Here's DC news from Melanie Griffin, Sierra Club Washington public lands
director:

"On March 21, the House Budget Committee marked up their version of the FY
2002 Budget Resolution with no assumption of revenues from Arctic drilling.
Rep. Jim Nussle (R-IA) chose not to include the arctic provision after
pressure fom a handful of moderate republicans sent a letter authored by
Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-CT -- and House Arctic wilderness champion) urging
that the Arctic be dropped.

On March 22, we learned that Sen. Domenici (R-NM) has made a commitment to
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) (and was also quoted in the New York Times) that
Arctic would not be included in the Senate version of the bill.  He
indicated he would not push the assumption of drilling revenues if there
was opposition within his own caucus.  Kudos to Sens. Snowe, Lincoln Chafee
(R-RI), Jim Jeffords (R-VT) and others for standing tall against pressure
from their own party and President.

The printed version of the bill to be reviewed by the Republican members of
the Budget Committee today still contains arctic drilling revenues (Snowe's
staff tells me the decision was made after the mark went to the printer).
Snowe indicates that she will again seek public assurance from Domenici
that Arctic is out ....

Conrad, the ranking Democrat on Budget, had not heard as of this morning
about this development.  And frankly, we aren't out of the woods until they
pass the bill (expected to come to the Senate floor the first week of
April).  I believe Senate rules require 60 votes to add any revenue measure
so we are in good shape.

This is great news but we keep up the pressure until we ...feel more
confident that this is really dead; until we are sure Arctic is really
gone."

This is good, as Melanie says -- but it does not mean the Bush
Administrations and anti-environmental Congressional leaders have "seen the
light".  Just that they are feeling the heat and realize if they want a
budget bill to pass, they can't foul it up with arctic provisions that will
rouse the opposition.  (that's us)  Instead, they will no doubt try a
different tactic.  DO THANK THE SENATORS WHO HAVE STOOD UP TO BUSH!

Here's another interesting Arctic item.  This is, reproduced in full,  an
article that appeared in the
Washington Post on March 18 in section, NATION IN BRIEF:

Alaska Boosts Outlay
for Oil Lobbying in D.C.
    Anchorage -- Alaska lawmakers, whose constituents receive annual
payments from a state oil trust fund, agreed on Friday to spend $1.85
million to lobby Congress to allow oil exploration and development in the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
   The money, given final approval by the state House, was a jump from the
$225,000 to $550,000 typically allocated for the lobbying effort each year.
The sharp increase was prompted mainly by the Bush administration's support
for oil development in the refuge.
    Despite objections from environmentalists, public sentiment in Alaska is
strongly in favor of drilling in the Arctic wildlife preserve.
    As a result of oil revenue generated in the state, residents pay no
income tax and each receives an annual dividend from a state-owned trust
funded with oil money.
Last year's dividend was $1,963.86.
- - -
No comment.

Finally, just thought I'd share with you a note I sent to an activist who
wrote concerned about saving "ANWAR". I have told the essence of this to
many folks, but perhaps not written it down before:

There is one more small but key thing we are asking of activists: (Doug
Scott first vigorously taught us this in the '80s when he was Sierra Club
conservation director):

There's a lot in a name.   Please no one refer to the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge or any part of it as ANWR or ANWAR.

Not ever.  This "neutral" term was created by the oil industry to take all
the emotional impact out of discussions of drilling the subject area:  our
mentions of it should always emphasize forecefully, fully and individually
the vital key words in the name of the place and thus their associated
emotional value--

ARCTIC -- remote, far from us, pristine, wild  -- maybe even mysterious
NATIONAL - belongs to all of us
WILDLIFE - for the critters
REFUGE - they're supposed to be safe there, damn it.

Thanks for caring about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Vicky Hoover
Alaska Task Force
415-977-5527
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