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Stop Drilling In Alaska From Threatening Polar Bears

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Sponsor: The Animal Rescue Site

New Arctic drilling plans could disrupt polar bear dens and fragile ecosystems. Tell federal officials to act before irreversible harm occurs.

Stop Drilling In Alaska From Threatening Polar Bears

Federal officials are advancing new oil and gas leasing across Alaska’s North Slope, including areas in and around the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska and the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.1,2

These are fragile Arctic habitats that support polar bears, caribou, migratory birds, seals, walruses, and other wildlife already under pressure from climate change and industrial activity.3,4

Polar bears depend on sea ice and quiet coastal denning areas to survive and raise cubs. Oil and gas operations can bring aircraft, vehicles, seismic work, roads, pipelines, drilling pads, and other disturbances into areas where denning mothers may be hidden beneath the snow.5

Polar Bears Are Already At Risk

Polar bears in Alaska are already losing habitat as the Arctic warms and sea ice declines. Less sea ice means less access to hunting grounds and more pressure on land-based denning areas.6

For denning mothers, disturbance can be especially dangerous. Polar Bears International warns that oil and gas activity in the Arctic Refuge threatens polar bear families, and that den-detection technology can miss dens. A mother forced from her den may not be able to protect her newborn cubs.4

Expanding drilling in these areas increases the risk of habitat disruption, human-wildlife conflict, and harm to cubs at a time when polar bears need stronger protection.

Federal Officials Have The Authority To Act

The Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land Management oversee leasing, permitting, and environmental review for oil and gas activity on federal lands. Even after leases are sold, drilling, seismic operations, road construction, pipelines, and other surface activity require additional federal authorization.7

That means federal officials still have the power to halt, deny, or restrict projects that would put threatened wildlife and fragile Arctic ecosystems at unacceptable risk.

Environmental and Indigenous-aligned groups have already challenged Arctic drilling approvals, arguing that federal reviews have failed to fully account for threats to wildlife, habitat, and local communities.8

Approving more drilling in polar bear habitat sends a clear message that short-term extraction is being prioritized over the long-term survival of Arctic wildlife.

Sign now to urge the Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land Management to halt Arctic drilling projects that threaten polar bears and protect the fragile ecosystems they depend on.

More on this issue:

  1. Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Land Management (18 March 2026), “Interior generates over $163 million from National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska oil and gas lease sale.”
  2. Bureau of Land Management, Federal Register (20 April 2026), “Notice of 2026 Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Lease Sale.”
  3. Earthjustice, Earthjustice (20 April 2026), “Trump Administration Offers Vast Tracts within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to Big Oil Drilling.”
  4. Polar Bears International, Polar Bears International (30 October 2025), “What’s happening in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge?.”
  5. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (9 March 2026), “Marine Mammals; Incidental Take of Polar Bears and Pacific Walruses in the Beaufort Sea and North Slope of Alaska.”
  6. NOAA, NOAA Arctic Program (10 December 2025), “Sea Ice 2025.”
  7. Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Land Management (April 2026), “Coastal Plain Alaska, Oil and Gas Lease Sale 2026 Detailed Statement of Sale.”
  8. Becky Bohrer, Associated Press (11 December 2025), “Lawsuit challenges the approval of an exploratory drilling program in Alaska petroleum reserve.”

The Petition

To the U.S. Secretary of the Interior,

I urge you to halt approval of new oil and gas drilling projects in Alaska’s North Slope and Arctic coastal regions due to the serious risks they pose to polar bears and other wildlife.

Polar bears depend on stable, undisturbed habitat for denning, feeding, and raising cubs. Expanding industrial activity into these areas introduces noise, infrastructure, and human presence that can disrupt denning mothers and threaten cub survival. These impacts come at a time when polar bears are already under severe stress due to climate-driven sea ice loss.

Recent reporting indicates that federal officials are considering new Arctic drilling plans despite these known risks. This approach ignores the cumulative pressures on wildlife and undermines the purpose of the Endangered Species Act, which exists to prevent species decline and extinction.

The Department of the Interior has both the authority and the responsibility to ensure that federal actions do not jeopardize endangered or threatened species. That responsibility includes conducting thorough environmental reviews, rejecting harmful proposals, and prioritizing long-term ecological health over short-term industrial gain.

Expanding drilling in sensitive Arctic ecosystems also increases the risk of oil spills, habitat fragmentation, and disruption of migration patterns for other species, including birds and marine mammals. These impacts extend beyond polar bears and affect the entire Arctic ecosystem.

I urge you to pause and reconsider these drilling plans, conduct a comprehensive environmental impact review, and prioritize the protection of polar bear habitat. Decisions made today will have lasting consequences for one of the world’s most iconic and vulnerable species.

Please choose a path that protects wildlife and preserves Arctic ecosystems for future generations.

Sincerely,

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