Commenting on the Scoping for the Arctic Refuge Comprehensive
Conservation Plan
Comments are due by Monday, June 7, 2010
Email your comments to: [log in to unmask]
Include ‘‘Arctic NWR CCP’’ in the subject line of the message.
Address your letter to:
Sharon Seim
Planning Team Leader
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
101 12th Ave., Rm. 236
Fairbanks, AK 99701
Sample comments you could include in your letter
We encourage you to begin your letter by describing your organization,
your history with the Arctic Refuge, and why your (X number of) members
care so much about protecting the Refuge.
We urge the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to conduct a full wilderness
review and recommend wilderness designation for all non-designated Refuge
lands, including the coastal plain (1002 area). This review and
recommendation for wilderness designation will help ensure the unique
wildlife, wilderness, and subsistence values of the entire Arctic Refuge
are protected for future generations.
As we approach the 50th anniversary of the Arctic Refuge, we have a
historic opportunity to promote wilderness protection for this
incomparable landscape. The Arctic Refuge is unique among Refuges – it
was the only one established specifically to preserve wilderness values.
The Refuge’s coastal plain is a vital part of a larger ecosystem and
connected to existing wilderness through its scenic landscapes,
watersheds, rivers, migrations, and broader ecosystem. Such a broad
spectrum of diverse habitats occurring within a single protected unit is
unparalleled in North America.
We support the Draft Arctic Refuge Vision in the CCP planning booklet:
“This untamed arctic landscape continues to sustain the ecological
diversity and special values that inspired the Refuge’s establishment.
Natural processes and traditional ways ebb and flow with the seasons;
physical and mental challenges test our body, mind, and spirit; and we
honor the land and its wildlife with respect and restraint. Through
responsible stewardship this vast wilderness is passed on, undiminished,
to future generations.”
We also support the Draft Goals for Stewardship listed in the CCP
planning booklet, and particularly those focused on preserving natural
biodiversity and ecological processes, wilderness values, and the
national interest in passing this area on as a wild place to future
generations.
A 2009 FWS study[1] showed that several things people value most about
the Arctic Refuge are its wildlife, ecological processes, wilderness
aesthetic, and spiritual values. We encourage FWS to strive to protect
these values in their Comprehensive Conservation Plan. A 2010 FWS
study[2] of the values of visitors to the Refuge demonstrated that the
wilderness, vastness, remoteness, and sense of adventure were among the
most positive influences on visitors’ experiences, and should also be
management goals in the new CCP.
The Refuge should continue its focus on providing recreational
opportunities with authentic adventure, solitude, challenges, risk, and
self-reliance required of all visitors. The FWS should exercise restraint
in managing the Refuge, and maintain a subtle presence in the Refuge.
The CCP should safeguard wilderness and wildlife values, along with the
integrity of the ecosystem as a whole, through appropriate stewardship.
This should include no intensive management and no manipulation of nature
(for example, no predator control), except as deemed necessary to protect
threatened or endangered species. This intact community of life should be
allowed to exist in its natural diversity, with natural cycles and
interactions persisting.
The Refuge is home to some of America’s most iconic wildlife species,
including wolves, grizzly bears, muskoxen, and caribou. Numerous bird
species begin their lives in the Refuge each year, before journeying
across the nation and the globe. This means people across the country
have the chance to see birds in their area that began their lives in the
Refuge. Much of the Refuge’s Coastal Plain was also recently proposed as
Critical Habitat for the threatened polar bear, and onshore denning
habitat in the Refuge’s coastal plain is likely to become increasingly
important to polar bears as their sea ice habitat melts due to global
warming.
The CCP should strive to preserve the wildlife, wilderness, and
subsistence values necessary to maintain the Gwich’in way of life for
future generations. The Gwich’in people have lived in the region for
thousands of years, and regard the coastal plain as “The Sacred Place
Where Life Begins” because it has been the most frequently used birthing
and nursery grounds for the migratory Porcupine Caribou Herd on which the
social, economic, and spiritual fabric of their lives depends.
Oil and gas leasing, exploration and development in the Refuge would
permanently harm the wildlife and wilderness values of the coastal plain
and the Refuge as a whole. As we witness the devastation of an ecosystem
in the Gulf of Mexico, the fundamental incompatibility of oil and gas
development in wilderness is painfully evident. Furthermore, as climate
change continues to impact this Arctic region, exacerbating those effects
through further oil and gas development are unconscionable. The Refuge’s
value as an intact ecosystem, where the effects of climate change can be
studied, becomes increasingly rare and important every year.
To conclude, the Arctic Refuge is a national treasure that stands alone
in its wildness, ecological integrity, beauty, and unique recreational
opportunities. The agency should emphasize protecting these values so we
can pass this incredible place on to our children undiminished. An
important step for ensuring long-term protection is conducting a full
wilderness review and making a wilderness designation recommendation in
the Arctic Refuge CCP, along with instituting a management regime that
aims to maintain the wildlife and wilderness values for which the Refuge
was established.
Please conclude your letter with an individual message.
[1] Christensen, N. and L. Christensen. 2010. Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge 2008 Visitor Study: Characteristics, Experiences, and Preferences
of Refuge Visitors. Christensen Research Company, Missoula, MT.
[2] Bengston, D. and D. Fan. 2009. The National Public’s Values and
Interests Related to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: A Computer
Content Analysis. Northern Research Station, USDA Forest Service &
InfoTrend, St. Paul, MN.
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