Senate Blocks Attempt to Allow Oil Drilling in Alaskan Wildlife Reserve

Environmental campaigners were celebrating an improbable victory last night after the US Senate narrowly blocked a Republican plan to allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The refuge, which sprawls along Alaska's northern coast and may hold 10bn barrels of oil, has been the focus of bitter wrangling in Congress for more than two decades. Most Senate Democrats and some moderate Republicans believe the icy wilderness and its wildlife, which includes polar bears, caribou and peregrine falcons, should be protected. But the Bush administration has said the refuge must be opened up to drilling to halt a steady slide in US crude production and reduce dependence on foreign oil.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service which manages the refuge describes it as "one of the finest examples of wilderness left on the planet". Oil companies, on the other hand, argue that exploration and drilling could be limited to a small area and would not harm the wildlife.

The Republican majority failed to get the 60 votes in the 100-member chamber needed to cut off debate yesterday. The vote was 56-44. Republicans had hoped to win passage by making the oil drilling issue part of a $453bn (£260bn) defence spending bill that has earmarked money for troops in Iraq and relief for Hurricane Katrina victims. Although few politicians wanted to be seen rejecting a bill that pays the salaries of US troops in Iraq, Democrats and a few Republicans who have always opposed drilling conducted an extended debate, known as a filibuster, to delay its passage. Because of the vote, Senate leaders are expected to rework the bill to eliminate the oil-drilling proposal.

Ted Stevens, a Republican from Alaska, attached the measure to the defence spending bill - which also has money to help low-income families to pay energy bills - in the hope that opponents would find it hard to vote against it.

"It is a real victory for the environmental movement all throughout this country," said Democrat Dianne Feinstein of California. "Destroying this wilderness will do very little to reduce energy costs, nor does it do very much for oil independence."

Many Senators complained yesterday that drilling and defence had no place in the same bill.

"Our military is being held hostage by this issue,"said Senator Harry Reid, the Democratic leader. He added that the Senate could move quickly to pass the defence bill once the Arctic refuge issue had been resolved. Senator John Kerry, who has been a fierce critic of disturbing the Alaskan wilderness, said: "We all agree we want money for our troops ... This is not about the troops."

Trent Lott, a Republican from Mississippi whose state stands to gain vast amounts of the Hurricane Katrina reconstruction aid promised in the bill, said the wildlife refuge issue "has got to come out [of the defence bill]".

David Willett, of the environmental group the Sierra Club, called the vote "an against-all-the-odds victory for wildlife, wild places and all Americans". He added: "This was a sneak attack to try and force arctic drilling on the American people and the Senate clearly rebuffed it."

But Senator Stevens said he would not be giving up. "We're going to be here until [New Year's Day]," he said yesterday.

"We're going to stay here until this is finished. I can't go home for Christmas. I've already cancelled [my aeroplane tickets]."