In his State of the Union address, President Obama toured America’s accomplishments in expanding oil and gas production (as if federal actions had anything to do with it).  Just 5 days later, the Obama administration is preparing steps to declare 1.4 million acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve as “wilderness,” meaning no oil drilling allowed.

Juliet Eilperin of the Washington Post:

The Obama administration will propose setting aside the 1.4 million-acre coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) as wilderness, the White House announced Sunday, a move that will spark a fierce battle with the new Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee chairman, Lisa Murkowski, and other Alaska Republicans.

“Alaska’s National Wildlife refuge is an incredible place — pristine, undisturbed. It supports caribou and polar bears, all manner of marine life, countless species of birds and fish, and for centuries it supported many Alaska native communities. But it’s very fragile,” said President Obama in a just released White House video on the move.

The well-crafted video pulls on the heartstrings , all right:

But, as the TV pitchmen always say, “Wait, there’s more”:

The announcement, according to individuals briefed on the plan, is just the first in a series of decisions the Interior Department will make in the coming week that will affect the state’s oil and gas production. The department will also put part of the Arctic Ocean off limits to drilling as part of a five-year leasing plan it will issue this week and is considering whether to impose additional limits on oil and gas production in parts of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.

Just as America begins to reap the rewards of increased energy production, Obama wants to limit it – the name of nature. Meanwhile, caribou frolic next to the warmth of the Alaska Pipeline, Prudhoe Bayhas fully recovered from the oil spill there (and lessons have been learned minimizing future tanker accidents).

Hat tip: Ed Lasky