releases: http://donyoung.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=399044
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| http://donyoung.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=399044 | Young Hits it Right on the Nose in Committee Testimony to Open ANWRs 1002 Area | 2017-11-02 | 2017 | 2017-11 | Republican | House | AK | Don Young | Y000033 | donyoung.house.gov | legacy | Washington, D.C. – Today, Alaska Congressman Don Young joined a unified group of Alaskans in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to speak in favor of ending the years-long prohibition against oil and gas development in the 1002 Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) – an area specifically set aside by Congress in 1980 for future development. Young, an ardent supporter of responsible oil and gas development in ANWR’s coastal plain, spoke passionately on the Committee’s first panel of witnesses alongside Senator Dan Sullivan and Governor Bill Walker. Young’s leading argument – which hit the issue right on the nose – is that technology has improved to the point that no more than 2,000 surface acres ( approx.. 3 sq. miles) of the 19 million acre ANWR would be required to develop the more than 15 billion barrels of oil estimated to be in the coastal plain. In a move that caught the attention of lawmakers and attendees, Young drew a dot on the tip of his nose to illustrate the size of surface impact proposed for the 1002 in comparison to the greater ANWR area. “You see anything different on my nose right now,” Young asked the panel. “I am Alaska. One tenth of one tenth percent is what we’re talking about in disturbance…This little dot on my nose – I weigh 225 lbs. – this little dot is what we’re talking about in surface impact in the 1002 Area. That’s a potential for approximately – early estimates were 10 billion barrels – and now estimates are probably around 20 billion barrels of oil.” Congressman Young testifying before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Development in AWNR’s 1002 (click here to watch, click here for remarks) As described by Congressman Young, one of the few who has been part of this debate from the beginning, the creation of the 1002 Area was built on an understanding that it would be used for future development. “If we are to be energy sufficient, to control the international instances that can be faced, we need ANWR,” Congressman Young said. “The Congress recognized it when we passed the Alaska National Interest Land Conservation Act (ANILCA). Scoop Jackson, Warren Magnuson, Mo Udall, all agreed to this provision because they knew the value of that oil and the value it had to this nation. Now we’re fighting the same battle again because of the ignorance and misinformation from those that would prefer not having any resource development at all, not only in Alaska – we’re easy to pick on because we’re a three person delegation – but for the nation as a whole.” Young closed as he began – an argument that resource development in the 1002 Area can be done safely and responsibly just as industry and the State of Alaska have proven on the North Slope for over 50 years. “I hope you have the courage to do what’s right for this nation – what’s good for Alaska, what’s good for the nation, and good for all the people in the future. Madam Chairman, I thank you for having this hearing,” Young said. “I remind you, look at this little blue dot on my nose. That is the footprint in the 1002 Area. I don’t think it changes my appearance that much.” Following the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, a group of Alaskans joined together to further discuss the necessity of opening the 1002 for exploration. This group included Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Congressman Don Young (R-Alaska), Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, Alaska Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott, and members of the Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat, including Richard Glenn, Matthew Rexford, John Hopson, Jr. and Teresa Imm. The Alaska Delegation holds a press availability following today’s hearing in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (click here to watch). *Click here for photos from today’s hearing. ### | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |