Wednesday, January 2, 2008, the Bush administration moved a step closer
in its bid to open the sensitive arctic waters of Alaska’s Chukchi Sea to
the oil and gas industry.  Issuing its final notice of intent in the
Federal Register, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) officially
scheduled its long-planned oil and gas lease sale for February 6, 2008. 
Through the lease sale, the administration will offer nearly 30 million
acres of the Chukchi Sea to the highest bidder.
Although highly controversial, the MMS’s move did not come as a surprise.
 The Bush administration has continued to promote an overly-aggressive
development plan both onshore and offshore Alaska.  The latest plans to
open the Chukchi Sea to drilling were approved even after the
administration’s own environmental impact statements highlighted a 35%
chance that industrial activity in the Chukchi Sea would produce a major
oil spill of at least 1,000 gallons.  This risk, needless to say, would
be in addition to more “minor” spills, routine operational discharges,
and substantial noise disturbances.
The threat of oil and gas development comes at a time when the Chukchi
Sea is experiencing increasingly serious effects of global warming. 
Amongst other startling findings, the scientific community has already
noted that summer sea ice cover reached a record low in 2007 and that
American polar bears – whose primary habitat includes the Beaufort and
Chukchi Seas – could be extinct by 2050.  
This week the Bush administration was supposed to release its final
decision on the proposal to list the polar bear as threatened under the
Endangered Species Act.  The Fish and Wildlife Service, however,
announced on Monday that the decision would be delayed for a couple of
weeks, if not months.  The coincidence of the timing is hard to ignore. 
Without federal protections for the polar bear – which could have
extended to the population’s primary habitat in the Chukchi Sea – the
administration is now free to continue its pursuit of oil and gas
drilling offshore Alaska.  
Thankfully, Congress has shown an interest in fighting for protection of
the polar bears and the Chukchi Sea.  A group of senators led by Senator
Kerry (D-MA) recently called for a “time out” from oil and gas leasing in
Alaska’s arctic waters.  Before we can even consider the Bush
administration’s plans, they contend that we must better understand how
the arctic is changing and how drilling would further impact this
sensitive area and its threatened wildlife populations.  The House of
Representatives took a similar stand last year, and when this year’s
Congressional session opens they might be willing to act again.  Please
take action and ask your members of Congress to oppose Lease Sale 193 in
the Chukchi Sea and to protect the polar bear’s arctic habitat. 
Bristol Bay Resource Management Plan Threatens Region’s Wilderness and
Wildlife Values

On December 7th 2007, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its
final Bristol Bay Proposed Resource Management Plan (RMP) and Final
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Bristol Bay region located
in Southwestern Alaska.  Alaska Wilderness League, other conservation
groups and tribal organizations had issued multiple requests for the plan
to be released after the holiday season.  But the agency pushed forward,
releasing its plan and commencing the 30-day protest period at the same
time that most Americans began preparing for the hectic holiday season.  
Alaska Wilderness League has advocated throughout the process that the
agency designate Areas of Critical Environmental Concern for BLM lands in
the Bristol Bay and Goodnews Bay (CarterSpit) watersheds and maintain
existing prohibitions on mineral development.  Unfortunately, Alternative
D, the agency’s “preferred” alternative in the Bay Plan, fails to strike
a sufficient balance between conservation of the resources and
development within the planning area. Under this alternative, the agency
recommends revoking the protective withdrawals that have been in place
for 35 years.  This significant action would open over 99% of the
pristine planning area to mineral development and habitat disturbance,
jeopardizing the $300 million commercial fishery industry and the $120
million sport and recreation industry.  
In addition to threatening the largest commercial salmon fishery in the
world, extensive industrial activity in the Bristol Bay region could
negatively impact critical habitat for caribou, bears, migratory birds
and countless numbers of seals, whales, walrus and fish.  Alaska Native
communities that depend heavily on the area for its subsistence resource
values could also be affected.
Specific industrial plans have already raised concerns amongst Alaska
Natives, local residents, conservation interests, and sport and
commercial fishermen.  Exploration continues at the highly controversial
proposed Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay’s headwaters, and with the moratorium
prohibiting oil and gas leasing in Bristol Bay’s outer continental shelf
now lifted, oil and gas interests are eyeing the area too.  It is
undeniable that change is on the horizon for the whole region, ranging
from its fish and wildlife to the indigenous people to the stunning
landscape and renewable commercial industries.
Jeremiah Millen, Alaska Wilderness League’s BLM Field Representative,
recently received an invitation to travel to Dillingham, Alaska from
members of Nunamta Aulukestai (Caretakers of Our Land), an association of
eight Village Corporations.  Jeremiah hosted a workshop designed to
facilitate collaboration amongst local stakeholders to address concerns
with the BLM planning process.  He provided an overview of the protest
process and gave technical assistance to individuals wishing to write
comments.  Thanks to these efforts, local opposition is finding an
effective outlet for its concerns.  And thanks to this strength and
conviction of this opposition, the fight for a more balanced management
plan is sure to continue.
Alaska Wilderness Week - Bring Your Voice to Washington, DC in March

Every fall and spring, Alaska Wilderness League works with the National
Audubon Society, the Sierra Club, The Wilderness Society and other member
organizations of the Alaska Coalition to host Alaska Wilderness Week, a
four-day activist training in Washington, DC. While varying each time in
number of attendees, Alaska Wilderness Week continuously succeeds in
bringing the most dedicated and passionate activists to DC to learn more
about Alaska issues, to raise their voices on Capitol Hill, and to return
home ready to make a difference for wild Alaska in their communities. 
For the first two days of Wilderness Week, activists work to achieve a
better understanding of Alaska Wilderness issues and about how Capitol
Hill works.  Issue experts present slideshows, lobbyists offer ideas
about how to best approach elected officials, and grassroots organizers
help the attendees craft plans for taking action when back home.  During
the second part of the week, activists take their newfound skills and
knowledge to Congress.  Working in state groups, activists meet with
their representatives and senators to ask in person for assistance in
protecting wild Alaska. 
First held nearly 20 years ago, Alaska Wilderness Week has become an
essential tool in the fight to protect Alaska wilderness.  Its power
underscores the importance of individual constituents, their concerns,
and their stories.  It is thanks to Wilderness Week participants that
members of Congress are so frequently reminded of the passion that the
public feels for protecting wild Alaska.  And it is through these
trainings that the community of effective Alaska advocates grows.
This spring’s Wilderness Week, running from Saturday, March 1 through
Wednesday, March 5, will welcome to DC more than 50 activists from around
the country to educate Congress about the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas,
Teshekpuk Lake, and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  Priority will
be given to activists who have never been to a Wilderness Week before and
who live in a strategic congressional district, but all are encouraged to
apply.  If you would like to attend this training, apply today!


Michael Degnan
National Grassroots Campaigns Manager

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