Bering Sea Elders Group Condemns Trump Administration Including Bering Sea in Outer Continental Shelf Offshore Leasing Program - Native News Online

18.8.18

Bering Sea Elders Group Condemns Trump Administration Including Bering Sea in Outer Continental Shelf Offshore Leasing Program - Native News Online: BETHEL, ALASKA – The following statement was released by the Bering Sea Elders Group on January 5, 2018:

The Bering Sea Elders Group strongly condemns yesterday’s action by the Trump Administration to include the northern Bering Sea in their Five‐Year Outer Continental Shelf Offshore Leasing Program. The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has promised the Bering Sea Elders Group time and again that it would meaningfully consult with Tribes and communities on any proposal to drill in our region’s waters, but yesterday’s announcement indicates the Administration and BOEM have not listened to the unanimous opposition we have voiced. We told them that in person last October and again in writing, that there were 76 tribes in these regions opposed to this. The draft plan implies that Bering Sea communities were “generally supportive of some” oil and gas activity. This is not accurate and there is no evidence of this from Bering Sea communities. For decades, our people have opposed oil and gas activity and we continue to oppose it today.