Bush looks toward oil development of national wildlife refuge
Copyright 2000
MSNBC
By Jonathan White
December 15, 2000
Washington, D.C., Dec. 15 - President-elect George W. Bush is leaning toward oil development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Bush is getting ready to take over the presidency with firm plans to develop the region.
THE NEWSPAPER HEADLINES sat on Cam Toohey's desk all morning Wednesday.
''It's a lot better to see it as President Bush than President Gore, at least for Alaska and the ability to manage our resources,'' said Toohey, executive director of Arctic Power Co.
And by Wednesday afternoon the news for Toohey got even better. His company, Arctic Power Co., lobbies politicians and the public to open the ANWR to oil development. Bush promises to help them do it.
The word now is that President Clinton isn't likely to do much to stop it, either.
Clinton has been considering a new designation for ANWR. The president said he would declare ANWR a national monument, keeping oil rigs off the region's coastline forever.
On Thursday Bruce Babbitt, U. S. Department of the Interior secretary, said he won't recommend that to the president. Babbitt said, ''...a monument status won't offer much more protection.''
That's not great news across town at the Sierra Club's headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Sarah Chapell from the Sierra Club spent the day sorting through a very different sentiment. ''We hope the president will see the appeal from Americans and Alaskans to protect the national refuge,'' Chapell said.
She's sending about 1,500 post cards to the White House where they'll join another 650,000 sent over already.
Thousands of those post cards are from Alaskans, each of them reminding Clinton the clock is ticking. ''Hopefully after today when he hears from Alaskans he will make a designation and do something positive for Alaska,'' said Chapell.
But it appears now the president is more inclined to pass on a monument status.
Clinton told the Discovery Channel last week, ''There is nothing to keep Congress from specifically authorizing drilling either in a national wildlife refuge or in an Arctic national monument.''
In other words, as Clinton's term winds down, Alaska's most prized piece of land might just go untouched in political terms.
Getting ANWR drilling through Congress is another story altogether, although Bush promises to make it part of his national energy policy.