"Obama Will Move to Protect Vast Arctic Habitat in Alaska"

"WASHINGTON — President Obama will ask Congress to increase environmental protections for millions of acres of pristine animal habitat in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, in a move that has already led to fierce opposition from the state’s Republican lawmakers.

The White House announced Sunday that Mr. Obama would ask Congress to designate 12 million of the refuge’s 19 million acres as wilderness. The wilderness designation is the strongest level of federal protection afforded to public lands, and would forbid a range of activity that includes drilling for oil and gas and construction of roads.

If the proposal is enacted, the area would be the largest wilderness designation since Congress passed the Wilderness Act over 50 years ago. But the proposal seems unlikely to find support in Congress."

Coral Davenport reports for the New York Times January 25, 2015.

SEE ALSO:

"Obama Administration To Propose New Wilderness Protections in Arctic Refuge — Alaska Republicans Declare War" (Washington Post)

"New Proposal to Protect Alaskan Wilderness Most Sweeping in Decades" (National Geographic)

"Obama To Propose Protecting 1.4 Million Acres Of U.S. Arctic Refuge" (Reuters)

"Obama Seeks Bigger Wilderness Designation in Alaska Refuge" (AP)