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Alaska Wild Update #196 - Feb 4, 2003 QUOTE OF THE WEEK ""...we
respectfully ask that you resist efforts to include provisions in the
Fiscal Year 2004 budget resolution relating to opening up the Arctic Refuge
for drilling." HEADLINES HELP STOP OIL DEVELOPMENT IN AMERICA’S WESTERN ARCTIC ! ! TONGASS RIDER PASSES SENATE; MOVES TO CONFERENCE REPUBLICAN
SENATORS VOW TO OPPOSE ARCTIC IN BUDGET BILL
In the far northwest corner of Alaska, west of the famed Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, lies America’s endangered Western Arctic. The Western Arctic’s formal name, the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, masks the area’s extraordinary wildlife, wilderness, and natural values. The Western Arctic’s extensive network of wetlands supports world-class populations of golden eagles, peregrine falcons, and other birds of prey, along with millions of migratory waterfowl and shorebirds. Elsewhere in the Western Arctic, grizzly bears, wolves, caribou, and moose roam the foothills, beluga whales and spotted seals swim freely in icy coastal lagoons, and Arctic poppies and cotton grass dance in the wind. The Western Arctic is an area of largely untrammeled wildness and peace… but for how long? Like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to the east, the Western Arctic has been targeted by the Bush administration as a priority for drilling. On January 17th the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued a potentially devastating draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for oil and gas leasing in the 8.8 million-acre northwest planning area, an area the size of New Jersey and Connecticut combined! It would be irresponsible and shortsighted to carve up this treasured landscape for oil development without protecting special places like Peard Bay, home to polar bears and migratory waterfowl, and Kasegaluk lagoon, an area of critical importance to wildlife and subsistence peoples. To learn more about the Western Arctic, please visit Alaska Wilderness League’s website. The BLM proposes allowing oil drilling in the Western Arctic without conducting any meaningful study of the incomparable ecosystems that sustain so many diverse species in these wildlife-rich areas. Why give away to industry such a vast treasure before we have adequately assessed its worth? We advocate a balanced approach to development, that allows for oil development while including protections for special, wildlife-rich places such as Kasegaluk Lagoon, the Utukok Uplands, the Colville River, Peard Bay, and the Teshekpuk Lake/Meade River region In the DEIS, the BLM proposes a one-sided development plan that endangers the reserve’s special places and undermines responsible environmental safeguards where development would proceed. Of the three development alternatives outlined in the DEIS, two propose development in all or nearly all of the northwest planning area. Conversely, the third alternative, while recognizing the area’s outstanding natural values, is clearly a red herring because it is inconsistent with the Bush Administration’s stated intent to heavily develop the Western Arctic. To provide for a responsible balance between energy development and environmental protection, BLM should devise a middle-ground, common sense, rational alternatives for oil development that do not sacrifice the extraordinary wildlife and wilderness values of this fragile arctic landscape. The BLM is required by law to accept public comments on the draft environmental impact statement for the NPR-A northwest planning area, but they will do so only until March 18th. We need your help to speak out against a massive drilling scheme in this fragile wild area. Please urge the Bureau of Land Management to consider rational alternatives for oil leasing that protect the Western Arctic’s most special areas. To submit your comments online, please visit the LeaveitWild site or go to the BLM’s site. Some points to remember when writing your comments:
Please send your comments today!! TONGASS
RIDER PASSES SENATE; MOVES TO CONFERENCE During the public comment phase, tens of thousands of public comments rolled in, including many from the local Tongass communities in Alaska, requesting additional wilderness protections in the Tongass. Now, with the final report due out in less than a month, Senator Stevens rider would make it impossible to have any further input to the management plan, and would further shield it from judicial review. Up stepped Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) who agreed to offer an amendment to strip the rider out of the underlying appropriation bill. Despite literally tens of thousands of messages reaching the Senate via calls, emails, faxes and visits - we were unable to defeat the rider. As the Senate continued to move through consideration of the sweeping bill, it became apparent that there would not be enough time to secure the votes needed to win. The good news is that in addition to the overwhelming support from across the country and Senator Boxer's leadership, the Tongass issue received good attention in the media. This was the first time in many years that an effort was made to organize the entire Senate for a vote on a Tongass issue. Many Senators strongly supported the issue, but with only a few days to work the vote, there wasn’t enough time to bring enough of the Senate on board to ensure a strong vote for the Tongass. At least one office said that the only other issue they heard about more that week was Iraq. Senator Boxer issued a statement for the record in support of the Tongass and opposing the Stevens rider. “These are OUR public lands, and we all have a right to take part in deciding how they are managed, how they are protected, and how they are exploited,” said Senator Boxer on the record. “Stripping away the ability of the American people to take part in the process is contrary to the spirit of our laws.” (Click Here to see the full text of Senator Boxer’s Statement. Now the bill
moves to the Senate / House conference committee, where House members
have vowed to pick up the fight.
Six moderate Republican senators may have sounded the death knell today for President Bush's proposal to drill for oil in Alaska. In a letter to Republican leaders, the senators said they opposed inserting into the pending budget bill to finance the government any language that would give oil companies access to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a centerpiece of the president's energy policy. The measure could be attached to the budget bill because extending drilling rights in the refuge would bring in some revenue. "With
its strict rules limiting debate, the budget is not conducive to adequate
consideration of an issue of this magnitude," the lawmakers wrote.
“Because the opening of the Arctic Refuge to drilling raises a host
of Significantly, the group also indicates general opposition to President Bush's Arctic drilling proposal, arguing that, "We believe that the Arctic refuge should be preserved and that the budgetary effects of oil leases in the refuge are incidental when considering the profound negative impact of drilling in the Arctic refuge." The letter was organized by Senator Olympia J. Snowe of Maine and was co-signed by Senators John McCain of Arizona, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, Susan Collins of Maine, Mike DeWine of Ohio and Peter G. Fitzgerald of Illinois. The announcement marks the first major fissure within the GOP over the controversial proposal. Senate Republicans are planning to insert drilling language into the next budget resolution to ensure its passage this year. Last year, debate over the Arctic Refuge was a key factor in the collapse of energy legislation talks. Supporters of Arctic drilling hope that the Senate prohibition against filibustering the budget bills, as well as the limited debate rules, will make it impossible for Democrats to stop the plan. The letter
was hailed as "a split in the president's own party on this, and
shows how hugely unpopular his ANWR plan really is," one activist
said. The moderates' early defection would probably put Senate Majority
Leader Frist and Senator Nickles in a politically awkward spot, one Capitol
Hill observer said. New Poll Shows Strong Opposition to Drilling A majority of Americans oppose drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, they feel strongly about it, and they overwhelmingly reject the argument that drilling there is necessary to decrease dependence on foreign oil, according to a Wilderness Society poll. Jim Waltman, The Wilderness Society's point man on the ANWR issue, said the poll shows that the enthusiasm environmentalists have for keeping industry out of ANWR is matched by the passion of the public. Key findings
of the poll included:
For everyone
who doesn't like Valentine's Day because you don't have anyone to send
a card to, don't despair! This year you can send a Valentine's Day Card
for the Arctic Refuge to your member of Congress! Thanks everyone
and remember to Have a Heart! |
