Arctic
The Sheenjek River, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Credit:
Alexis Bonogofsky for USFWS
NRDC joins forces with Indigenous peoples, scientists, and environmental groups to protect the extraordinary landscapes, majestic seas, and iconic wildlife of Alaska and the Arctic.
Special places, like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, are under constant threat from dirty extractive industries. With our partners, we’re fighting to permanently protect federal lands and waters from oil and gas development and other atrocious exploitation.
NRDC elevates the voices of Indigenous people whose way of life depends on the natural world, supporting them in advocacy and communications. Following the lead of Arctic residents who are already experiencing the harms of climate change and industrialization, we also support a just transition for the region toward clean energy and away from dependence on fossil fuels.
- NRDC provided the visionary leadership to secure permanent protections for 98 percent of the entire U.S. Arctic Ocean from offshore leasing for oil and gas. When President Trump unlawfully attacked that ban, NRDC and Earthjustice took the administration to court and won.
- Coordinating with scientists, partner groups, and congressional allies, NRDC has successfully worked to stave off potentially disastrous seismic surveys of the biological heart of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, America’s largest pristine wildland. Not only have we set the stage for successful litigation over any fossil fuel exploration or leasing in that sensitive area, but we have also helped shape legislation in Congress to bar all oil- and gas-related activity there.
- We are aggressively pursuing strategies to stop fossil fuel development in America’s largest public reserve in the western Arctic and litigating against lease sales and dirty energy exploration authorized by the Trump administration.
- Alaska’s pristine Bristol Bay watershed provides half the world’s wild sockeye salmon, supports 14,000 jobs, and generates $1.5 billion in economic activity every year. The proposed open-pit gold and copper Pebble Mine project threatens to poison the bay’s headwaters with up to 10 billion tons of mining waste. NRDC is teaming up with businesses, fishing communities, and Indigenous groups to urge investors and the Trump administration to stop this risky project.
See Our Work in Other Regions
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East
East, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Baltimore, Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Dickson, Atlanta, Memphis, Charlotte, Orlando, St. Petersburg
NRDC advocates for the region’s treasured wilderness and thriving urban centers—and all the communities in between.
Midwest
Midwest, Illinois, Bartonville, Chicago, Peoria, Indiana, Indianapolis, Iowa, Des Moines, Kansas, Michigan, Benton Harbor, Detroit, Flint, Minnesota, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Kansas City (Missouri), Missouri, St. Louis, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin
Empowered by strong collaborations in America’s heartland, NRDC is promoting climate action, supporting investments in rural and urban communities, and protecting drinking water.
West
West, California, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Portland (Oregon), San Diego, San Jose (California), Seattle, Long Beach, Albuquerque, Austin, San Antonio, Idaho, Denver
NRDC works with local leadership to advance some of the most progressive environmental, health, and climate policies in the country.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
We work with local partners to restore access to power and clean water after Hurricane Maria and ensure a more sustainable future.
Canada
Canada
For more than three decades, NRDC has helped protect some of the world’s most iconic ecosystems and support sound environmental decision making.
China
China
NRDC elevates sustainable development and wildlife conservation in one of the most populous countries in the world.
India
India
NRDC’s India program fights climate change with solutions that advance clean energy and public health.
Latin America
Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Peru
We collaborate with partners in this region to move its nations toward clean energy while protecting wildlands, waters, and communities.
Latest News & Commentary
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Suits Target Veto, but Pebble Mine Opposition Will Never End
Expert BlogAlaska, United StatesJoel Reynolds
With three lawsuits now pending, broad coalition led by Bristol Bay Tribes intervenes to support EPA veto in defense of world’s greatest wild salmon fishery.
The Biden Administration Cancels Its Offshore Drilling Plan for Alaska’s Cook Inlet—Let’s Keep It Off the Books
DispatchAlaskaSusan Cosier
The lease sale would have endangered Indigenous communities, threatened rare whales, added to the Far North’s climate crisis, and gambled with a 20 percent chance for a large oil spill.
A Big Legal Win for Beluga Whales and Alaskan Communities
Expert BlogAlaskaIrene Gutierrez
Court orders Interior Department to redo analysis of Alaska offshore oil and gas lease effects.
Protection for 28 Million Acres in Alaska Within Reach
Expert BlogAlaskaTaryn Kiekow Heimer
Bureau of Land Management recommends maintaining important protections for 28 million acres of Alaska public lands.
Legislation to Stop the Pebble Mine Is Introduced
Expert BlogAlaskaTaryn Kiekow Heimer
A new bill would protect Bristol Bay from the proposed Pebble Mine.
The Biden Administration Protects Millions of Acres of Arctic Alaska
Latest NewsArctic, AlaskaJenny Shalant
The new Special Areas Rule in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska could boost biodiversity and empower Indigenous Peoples to defend the lands they’ve relied on for generations.
Pebble Mine: Citing EPA Veto, Army Corps Re-Affirms Permit Denial
Expert BlogAlaska, United StatesJoel Reynolds
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Army Corps”) re-affirmed its November 2020 denial of Pebble’s application for a federal Clean Water Act permit.
The Long, Long Battle for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
ExplainerAlaskaBrian Palmer, Nicole Greenfield
For decades, politicians have vacillated between protecting Alaska’s refuge as one of the last unspoiled places on earth and plundering it for oil.
Pebble Mine: SCOTUS Denies Original Review of EPA Veto
Expert BlogAlaska, United StatesJoel Reynolds
In the latest defeat for the embattled Bristol Bay mining scheme, the Supreme Court unanimously rejects the Dunleavy Administration’s motion for review.
Pebble Mine 2023: Tribes Win Veto, State Hail Marys SCOTUS
Expert BlogUnited States, AlaskaJoel Reynolds
Pebble Mine: Year in Review. After EPA issues rare veto of massive Bristol Bay mine, Dunleavy Administration throws lifeline to Canadian owner, lodging dubious claims in U.S. Supreme Court.
Latest Policy Resources
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Offshore Drilling 101
GuideAlaska, West, Louisiana, Georgia, North CarolinaShelia Hu
A look into how drilling for oil and gas in the oceans works—and why it’s time to make it history.
Permafrost: Everything You Need to Know
GuideArcticMelissa Denchak
The “permanently” frozen earth at our planet’s poles and in other cold climes is thawing, with big consequences to our climate, ecosystems, and health.
Keep America’s Atlantic and Arctic Oceans Oil-Free
Issue BriefUnited States, East, ArcticAlexandra Adams, Franz Matzner
The Fate of the Arctic in Offshore Oil Blowouts
ReportArcticFranz Matzner, Niel Lawrence
Stop the Drilling Before It Starts
Fact SheetUnited States, Arctic, East
5 Reasons to Withdraw the U.S. Arctic and Atlantic Oceans from All Future Leasing
Protect the Arctic Refuge from Oil Exploration
OverviewArctic, Alaska
NRDC is fighting to save the refuge for future generations in court, Congress, and the White House.
The EPA Should Stop the Pebble Mine By Prohibiting or Restricting Discharges Associated with Large-Scale Mining in the Bristol Bay Watershed
Fact SheetUnited States, AlaskaTaryn Kiekow Heimer, Joel Reynolds
Arctic Wildlife Refuge: Why Trash an American Treasure for a Tiny Percentage of Our Oil Needs?
OverviewArctic, Alaska
The Refuge is the greatest living reminder that conserving nature is a core American value.
Thirsty for Answers: Preparing for the Water-related Impacts of Climate Change in American Cities
ReportAlaska, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, Norfolk, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis