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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2001

Congressional investigators did not include an Alaska refuge in a study on drilling because they were told Alaska Natives own the subsurface mineral rights, The Anchorage Daily News reports today.

But an engineer for the Bureau of Land Management, the federal government also owns drilling rights in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. Others are held by Cook Inlet Region Inc., an Alaska Native corporation.

Leaving the refuge out of the report makes it biased against drilling, charged a lobbyist for a pro-development group. The report was commissioned by Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), who opposes drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Get the Story:
Kenai refuge left off GAO list (The Anchorage Daily News 11/16)

Get the Report:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Information on Oil and Gas Activities in the National Wildlife Refuge System (GAO-02-64R, October 31)

Relevant Links:
Sen. Frank Murkowski - http://murkowski.senate.gov
Oil Issues in ANWR, US Fish and Wildlife - http://arctic.fws.gov/issues1.html
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Pro-Development site - http://www.anwr.org

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