Iowans are welcome to join the Nebraska chapter's Lewis and Clark event on the scenic portion of the Missouri River north of Sioux City.
See contact information below. Jim REdmond
-----Original Message-----
From: melissa gardner [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, June 24, 2004 2:47 PM
To: NE Forum List
Subject: SIERRA CLUB CANOE TRIP ON WILD & SCENIC MISSOURI RIVER
Greetings,
Just wondering if you can join us for a fun Lewis and Clark kayak/canoe
outing on the weekend of July 24th & 25th?
This outing will retrace the river route of Lewis & Clark. It includes two
3 hour trips on the wild and scenic "un-channelized" Missouri River. We'll
explore natural beauty and pristine wild places that Lewis & Clark
experienced two hundred years ago when they led their famous expedition
up the Missouri River. We'll stop to explore the "Íonia Volcano area" that
Lewis & Clark stopped at to explore the "smoking bluff", and we'll also
explore a major Native American meeting/hunting site on the National Record
of Historic places that pre-dates Christ.
Note: no kayak/canoe experience is necessary! One must just be comfortable
with water. The professional outfitter will cover skill and safety training.
One and two seat kayaks are available. Children 8 and up are welcome, but
all children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. (I'm bringing my two
grade school-age sons). Youths between the ages of 16 and 19, unaccompanied
by an adult, must pre-sign an indemnification/ release form.
Please RSVP to Melissa at the Sierra Club Omaha Office at (402) 933-5792 AS
SOON AS POSSIBLE as space is limited! For more information see below.
July 23rd - 25th:
Retrace the River Route of Lewis & Clark - Canoe or Kayak
the Wild and Scenic Missouri River!
Two hundred years ago Lewis & Clark led their famous expedition up the Missouri
River. Join the Nebraska Sierra Club on a fun trip to explore the still pristine
wild places and natural beauty that Lewis & Clark experienced when they led
their famous expedition up the Missouri River two hundred years ago. Enjoy fun
and entertaining short 3 hour day-trips from Ponca State Park. A professional
outfitter will coordinate the river trips and will provide canoe or kayaks,
paddles, floatation devices, safety and skill training, and all shuttle
transportation. Afternoon and evening activities at Ponca State Park will
include campfire stories and "some-mores" provided by the Sierra Club, a
Buffalo Burger Cook-Out Saturday night, and a Lewis & Clark Hayride Tour,
swimming at the park pool, naturalist programs, and craft activities. We
will also view the beautiful Sierra Club film "Wild America: Protecting
the Lands Explored By Lewis & Clark.
This outing is open to the public. Children over 8 are welcome. Children
under 16 must be accompanied by a parent or responsible adult. The outfitter
will provide canoe or kayaks, paddles, floatation devices, and all shuttle
transportation. Participants will provide camping gear, Nebraska State Park
Permit vehicle entry fees. Participants are responsible for canoe/outfitter
costs, which are $30.00 per person per day. Sierra Club will cover the cost
of the group campsite, and costs for a continental breakfast and lunch
Saturday and Sunday, and campfire treats Friday and Saturday night.
Participants will need to cover all other activity and meal costs.
If you are interested in participating in this outing, and would like
to sign up and get more information, call Melissa at the Sierra Club Omaha
office at (402) 933-5792 as soon as possible as SPACE IS LIMITED.
See you on the river!
Melissa Gardner
Explore, Enjoy, and Protect Our Planet!
Sierra Club Nebraska
Phone: 402-933-5792
Fax: 402-933-5791
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________________________________
From: Iowa Discussion, Alerts and Announcements on behalf of Jane Clark
Sent: Thu 7/8/2004 7:52 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Another Attack on the Arctic by Bruce Babbitt
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/08/opinion/08BABB.html
Another Attack on the Arctic
By BRUCE BABBITT
Published: July 8, 2004
BARROW, Alaska - Thwarted by the public in its efforts to open
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, the Bush
administration and the oil companies are now quietly turning
their attention to the balance of the Arctic region of Alaska,
all the way west to the Chukchi Sea, within sight of Siberia. In
advance of its efforts, the administration has jettisoned
environmental safeguards and is now threatening the traditional-
use rights of the Alaska Natives who have hunted caribou and
waterfowl along the Arctic slope for thousands of years.
This plan was announced in Anchorage just as Congress recessed
for the Reagan funeral. Outside Alaska it has received little
notice, not even for its centerpiece - a proposal to lease
rights for oil and gas development in Teshekpuk Lake, a body of
water that is vital to the region. This shallow lake, which is
about 30 miles across, is the biological heart of the western
Arctic, the summer nesting and breeding ground for hundreds of
thousands of black brant, spectacled eider, yellow-billed loons,
white-fronted geese and other migratory birds that arrive here
each year from 32 of the lower 48 states as well as countries as
far south as Argentina.
The lake, however, isn't just for the birds. It is also a
critically important subsistence area for the indigenous Inupiat
communities on the Arctic slope. They go there to hunt and fish
for food to sustain them through the long, dark winters.
Teshekpuk Lake lies within the western region of what is known
as the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. In 1976 Congress
transferred the management of the petroleum reserve to the
Bureau of Land Management. But Congress also mandated
protections for the wildlife and native peoples, making it clear
that America's Arctic should not be transformed into another
West Texas oilfield.
In 1998 the Clinton administration took the first steps to open
the reserve with a two-year study involving hundreds of
scientists and representatives of the Inupiat communities. Two
years later the scientific teams returned with a recommendation
to begin oil leasing, with stipulations for setting aside
approximately 13 percent of the study area, mostly rivers and
lakes, including Teshekpuk, as protected areas. They also
recommended a ban on permanent roads across the fragile tundra,
based upon assurances from the oil companies that they could
operate with temporary winter "ice roads" that would simply melt
away as summer approached and waterfowl and migratory caribou
began congregating at the lake.
The Bush administration now proposes to eliminate these
safeguards intended to protect the lake, the wildlife and the
Inupiat who depend on it. The decision is not yet final. During
the summer there will be hearings in Anchorage and Washington.
Then, Interior Secretary Gale Norton is expected to make a
decision. In this land of endless summer days, there are bound
to be a lot of sleepless nights.
Bruce Babbitt was secretary of the interior from 1993 to 2001.
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