Sierra Club Notice of Intent to Sue Flags Agency Failures to Protect Arctic Polar Bears from Oil and Gas Activities

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the Sierra Club, represented by its Environmental Law Program, and allied organizations represented by Trustees for Alaska filed a notice flagging ESA violations by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that threaten polar bears with expanded oil and gas exploration, drilling, and development activities in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge-an area important for maternal polar bear denning

The notice letter asserts the Fish and Wildlife Service made faulty assumptions in its September 2025 biological opinion, required under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, and that the Bureau of Land Management unlawfully relied on the flawed analysis to re-adopt a reckless oil and gas leasing program in the Arctic Refuge. That biological opinion contains numerous legal faults that result in underestimating the effects the proposed oil and gas program would have on polar bears and their critical habitat.

Southern Beaufort Sea polar bears are one of the world's most imperiled polar bear populations, and their newborn cubs are among the most vulnerable creatures on Earth. Cubs younger than two months cannot survive outside their dens, and remain highly vulnerable thereafter, typically not emerging from the den until they are around 3.5 months old. The Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge is an important terrestrial maternal denning habitat because the density of denning habitat is higher than most other regions of northern Alaska.

In response, Mike Scott, Sierra Club's Oil and Gas Campaign Manager, released the following statement:

"Polar bears are one of the Arctic's most iconic species, but they are also one of its most vulnerable. The Trump administration's 'drill, baby, drill' agenda doesn't give the Fish and Wildlife Service carte blanche - they still need to follow the law. "

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit https://www.sierraclub.org.