines, and more than 200 species of birds, about half of which breed within the refuge's boundaries. It also supports the Porcupine caribou herd that's been hunted for centuries by indigenous populations who rely upon it to survive in the harsh climes of northeastern Alaska. The 170,000-strong herd produces about 40,000 calves every summer on the disputed coastal plain."It's almost unbelievable to hear the president talking about this place that means so much to me and my community," Princess Lucaj, a member of the Gwich'in nation and former director of the Gwich'in Steering Committee, told VICE News. "We've been working for over 30 years trying to find permanent protections for specifically the coastal plain."The reserve was first created in 1980 under President Carter, encompassing nearly 20 million acres. Just over seven million acres of that was originally designated as wilderness.The wilderness designation allows for hunting, fishing, and trapping, as well as recreational uses like wildlife photography and dog-sledding. But drilling and extraction of natural gas and oil for commercial purposes is banned, unless authorized by Congress.Alaska sits atop nearly 3 billion barrels of oil preserves, according to the US Energy Information Administration."Congress specifically determined in 1980 that the coastal plain is not a wilderness area and that it should be studied for potential oil and natural gas development," Brian Straessle, a spokesperson for the American Petroleum Institute, told VICE News. "Just to put things in context, the area of interest for oil and natural gas development is about the size of Dulles airport outside Washington, DC."
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Alaska's Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, called the administration's move "a stunning attack on our sovereignty and our ability to develop a strong economy that allows us, our children, and our grandchildren to thrive," in a statement that echoes sentiments from the Alaska Oil and Gas Association. She vowed to fight Obama's recommendation, which needs approval from Congress to move forward."They're not really listening to Alaskans, because not all Alaskans want to see drilling here," Lucaj told VICE News. "There's so many Alaskans that are celebrating this and it's totally ignoring the fact that there are constituencies that do want to see protections."On Sunday, twenty-one local and national organizations, including the Alaska Wilderness League, the Episcopal Church, and Trustees for Alaska, released a statement praising the administration's actions and calling for Congress to pass the legislation."This is not a site you can desecrate," Lucaj told VICE News.Republicans want to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Read more here.Follow Laura Dattaro on Twitter: @ldattaroThis White House ran on hope, but is decimating Alaska's economic hopes through moves like today's on ANWR. — Sen. Lisa Murkowski (@lisamurkowski)January 25, 2015