--- title: Alaskan Wildlife: Barack Obama Moves to Protect 12 Million Acres description: The White House will ask to protect millions of acres of land in Alaska from a range of human activity including drilling and construction. canonical: https://time.com/3681751/white-house-arctic-refuge/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-25T21:00:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:00:01.528Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama Moves to Protect 12 Million Acres of Alaskan Wildlife og:description: It would be the largest such designation in more than 50 years og:url: https://time.com/3681751/white-house-arctic-refuge/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2a92ea061a1895ec/69877bc3524fc01867dec1d6/anwr.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: 183745239 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama Moves to Protect 12 Million Acres of Alaskan Wildlife twitter:description: It would be the largest such designation in more than 50 years twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2a92ea061a1895ec/69877bc3524fc01867dec1d6/anwr.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama Moves to Protect 12 Million Acres of Alaskan Wildlife > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge [Watch (HLS stream): Protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/BeaDXJXB.m3u8) (0:58)  _Published 2015-01-25. Protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge_  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jan 25, 2015 9:00 PM UTC  More than 50 polar bears have been spotted near the town of Belushya Guba, Russia More than 50 polar bears have been spotted near the town of Belushya Guba, Russia Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jan 25, 2015 9:00 PM UTC The Obama Administration will ask Congress to protect millions of acres of land in Alaska from a range of human activity including drilling and road construction, officials said Sunday. If approved by Congress, the move would designate more than 12 million acres as wilderness, the highest level of federal protection, and protect native wildlife including caribou, polar bears and wolves. It would be the largest such designation in more than 50 years. “Designating vast areas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as Wilderness reflects the significance this landscape holds for America and its wildlife,” Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell said in a statement. “Just like Yosemite or the Grand Canyon, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is one of our nation’s crown jewels and we have an obligation to preserve this spectacular place for generations to come.” The proposal will undoubtedly meet opposition in Congress. Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski condemned the move immediately as an act of federal overreach. “It’s clear this administration does not care about us, and sees us as nothing but a territory,” she said in a statement. “The promises made to us at statehood, and since then, mean absolutely nothing to them.” ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] Alaska's National Wildlife Refuge is an incredible place. Pristine, undisturbed. It supports caribou and polar bears, all manner of marine life, countless species of birds, and fish, and for centuries it supported many Alaskan native. Communities. But it's very fragile. That's why I'm very proud that my Department of Interior has put forward a comprehensive plan to make sure that we're protecting the refuge and that we're designating new areas, including coastal planes for preservation. And I'm gonna be calling on Congress. [ INAUDIBLE ] To make sure that they take it one step further, designating it as a wilderness, so that we can make sure that this amazing wonder is preserved for future generations. 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