Caribou graze on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, with the Brooks Range as a backdrop. (USFWS)

By Tegan Hanlon, Alaska's Energy Desk - Anchorage • November 16, 2020

Starting Tuesday, oil and gas companies can pick which parts of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain they’re interested in drilling. It’s the latest push by the Trump administration to auction off development rights in the northeast Alaska refuge before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

The official “call for nominations” launches a 30-day comment period, and is the the Bureau of Land Management’s last big step before a lease sale, which it must announce 30 days in advance. The government’s timelines raise the possibility that a lease sale could happen just days before Biden’s inauguration.

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