Phyllis, A great performance! Jerry
----- Original Message -----
From: Phyllis Mains <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:09:09 -0600 (CST)
Subject: Public Hearing on Izembek National Wildlife Refuge
Earlier I sent information about the proposed road through the biological
heart of the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge--Don Young lied during his
testimony but he had to sit and listen to mine and I got in all the facts
before my 4 min was up. The hovercraft takes 20 min--the proposed road
would take 1 to 2 hours in the best weather. It's vital to get public
comment. If you need me to resend the talking points please let me know.
The deadline for public comments is May 1. Phyllis
Grassroots battle over Alaska road Small protest precedes public hearing
on wildlife refuge.By Ambreen Ali
Of the hundreds of protests staged in the nation's capital each year, a
small percentage have large turnouts.Most are small events staged by a
handful of committed activists who have been working on a specific issue
for years. On Thursday, six environmentalists stood in front of the
Department of Interior to protest a road project for medical evacuations
that would cut through a national wildlife refuge. The Alaska Wilderness
League staffers, accompanied by an activist from Iowa, huddled around a
man dressed in a brown duck costume. He represented the Pacific black
brant, a goose found in the Izembek refuge that the group says would be
endangered by the road."Roads don't belong in the wilderness," Brian
McLane, the AWL intern within the duck outfit, said. "This is a visual
cue of what's at stake."
Their aim was to raise public awareness about the issue, but most
pedestrians simply smiled and moved on. Inside the Interior building, the
Fish and Wildlife Service took comments from about 20 people on both
sides of the debate. Thursday's event was the culmination of a
decades-long battle between environmentalists like McLane and local
Alaskan residents who want the road. Both rest their hopes on Interior
Secretary Ken Salazar, the only man who can stand in the way of the
project.
Last year, Members of Congress — including all three Alaska lawmakers —
approved building the road for medical evacuation and noncommercial
purposes. Now Salazar has to determine that the road will serve the
public interest before millions of tax dollars can go towards its
construction. If he does, it would be the first road ever to bisect a
congressionally designated wilderness. The Fish and Wildlife Service,
which is part of the Interior Department, is conducting a series of
public hearings in Washington, D.C., and Alaska before drafting a plan.
Officials said they don’t expect to take action until 2012.
Opposing the environmentalists are local residents of remote King Cove, a
remote northeast Alaska town that is 625 miles from Anchorage. They have
been fighting for decades for the single-lane gravel road that would
connect them to an airport in Cold Bay, 18 miles away.A few flew to
Washington D.C. to attend Thursday’s public hearing. They said the road
is about quality of life for King Cove's residents."Not many of the other
projects discussed in Washington, D.C., have as much grassroots support,"
said Mayor Stanley Mack of Aleutians East Borough, a region that includes
King Cove and Cold Bay.
Alaska's sole House Member, Republican Don Young, also spoke in favor of
the road. He mentioned the tiny protest outside in his testimony. "This
is about people, not Washington D.C. or somebody standing outside dressed
as a bird," Young said. "Other than some outsiders, there is no
opposition to this road."The main purpose of the project would be to
provide transportation for ambulances and emergency vehicles, but public
buses and taxis would also be allowed to use it.
Members of Alaska Wilderness League, Friends of Alaska National Wildlife
Refuges, National Audubon Society, and The Wilderness Society testified
against the road project, saying that a hovercraft currently used for
medical evacuations is working just fine.In addition to their concerns
that 250,000 black brants, hundreds of bears, fish and other wildlife
could be displaced by the road, the groups worry that oil companies and
other local industries could eventually gain access to the road. David
Raskin of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges said that as long as
government officials do their due diligence, the road should be
blocked."The only thing that would stand in the way is politics," he
said.
Phyllis Mains, a conservationist from Iowa, testified that her tax
dollars shouldn't help build a "road to nowhere." The road would affect
people outside Alaska who like to hike, hunt, and bird watch, she said,
adding that the $20 million cost of the road would only be the
beginning."My great grandchildren would still be paying for its
maintenance," she said.
Despite the small turnout at Thursday’s protest, AWL government affairs
director Kristen Miller said grassroots activism has stopped similar
initiatives in the past.She cited a 2005 bill to drill in the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge. House lawmakers from both parties stopped the
attempt after hearing from their constituents. "It was tried and true
activism that worked," Miller said.That's what Mayor Mack and King Cove's
residents are counting on, too. DAmbreen Ali writes for Congress.org.
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