BLM in Alaska has opened up new drilling areas on the North Slope, (no, not in ANWR,) in previously closed areas. Expect the left to froth over this, but remember they told us before the Alaska Pipeline was built that the Caribou and wolves would all die off. Both are flourishing with Caribou herds and wolves packs much more numerous than pre-pipeline days. From Breitbart:
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – The Bureau of Land Management could go ahead with plans to allow drilling in a sensitive area near Teshekpuk Lake on the North Slope, an agency spokeswoman said. The BLM added to its environmental impact assessment of drilling in the area and that information is now being reviewed, said spokeswoman Sharon Wilson. The results of the review should be completed soon, she said.The review is the latest development in the fight between federal land managers in favor of oil and gas drilling and environmental and Native groups wanting to keep the area closed because of its importance to migratory birds and caribou.
The land in question covers roughly 400,000 acres and lies to the north and east of Teshekpuk Lake. It sits within the 4.6-million acre northeast planning area of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the entire NPR-A contains between 6 and 13 billion barrels of oil, putting it roughly on par with the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to the east.