Take That, Alaska! Eco-Left Judge Sharon Gleason Strikes Again

August 19, 2021

Alaska should have known better than to be bullish on a development project when Judge Sharon Gleason is sitting in her US District Court seat.

Once again, Gleason single-handedly put Alaska’s energy future in the crosshairs of her job-crushing, environmentally radical, never-met-a-development-project-I-like judicial power, and now, one of our state’s most promising projects is nearly back to square one.

Yesterday, Gleason laid waste to years of work by numerous federal agencies – setting aside strong support from Presidents Trump and Biden – and ruled that ConocoPhillips Alaska’s Willow project was “legally flawed.”

Her ruling was hailed as an environmental victory by the usual anti-Alaska eco-extremist organizations, and left responsible development advocates gob-smacked.  After all, the permits for Willow had already been issued, and the start of development was only essentially awaiting the legal ruling.

But now, Willow must wait while the Bureau of Land Management, Department of Fish and Wildlife and other federal agencies consider how to work through Gleason’s ruling.  In her 110-page decision, she noted areas of particular concern around climate change and polar bear impacts, while giving improbable (before yesterday) credence to the eco-Left’s arguments that those weren’t sufficiently addressed by BLM and Fish and Wildlife.

Power The Future continues to be astonished by the tone-deaf and radical rulings coming from Judge Gleason. We’ll continue to support those projects she (and her eco-left whisperers) continue to vilify, and we’ll continue to fight for Alaska’s energy future.