Please call immediately - the senators are keeping a tally.
Thanks,
Jane Clark at [log in to unmask]

From Sioux City activist Kathryn Hughes:

As many of you know, Bush's nomination of Gale Norton to head the
Department of Interior is being challenged by 18 environmental groups. One
of the many reasons centers on Bush and Norton's desire to drill for oil in
the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge, home to a huge caribou herd, among many other
wonderful animals. It has even been called America's Serengetti!!   The
voices of concerned folks count, even though we may not succeed in keeping
her out of the cabinet. Please consider calling or emailing immediately.

Sen. Harkin can be reached at 202-224-3254 or
[log in to unmask]

Sen. Grassley can be reached at 202-224-3744 or
[log in to unmask]

Dear Senator X:
The purpose of this letter is to ask you to vote "NO" on the appointment of
Gale Norton as Secretary of the Interior. In my opinion, Ms. Norton is one
of the worst persons to be entrusted with our national natural resources.
In fact, she has made a career out of trying to derail the very programs
she will be asked to enforce. To my way of thinking, that makes her
unqualified for the job.

Norton, protégée of the infamous James Watt, has not only fought key
provisions of the Endangered Species Act (NY Times, 1/12/01), she has close
ties to several highly polluting industries, as well (Washington Post,
1/14/01). And in an ironic twist last year, Norton billed the Alaska
legislature $270 /hour for her efforts to help overturn a fishing policy
set by the very department that should would run, if confirmed (NY Times,
1/12/01).

In addition, she has indicated a willingness to expand the use of our
national lands to subsidize the interests of the mining, oil, and timber
industries. In other words, Ms. Norton seems to believe that private
industry is somehow entitled to the use of OUR land as a means of
decreasing its cost of production; and that any effort to preserve that
land for recreation and future generations is less important. As a fiscal
conservative, this looks like a government handout to me!

Finally, her eagerness to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is
almost palpable.  The overwhelming majority of Americans do not favor
drilling in that pristine wilderness.

====================================
From Sierra Club
Below are talking points and a fact sheet compiled by Nick Cain with great
help from Steve Smith in the Colorado field office.  If you have any
questions, please call any of the members of the media team.

- Allen Mattison

Message:  Gale Norton's extreme anti-environmental agenda would allow big
oil and mining companies to destroy the public lands we treasure.  Senators
should vote against Norton to protect America's wildlands for our families
and for our futures.

Story:  As Interior Secretary, Norton would be responsible for protecting
our National Parks, but her background shows she will do the bidding of the
oil, mining and logging companies that contributed heavily to
President-elect Bush's campaign.  Americans reject Norton's extremist
agenda because it would destroy the outdoor heritage we want to pass along
to our children.  We want our Senators to vote against Gale Norton to save
America's public lands for our families and for our future.

Talking points:
Gale Norton would be a natural disaster as Interior Secretary.  Norton's
nomination is a slap in the face to everyone who wants to protect America's
wild lands for our families and for our future.

Norton does not support the very laws she is supposed to be upholding as
Interior Secretary and her positions are out of step with what Americans
want:

·    She opposes the nation's premiere wildlife protection law - Endangered
Species Act.
·    As Colorado's Attorney General, she pushed to let polluters off the
hook without paying fines ? a position strongly rejected by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency.
·    She wants to let oil companies drill in the fragile Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge ? but scientists at the Fish and Wildlife Agency, an agency
which would be under her purview at Interior, oppose drilling that
wilderness because it would destroy the pristine habitat.
·    Norton founded and chairs a Republican group (Coalition of Republican
Environmental Advocates) denounced by true Republican environmentalists as
"a transparent attempt to fool voters who care about environmental
protection."  Funded by polluting mining, logging and chemical industries,
Norton's group gave one of its first awards to Newt Gingrich.  Two-thirds
of the senators in the coalition had a League of Conservation Voters rating
of zero.

Americans rejected Norton's extremist agenda years ago when Newt Gingrich
tried to push them on our country.  Americans still reject that agenda,
which is way out of step with mainstream views on the environment.

Americans want to protect our National Parks for our children to enjoy and
save endangered species from extinction - we don't want to see our public
lands destroyed just so big oil and mining companies can reap bigger
profits.

Norton's mentor, James Watt, was forced to resign because of his extremism
- President-elect Bush should learn from past mistakes and adopt a
mainstream vision for protecting our wild lands.

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