"ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Alaska Governor Bill Walker said on Tuesday he has asked U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to pare back a Trump administration plan for oil and gas leasing off the state’s coast.

While Walker supports offshore oil development, he said the Interior Department should focus on the most prospective areas off Alaska – the Beaufort and Chukchi seas in the Arctic and Cook Inlet in southern Alaska – and drop all others from the leasing plan.

In asking for proposed lease sales to be dropped, Walker, an independent, joins governors of several other coastal states after Zinke’s unexpected move to exempt Florida from the department’s plans soon after the initial announcement."

Yereth Rosen reports for Reuters January 30, 2018. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Murkowski Asks Interior Secretary Zinke To Shield Parts Of Alaska From Offshore Drilling" (Anchorage Daily News) [3]

"Alaska GOP Tells Ryan Zinke To Back Off On Offshore Drilling Plan" (Washington Examiner) [4]