Court affirms BLM NPR-A decision

A federal appeals court July 26 affirmed a decision that clears the way for oil drilling in part of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals backed a ruling by Judge James K. Singleton Jr. of Anchorage in January 2005 that rejected efforts by a coalition of environmental groups to increase wildlife protections in the northwest section of NPR-A.

The coalition asked Singleton to block a planned lease sale in the northwest NPR-A. The judge denied the request and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management went ahead with the lease sale. The appeal was heard before Chief Judge Mary M. Schroeder, who wrote the opinion, and Circuit Judges Arthur L. Alarcon and Andrew J. Kleinfeld.

— AP contributed to this story