The Trump administration has allocated US$4 million for construction work ahead of the start of oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the Department of the Interior said in an announcement of a total US$50 million in new investments in the U.S. Fishery and Wildlife Service. The money will be used for “Improvements to existing facilities and construction of outbuildings to support heightened levels of activity,” the statement said. In a report on the announcement, Reuters notes that the Arctic refuge is the largest in the U.S. wildlife refuge system, and also the wildest: there are no roads or buildings at all in the 19-million-acre expanse. However, President Trump is pushing for a lease sale in the ANWR to be scheduled for as early as next year, despite fierce opposition from environmental groups, and this would require the building of some infrastructure. In an email to […]