JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Trump administration’s push to expand oil and gas development in Alaska faces a new test Friday. That’s when the latest lease sale is set for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. A coalition of conservation groups sent a letter to oil company leaders ahead of the sale, urging them to stay away and citing risks such as ongoing litigation around the leasing program. Opponents of drilling in the refuge have pointed to a lack of major industry interest in prior lease sales. But supporters of drilling see the refuge’s coastal plain as a potential untapped resource that could boost oil production and generate new revenue. Banner image: FILE – The Kaktovik Lagoon and the Brooks Range mountains of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge are seen in Kaktovik, Alaska, Oct. 15, 2024. Image by Lindsey Wasson via Associated Press.This article was originally published on Mongabay

TORONTO (AP) — Canada’s government endorsed a plan Wednesday to move the last remaining captive whales from a shuttered theme park in Ontario to aquariums in the United States and Spain — a plan that could save them from mass euthanasia if the deal goes through. There are 30 belugas and four dolphins left in the Marineland park and zoo in Niagara Falls, Ontario, which announced in early 2023 that it was for sale and closed to the public in late summer 2024. No sale has yet been announced. The former tourist attraction has since worked to move the park’s remaining animals and sell the sprawling property near Horseshoe Falls. In 2024, Marineland was found guilty under Ontario’s animal cruelty laws in a case related to its care of three black bears. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has issued the first batch of permits to move the whales and is set to issue different permits closer to the move, expected to take place in the next few months. It recently issued permits for the whales and dolphins under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, otherwise known as CITES permits. “I think this is a positive step forward,” Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson said. “There’s still more work to be done, but it’s a step forward.” Twenty whales — 19 belugas and one killer whale — have died at Marineland since 2019, according to provincial government data obtained through freedom-of-information laws and official statements. Thompson’s office said…This article was originally published on Mongabay