Daniel Tandy, a coordinator for the Maine Alaska Coalition and former National Park Service ranger in Alaska, has been a business owner in Maine for over 35 years. He and his family live in Westbrook.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the largest and most remote national wildlife refuge in the country, renowned for its incomparable ecological values, cultural significance and climate importance, is once again threatened by the lies and proposed actions of the current administration.

It’s a well-known fact that drilling in the fragile, irreplaceable Arctic landscape is a poor business decision and a waste of taxpayer dollars: it will not, as promised by the administration, help raise money to balance the budget. The first of two previously mandated leases from the 2017 Tax Act raised less than 1% of the nearly $2 billion in revenue promised to offset massive tax cuts and were later canceled.

In January 2025, the second of the two previously mandated Arctic National Wildlife Refuge lease sales drew no bids and raised no dollars. Major oil companies did not participate in the sale, and most major financial institutions have pledged not to finance or insure drilling in the Arctic.

This year, under the guise of raising revenue, Republicans in Congress, on behalf of the administration, mandated four lease sales in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, language taken word-for-word from Project 2025, the 920-page conservative blueprint the current administration has been implementing, although they and fellow Republicans disavowed it during the most recent election cycle.

Even more alarmingly, a new resolution passed in the House in October under the Congressional Review Act, which overturns the Biden administration’s Record of Decision (ROD) that provided stronger protections for the Refuge. This allows oil and gas corporations to sidestep essential environmental protections, putting wildlife, subsistence livelihoods and climate stability at grave risk.

Although it passed, Rep. Chellie Pingree and Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King all stood with us and voted in favor of protecting the Refuge. Their support was critical, and they deserve our thanks.

The fight is far from over. Oil and gas interests are continuing to push for ways to sidestep essential environmental protections, putting Refuge values at serious risk, and we must continue to make our voices heard to ensure protection.

Urge Sens. Collins and King to co-sponsor the Arctic Refuge Protection Act, which would restore critical wilderness protections to the 1.5-million-acre Coastal Plain and permanently halt any new oil and gas leasing, exploration, development and drilling there. Thank Rep. Pingree for doing so!

The Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge is essential to the survival of the Porcupine caribou herd, named for the Porcupine River they transit. This herd numbers over 150,000 members that migrate thousands of miles to give birth to their calves there. It is also the home of polar bear dens and millions of migratory birds that return each year to nest not only from our backyards here in Maine, but also from all 50 states and six continents.

Protection of the Coastal Plain and the Porcupine Caribou herd would also safeguard the
subsistence rights and cultural heritage of the Gwich’in Nation, Alaska’s Indigenous peoples, who have protected and depended on the Arctic Refuge for their livelihood for thousands of years.

On top of that, drilling in the Arctic would exacerbate the climate crisis that is already at our doorsteps in Maine, where stronger coastal storms are affecting communities across the state. Instead of clinging to outdated fossil fuel projects, we must prioritize clean energy and protect one of the most spectacular intact ecosystems on Earth.

Protecting the Arctic Refuge is not just about conservation — it is about ensuring a thriving, resilient future for all. We are known by what we choose to protect. Our children and future generations will thank us for our actions today.