zoe: i'm here with retired biologist and conservationist fran mauer. you find antlers laying on the tundra, you're in a--cow antlers, you're in a calving ground. zoe: it's unclear how much oil actually lies under the tundra. an exploratory well drilled in the mid-'80s apparently delivered meager results, but the oil companies won't release the details. now, the trump administration wants to sell off the drilling leases by the end of this year. mauer: in my opinion, the rush is to sell leases before there's another election. it's as simple as that 'cause they know that american people ultimately do not want this and they're trying to push it through while they have the votes and the power of the white house to do it. it's a crime, quite honestly. the american people are being robbed. zoe: if the leases are approved, this landscape could be crisscrossed with air strips, roads, pipelines, and treatment plants. ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ mauer: over the years working up here, i feel... i feel that the land... i feel that the land is speaking for them through us. i think that