Selling this cherished Arctic landscape to the highest bidder is a grievous mistake | Trip Van Noppen

Part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the largest US wilderness, risks being transferred to the hands of the fossil fuel industry. Join the fight against this

• Trip Van Noppen is president of Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law organization

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is one of the last intact wild landscapes on Earth – and the largest wilderness left in the US. The 19.6m-acre swath of mountains and tundra is publicly owned and ecologically unique. Now, thanks to the Republican tax bill making its way through Congress, a part of the refuge we’ve long fought to protect risks being transferred to the hands of the fossil fuel industry.

History will judge the decision as an egregious error.

This is all for the short-sighted purpose of funding irresponsible tax breaks and subsidizing the oil and gas industry

Related: The battle to protect Alaska’s great wildlife sanctuary | Rebecca Solnit