US Eyes 12 Million Acre Alaskan Arctic 'Wilderness' Area

WASHINGTON — Revised recommendations by the Obama administration call for designating 12.28 million acres (5 million hectares) as wilderness in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the White House said on Friday.

President Barack Obama, in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner released by the White House, said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service made the recommendation in its revised conservation plan aimed at protecting the state's Arctic refuge.

The service has also finished its environmental impact statement for the area, the letter said.