The Nation : Alaska Plain Report Due

A report that is expected to suggest what Congress should do about Alaska’s 1.5-million-acre Coastal Plain, which lies atop the potentially biggest untapped U.S. oil reserve and is home to rare musk oxen and other animals, is to be released today in Washington by the Interior Department. Development advocates say national security requires that the reserve be tapped to counter growing U.S. dependence on foreign energy supplies. Environmental and conservation groups want drilling to be permanently banned by adding the area to the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, a 19-million-acre preserve just to the south.