WASHINGTON - June 29 - The following is a statement from Jamie Rappaport Clark, president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife:

 “Despite presiding over the worst oil disaster in U.S. history and on the heels of green lighting Shell’s exploration in Arctic waters this summer, the Obama administration is now planning additional leasing in one of the most pristine, but least understood waters in the world without basic scientific information about its wildlife. Apparently, the lesson from BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill has not soaked in to the Obama administration -- there’s no foolproof way to drill safely in remote, environmentally sensitive areas like the Arctic Ocean.”