After decades ofpushback and objection , the Trump administration has started to auction off off oil drilling hire   deep in Alaska ’s wilderness . However , the sale has not quite gone to plan so far .

vendue for rock oil and flatulence drilling lease in thecoastal plainof the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska , the wildest stead left in the United States , quetch off on Wednesday , January 6,after a federal judge ruled on Tuesday that the sales can go ahead .

“ This term of a contract sale was an epic failure for the Trump giving medication and the Alaska congressional delegation . After year of promising a taxation and jobs bonanza they end up project a company for themselves , with the Department of State being one of the only bidder , ” Adam Kolton , executive film director of the Alaska Wilderness League which has been against the sale , say in astatement .

“ We have long known that the American masses do n’t want drilling in the Arctic Refuge , the Gwich’in people do n’t desire it , and now we know the oil industriousness does n’t want it either . ”

The battle for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has been pitted by some as   one of thelongest and biggest environmental battlesof recent US history .   The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge contain 78,000 hearty kilometer ( 30,100 square miles ) of rolling tundra and wetland in the Alaska North Slope region that ’s home to an incredible array of American biodiversity , includingpolar bears , grizzly bears , calamitous bears , moose , caribous , wolves , eagle , lynxes , skunk bear , martens , and beaver .

Much of the drilling arguing in the area specifically focuses on the safety ’s coastal champaign , live as the " 1002 area , " which include the main calving ground for America ’s largest caribou ruck , the Porcupine ruck . Ever sincediscussions around spread   the " 1002 area " tofossil fuel exploration and industrial development start in the late-1970s , environmentalists and some autochthonous groups are been working to bear on the area ’s wildlife and inheritance

While the flop of this workweek ’s vendue wind at good news for the area ’s preservation , those defend the wildlife refuge say the conflict is far from won . As a last - ditch attempt to stop the damage , some are pushingPresident - elect Joe Biden to halt leasing processes and suspend all crude activities   in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge right away after his startup on January 20 .

“ Today ’s coastal plain term of a contract sale is a prolongation of this giving medication ’s disregard for human right field , climate scientific discipline , and public process , ” a turgid coalescence of environmental chemical group and indigenous formation , include the World Wildlife Fund and theCenter for Biological Diversity , said in a jointstatement [ PDF ] .

“ This has been a flawed mental process from the head start that vary or discount scientific data on the impingement of drilling on ground and imperiled wildlife and failed to adequately consult with all frontline Alaska Native communities , in particular the Indigenous Gwichʼin of Alaska and Canada who have strongly fight back crude oil extraction . The Gwich’in and Iñupiat people have been the caretakers of Alaska ’s Arctic for millennia — and selling the coastal knit for corporate profit neglect that legacy of stewardship . ”