Melting sea ice in the Chukchi Sea, one of the areas included in the ban.Photo:Esther Horvath

Thanks to Audubon Magazine for their coverage of this news:

U.S. Offshore Drilling Banned Along Arctic and Atlantic Coasts for Next Five Years

A new federal leasing plan released today outlines where energy companies can look for oil while protecting vital bird habitat.

by Martha Harbison

After months of deliberations, the Bureau of Ocean Management announced its final five-year plan for offshore energy-exploration leases today. In that plan, no drilling leases would be available in U.S.-held Arctic and Atlantic waters from 2017 to 2022, meaning that no new drilling could happen in those areas until at least 2022.