Governor Sean Parnell’s announcement of the State’s lawsuit appealing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s refusal to consider the State’s plan to explore the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has received widespread support.
Congressman Don Young said that he supports trying to open ANWR.
Rep. Young: “I think it’s the proper step forward, what will be the result is another question. I do believe he is right and we want to have an exploration, a joint effort to try to find out what’s there, especially with modern technology.”
Parnell said that although the State of Alaska had carefully developed a plan aimed at determining the refuge’s oil and gas potential, the Fish and Wildlife Service claimed that provisions mandating approval had expired.
The State retains that the plan complies with current regulations and the three-dimensional imaging proposed would offer valuable information about the extent and accessibility of oil and gas in that area.
