From start to finish, oil and gas leasing, seismic exploration, and development of projects are risky, harmful, and unnecessary. Photo: Shutterstock
November 20, 2025 (Boston, MA) – The U.S. Department of the Interior has released a draft offshore drilling plan that proposes 34 oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska, and California. This offshore drilling plan includes areas where oil and gas drilling has never happened before and places where lease sales have not been held for decades. There will be a 60-day comment period for the public to weigh in on the draft plan.
Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) joined with many other organizations in opposition to the plan.
“This irresponsible draft proposal presents a grave threat to the United States’ marine ecosystem, our coastal communities, and the robust fisheries, tourism, and other industries that depend upon abundant and diverse marine life,” said CLF Vice President for Ocean Conservation Priscilla Brooks. “From start to finish, oil and gas leasing, seismic exploration, and development of projects are risky, harmful, and unnecessary. Opening our waters to oil and gas drilling will only fuel the climate crisis and put us at risk of catastrophic oil spills. We need to transition to safer, renewable forms of energy, not expand dangerous, dirty fossil fuel infrastructure.”
Holding more lease sales will primarily benefit oil and gas speculators, rather than American taxpayers. Coastal economies generate billions of dollars in revenue and support millions of jobs in industries such as tourism, fishing, and recreation. Almost all offshore drilling in the U.S. — 99 percent of it — takes place in the Gulf, with the rest happening off the coast of Alaska. Communities in both regions have been burdened with ongoing harm to public health, ways of life, and their environments. Communities in the Gulf are still recovering and suffering from the BP Horizon oil spill disaster, which cost over $60 billion in clean-up costs.
Additional quotes can be found below.
Experts are available for further comment.
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Additional statements in response:
“Our country continues to use the Gulf of Mexico as a sacrifice zone to the oil and gas industry. The Trump Administration’s plan to open areas in the eastern Gulf off of Florida, which have been protected under previous moratoriums, is reckless and dangerous for our working waterfronts, endangered species, and vital tourism,” said Martha Collins, Executive Director for Healthy Gulf. “Our communities, our visitors, and our wildlife in Florida do not deserve the history of neglect that the oil and gas industry has left in the Gulf.”
“Adding 21 areas off Alaska’s coast in the offshore plan isn’t just misguided, it is a dangerous gamble with irreplaceable public waters and communities that rely on them,” said Emma Powell, Federal Advocacy Manager at Alaska Wilderness League. “Industry walked away from Arctic waters decades ago because even they weren’t comfortable with the risks associated with Arctic Ocean drilling and now is not the time to reopen that door. An oil spill in the Arctic Ocean would be nothing short of apocalyptic for coastal communities, irreplaceable wildlife, and the climate. This leasing program should not move forward.”
“The Trump administration appears to have taken aim specifically at places that have been protected for years because of the importance of their marine ecosystems, their fisheries, and their coastal economies,” said Sierra Weaver, senior attorney for Defenders of Wildlife. “What does it say when our leaders declare those values meaningless in comparison to big oil.”
“The federal government’s offshore oil drilling plan will damage coastlines and communities, while threatening coastal recreation and tourism industries that contribute billions of dollars to our nation’s economy. Offshore drilling is highly unpopular across the country and will increase the likelihood of yet another destructive oil spill off our coasts. Surfrider Foundation’s chapter network will fight this proposal vigorously to protect all U.S. coastlines from the unnecessary risks involved with new offshore drilling.” Pete Stauffer, Ocean Protection Manager, Surfrider Foundation.
“In Santa Barbara we know first-hand the danger of offshore oil drilling. The catastrophic 1969 Santa Barbara Oil Spill and the 2015 Plains Oil Spill are examples that there is no way to drill for new oil without causing devastating impacts to our coastal environment, tourism and recreation, and economy.” Maggie Hall, Deputy Chief Counsel, Environmental Defense Center.
“This plan is a dangerous gift to the oil and gas industry at the expense of our planet and shared future. This administration wants to open vast new areas of the West Coast, the Gulf of Mexico, and Alaska to drilling – gutting environmental safeguards and endangering communities in the process. Latino voters across the country, and across party lines, overwhelmingly reject more offshore drilling, as seen in our 2024 National Azul Poll. Our communities have lived the consequences of oil spills and pollution, and they are calling on our leaders to move us beyond fossil fuels,” said Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, Founder and Executive Director, Azul.
“The Trump administration is threatening to impose offshore oil drilling on states, cities, and communities that have fought against it for decades,” said Earthjustice senior attorney Brettny Hardy. “Trump’s plan would risk the health and well-being of millions of people who live along our coasts. It would also devastate countless ocean ecosystems that both humans and wildlife rely on. This administration continues to put the oil industry above people, our shared environment, and the law.”
“Donald Trump and Doug Burgum are once again trying to sell out our coastal communities and our public waters in favor of corporate polluters’ bottom line,” said Sierra Club Executive Director Loren Blackford. “Americans across the political spectrum have made it clear they oppose offshore drilling. We know the risks are far too great, threatening ecosystems and coastal economies with the risk of spills that would take decades to clean up. Despite overwhelming bipartisan opposition, Trump and Burgum are moving forward with their reckless plan to serve their ultimate goal of handing over our public lands and waters to Big Oil CEOs. These lease sales are privatization in everything but name – a ‘keep out’ sign is the same whether an area was sold or leased. The Sierra Club will continue to stand with coastal communities and work to stop this reckless plan dead in the water.”
“There’s a reason that hundreds of communities and a bipartisan group of lawmakers in our region vehemently opposed offshore drilling when it was first proposed – the threats of oil spills to our communities, ecosystems, and economies are too great to risk. We share the deep concerns of communities in the Gulf and elsewhere that face the possibility of disastrous pollution from offshore drilling.” Megan Huynh, Leader of the Wetlands and Coasts Program, Southern Environmental Law Center.
“As if selling off our public lands weren’t enough, the Trump administration’s new offshore drilling plan aims to hand our ocean to oil companies. Opening California, the Gulf of Mexico, parts of Florida, and large areas of Alaska puts coastal economies, communities, and wildlife at risk,” said Taryn Kiewkow Hiemer, director, Ocean Energy at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). “Worse, pushing into the Arctic is especially reckless as clean-up is nearly impossible in the hostile conditions that exist there.The people of these states have been clear that they don’t want this off their coasts, threatening their livelihoods and way of life. We should be building affordable, reliable renewables, not padding the oil industry’s profits.”
“We have learned devastating lessons from the impacts of offshore oil development off California, in the Gulf, and elsewhere. We know that the foundation of thriving coastal communities and their economies is a healthy, vibrant ocean. We hope Californians and all Americans can act together, once again, to ensure a future free of the threat of offshore drilling.” Julie Packard, Executive Director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium
“Trump is once again trying to implement his stale idea of opening the majority of our nation’s ocean space to destructive offshore oil and gas development. Yet we know that coastal communities around the country do not want to risk their waters to the pollution and destruction drilling often brings. This administration fails to grasp even the most basic concept of benefits versus costs – the economic, community health, and human costs to this plan that would willy-nilly offer our ocean to the highest, most greedy bidder. ” Sarah Winter Whelan, Executive Director, Healthy Ocean Coalition