Last December, shortly after the election of President Donald Trump, I wrote in the Seattle Times that the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge “faces its most serious threat since its protection in 1960.”

At that time it was not clear how the threat would emerge or what form it might take. I’m sure some skeptics – and many supporters of President Trump – dismissed my warnings as paranoia, with no facts to support my concerns that the Trump administration and Alaska politicians would try to turn the pristine wilderness of the refuge into an oil field.

Well, I’m sorry to say we now have overwhelming evidence of not only the Trump administration’s brash and irresponsible plans to populate the refuge with oil rigs and pipelines, but also the means with which they intend to make it happen.

The most recent evidence was revealed by Juliet Eilperin of the Washington Post earlier this month. As Eilperin reported, the Department of the Interior is seeking to update 1980s-era regulations in a way that could open the door to oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Refuge and, in particular, in the refuge’s ecologically-sensitive coastal plain.

In an August 11 memo obtained by The Post, the acting director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service outlined changes to Department of Interior regulations that would allow “exploratory activities” – such as exploratory drilling and seismic studies – in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for the first time since 1986.

While the Interior Department has implied that such research is a harmless way to gather information, seismic studies can be extremely harmful to the sensitive Arctic ecosystem. In many parts of the coastal plain, trails from seismic studies completed in the mid-1980s remain visible today (see the picture, above) and damaged tundra vegetation has still not fully recovered.

The Post story concluded that the “Trump administration is quietly moving to allow energy exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.”  But, in fact, the administration has been incredibly open and forthright about its intentions.

During a visit to Anchorage on May 31, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke promised to re-invigorate the Alaska oil industry as he signed a secretarial order aimed at increasing oil production in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska and updating estimates of the amount of oil that lie beneath the Arctic Refuge.

More recently, the Interior Department’s Counselor for Energy Policy, Vincent DeVito, told a conference of ocean researchers in Anchorage that “the untapped potential of ANWR is significant. But it is the Trump administration that had the guts to step up to the plate and facilitate production.”

And President Trump’s 2018 budget proposal went so far as to assume that federal oil and gas leasing in the Arctic Refuge would reduce the deficit by $1.8 billion, with the first lease sales beginning in 2022 or 2023.

Thankfully our systems of checks and balances ensure that the Trump administration will face many hurdles as it strives to open the Arctic Refuge to the highest bidder. Just two years ago, a federal judge ruled against efforts by the state of Alaska to launch new seismic studies in the Arctic Refuge, and any new attempts to pursue “exploratory activities” would face considerable legal challenges.

Additionally, even if seismic studies were to proceed an act of Congress would be required to open the Arctic Refuge to drilling, and it is far from clear Republicans would have the votes necessary to pass such legislation.

Nonetheless, it is abundantly clear that the Trump administration and its friends in the oil and gas industries have made it a top priority to open the Arctic Refuge for drilling and jeopardize one of our country’s most sacred and unspoiled chunks of wilderness – despite the objections of millions of Americans who want to preserve and enjoy our wild places.

In the face of the Trump administration’s aggressive offensive against Alaska’s wilderness, it is clearer than ever that, as I wrote in December, it is urgent for everyday citizens to be relentless, vigilant and energized to defend them.

At the Campion Advocacy Fund, we are formulating our own plans and working with our many colleagues in the environmental community and the outdoor industry to mount a united defense of the Arctic Refuge. We will have more to say about our plans in the months ahead. In the meantime we encourage everyone who cares about the Arctic Refuge to do whatever you can to voice your opposition and shine a light on the Trump administration’s irresponsible and insidious plans.

What do you call a review process that invites public feedback, receives a record 2.7 million comments, but then dismisses the sentiment of 98 percent of the submissions?  Or one that compiles a set of recommendations about public land, but won’t tell the public what is recommended?  Sham, deception or ruse all seem appropriate. As do charade, mockery or farce.    Travesty, though, is probably best.

Campion Advocacy Fund has reached a new level in our growth as an organization. We remain laser-focused on protecting key landscapes, ending homelessness and building nonprofit capacity. Inspired by Catalytic Philanthropy, we believe that we must use all of the tools in the toolbox to advance our goals.

To that end, we’re ramping up our communications efforts to elevate the work that we’re doing in Olympia, in Washington, DC, and in between.

We hope you’ll take a look at this opportunity to join the Campion Team, and forward it to potential candidates.

Download the Communications Manager job description ›

The following was presented by Sonya Campion as a speech to the Alliance of Eastside Agencies on June 7, 2017.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a French philosopher and Jesuit priest said that not only do we live with responsibility for each other, but that “no evolutionary future awaits anyone except in association with everyone else.” He is saying that we can’t move forward as a species without being connected to each other, and that societal problems of isolation and marginalization are huge inhibitors of evolution.

Little did he ever imagine that we would have a society where we are connected more than ever, but at the same time, more isolated and alone than ever.

I am here because of your mission to expand your voice. Your work is too essential to sit on the sidelines of public discussions and decisions:

This week I traveled to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. I’m an avid birder, so it was a great opportunity to see the birds here at this crucial stop on their spring migration north. It was President Teddy Roosevelt who first protected Malheur back in 1908 because of its incredible importance to wildlife. I appreciate that history because I’m also a huge advocate for America’s public lands – and I was shocked a year ago to see this sanctuary occupied by an armed militia. That group was out of step with most Americans — they believed private citizens have more of a right to exploit our country’s public lands for personal gain, instead of appreciating that these lands belong to all of us – they are an American birthright and are one of the great achievements of our democracy.

…this Antiquities Act review is a public lands hit job…

PRO | Is a capital gains tax really needed?

(The following Op-Ed was authored by Ron Sher and Sonya Campion and originally published in the Seattle Times on April 21, 2017.)

State lawmakers have a big job in front of them. Once again they are crafting a budget aimed at funding programs that support families across our state. But there is simply no way they can do their job without more revenue. In short, our state budget is at its breaking point and we are all going to feel the pain in a lot of different ways if we don’t fix it.

What does this mean? It means that if we are going to educate our children and invest in health, housing and services that keep our communities and economy safe and strong, we need to find new sources of revenue.