Heinrich, Huffman, Markey Lead 60 Lawmakers in Condemning Trump’s Plans to Sell off the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee, and Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.) led 60 members in the Senate and House in a letter condemning the Trump administration's plans to auction off sacred and sensitive lands within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas companies.

In the letter to U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, the lawmakers stress that there is no economic interest from oil companies to drill on this land, and it only threatens fragile ecosystems and the tribes that rely on it for subsistence hunting.

Today, no oil company holds leases on the Coastal Plain of the Refuge. Major companies, including Chevron and BP, have abandoned their Arctic Refuge interests entirely, in some cases paying millions to walk away. Every major bank in the United States and Canada has refused to finance Arctic Refuge drilling, citing no real industry interest, extreme costs, remoteness, and decades-long bipartisan opposition.

Republicans have repeatedly tried to use Arctic drilling to help offset tax breaks for the wealthy. Trump's first billionaire giveaway - the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act - mandated lease sales in the Arctic Refuge that the Congressional Budget Office estimated would generate $1.8 billion. The first sale in 2021 generated less than one percent of that projected revenue, while the second in 2025 received zero bids. Republicans' Big Ugly Bill repeated the same tactic, requiring more lease sales to pay for tax giveaways to the ultra-wealthy.

"Such action would be inconsistent with fiscal responsibility, responsible stewardship of our public lands, and the obligation to protect taxpayers from unnecessary risk," the lawmakers wrote. "Previous lease sales in the Arctic Refuge have repeatedly demonstrated that drilling in this region is not economically viable and will not provide the revenues that American taxpayers were promised."

The Arctic Refuge, located in northeastern Alaska, is essential habitat for the endemic wildlife that lives there. It also is deeply connected to the traditions and daily life of the people who have lived there for thousands of years.

The Coastal Plain provides critical habitat for polar bears and the Porcupine Caribou Herd, which Alaska Native and Indigenous communities, particularly the Gwich'in people, depend on for subsistence. The lawmakers added, "Even preliminary activities, such as seismic exploration, risk causing lasting damage to this remote and highly sensitive landscape."

"Taken together, these facts underscore a fundamental reality: oil and gas leasing in the Arctic Refuge has failed to generate meaningful revenue, failed to attract industry participation, and failed to demonstrate any realistic prospect of benefiting American taxpayers," the lawmakers concluded.

In December 2025, Heinrich delivered remarks on the Senate floor stressing the need to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and urged his colleagues to vote no on a Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval that would upend the management plan for the Arctic Refuge, risking one of the world's last great wild landscapes.

In October 2025, Heinrich delivered remarks on the Senate floor, blasting Republicans for pushing forward Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions of disapproval targeting Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Resource Management Plans (RMPs), putting public lands and National Parks at risk from mining companies.

Read the full letter here and below:

Dear Secretary Burgum:

We write in response to the Department of the Interior's recent call for nominations of oil and gas parcels in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to express our strong opposition to proceeding with an Arctic Refuge lease sale. Such action would be inconsistent with fiscal responsibility, responsible stewardship of our public lands, and the obligation to protect taxpayers from unnecessary risk.

Previous lease sales in the Arctic Refuge have repeatedly demonstrated that drilling in this region is not economically viable and will not provide the revenues that American taxpayers were promised. The first lease sale, held in 2021, generated less than one percent of the $1.8 billion in projected revenue. A second lease sale in 2025 fared even worse, receiving no bids at all. Today, the only lessee is a State of Alaska corporation; no oil and gas company holds leases on the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge.

These outcomes were not anomalies but rather reflect a clear and consistent lack of market interest in Arctic drilling. Major oil companies, including Chevron and BP, have walked away from their Arctic leases, in some cases paying millions of dollars to do so. Every major bank in the United States and Canada, along with a growing number of global insurers, have adopted policies declining to finance or underwrite drilling in the Arctic Refuge due to the extreme costs, remoteness, and legal uncertainty. Recent analysis by a nonpartisan fiscal watchdog underscores this reality, concluding that future lease sales would generate only minimal revenue - likely no more than a few million dollars. As a Goldman Sachs analyst previously observed, "there is almost no rationale for Arctic exploration."

The only entity continuing to express interest in Arctic Refuge drilling is the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA), a state-owned development corporation with no capacity to develop oil and gas resources and a documented record of speculative investments that have cost Alaskans billions. Reliance on AIDEA to anchor oil and gas activities in the Arctic Refuge demonstrates that oil and gas leasing is unlikely to deliver the financial returns that have been promised.

In addition to these financial realities, the ecological significance of the Arctic Refuge cannot be overstated. The Coastal Plain is home to iconic wildlife, including polar bears and the Porcupine Caribou Herd, a critical subsistence resource for Alaska Native and Indigenous communities, particularly the G wich'in people. Even preliminary activities, such as seismic exploration, risk causing lasting damage to this remote and highly sensitive landscape.

Taken together, these facts underscore a fundamental reality: oil and gas leasing in the Arctic Refuge has failed to generate meaningful revenue, failed to attract industry participation, and failed to demonstrate any realistic prospect of benefiting American taxpayers. Proceeding with additional lease sales under these conditions risks repeating a costly and unsuccessful experiment, while jeopardizing one of the world's most significant natural landscapes and the communities that depend on it.

With the call for nominations now underway, meaningful public participation and robust Tribal consultation are essential, particularly given the subsistence and cultural importance of the Arctic Refuge to Alaska Native communities. Any nomination process must include early substantive engagement with impacted communities, and a sufficient public comment period before decisions with long-lasting consequences are made.

As the Department moves forward, we urge you to ensure that any actions related to Arctic Refuge leasing will be grounded in economic reality, free of undue financial risk for taxpayers, and reflective of the environmental and community considerations unique to this region. The repeated failure of prior lease sales makes clear that Arctic Refuge drilling is not a sound or reliable fiscal strategy and should not be pursued.

Sincerely,

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