Statement of Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt on new legislation by Senator Frank Murkowski to permit oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Statement of Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt on new legislation by Senator Frank Murkowski to permit oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
"I strongly oppose legislation introduced in the Senate today to open the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. President Clinton has shown great leadership by announcing his intention to veto past Congressional attempts to circumvent the wishes of millions of Americans nationwide who oppose the degradation of their national treasure. These Americans and the Clinton/Gore Administration have made it clear again and again: we will protect this last undeveloped fragment of Americas arctic coastline for the thousands of caribou, polar bears, swans, snow geese, musk oxen and countless other species who use it to birth and shelter their young. There is a time and a place for oil exploration in Alaska, and we have permitted environmentally sensitive oil exploration in a large area of the National Petroleum Reserve -Alaska, an area set aside for that purpose. There is a big difference between the designation of a National Petroleum Reserve and a National Wildlife Refuge but some in Congress consistently fail to recognize this fact. So today I am recommending that President Clinton oppose any further Republican Congressional attempts to use legislation to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling."

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System comprised of more than 500 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands, and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fish and wildlife management offices, and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.