Helicopter view of the area surrounding Bristol Bay, Alaska. Still image extracted from WH.gov video linked below.

We’ve hosted a good number of Alaskan “bird of the day” photos here, and we share the near-universal affinity for the charismatic Arctic mammal that is the polar bear. Two years ago, Carol Browner and John Podesta wrote an open letter on Bloomberg.com opposing any more drilling in the Arctic, and now we’re happy to announce that President Obama signed an executive order last week that bans exploration for oil and gas in Bristol Bay until another president chooses to counteract the order in the future. Read coverage by Peter Baker for the New York Times below:

Mr. Obama first put the ecologically sensitive area of the Bering Sea — home to an important population of whales, seals and sea lions — off limits to oil rigs in 2010, but that restriction was set to expire in 2017, several months after he leaves office. With the new executive memorandum that he signed in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Mr. Obama made the ban permanent unless a future president acts to reverse it and allow leasing of the waters of the bay.

“It is a beautiful natural wonder, and it’s something that’s too precious to us to just be putting out to the highest bidder,” Mr. Obama said in a one-minute video announcing his decision, which was posted on the White House website.

Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, said she did not oppose the decision. “Given the lack of interest by industry and the public divide over allowing oil and gas exploration in this area, I am not objecting to this decision at this time,” she said in a statement.

But she added that “it is incredibly frustrating that this administration looks at Alaska” and “decides that conservation is our most pressing need,” rather than supporting an oil-based economy threatened by plunging prices. “We are not asking to produce everywhere,” she added, “but right now, we are not being allowed to produce anywhere.”

Environmentalists hailed the decision to ban offshore drilling in the area. “The president has shown wisdom and vision in protecting this amazing region of the world from drilling,” said Peter Lehner, executive director of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

You can read the full article here.