ENVIRONMENT/OIL: “The Trump administration on Monday took another step to opening Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling for oil and gas, potentially fulfilling a decades-long dream for Republicans…
Trump in 2018 said he didn’t feel strongly about opening the refuge, but later insisted it be included in the tax bill at the urging of others. He also said a friend told him that every Republican president since Ronald Reagan tried and failed to open the refuge to drilling…
The decision makes the entire coastal plan area, or 8% of the 19.3-million-acre refuge, available for oil and gas leasing and potential development.”
-Mark Thiessen, “Trump administration finalizes drilling plan for Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,” adn.com, Aug. 17, 2020