The service announced Monday it will review three areas of the refuge, including the coastal plain, believed to contain an estimated 11 billion barrels of recoverable oil. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, reacted with an angry press statement, warning the agency not to trample on a promise of "no more wilderness" made to Alaska in the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.
"This is a blatant political move by the administration and clearly violates the promise of no more administrative wilderness designations in Alaska," Murkowski said.
A wilderness designation would preclude petroleum drilling.
Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, said Monday he has long been opposed to more time or taxpayer money being spent on further wilderness reviews.
"This is a colossal waste of limited resources, and we should use those resources to develop the enormous oil and gas reserves believed to be beneath the coastal plain," he said.
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