Arctic Refuge should remain off limits for oil drilling

To the editor:
I appreciated Jan Larson McLaughlin’s article, “BG mayor may join ‘Climate Mayors’ national movement.” I think it’s important for communities and decision makers to be considering all sides of an issue before jumping straight into it, especially when it comes to issues as important as our environment.
It seems that some of our nation’s leaders have stopped doing just that. President Trump’s budget proposal threatens to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. This 19-million-acre tract of pristine wild lands is home to millions of animals, and is threatened by these commercial endeavors.
As a federal land, it is the property of all Americans, and we have a right to be able to make decisions on it. If we allow them to go into the last frontier that we have, then we risk opening up places here in Ohio to this same development.
We need to tell our senators, like Senator Portman, to protect our public lands.
Bill Murray
Weston