The Minerals Management Service, which is a part of the Department of Interior, wants to lease huge swathes of Alaska’s offshore waters to the oil and gas industry. The MMS has developed a draft “5-Year Program” for the Outer Continental Shelf, which are the lands and waters that run from 3 to 200 miles off of America’s coast. While the draft Program covers all of the country’s offshore areas, it targets Alaska for a huge amount of drilling: roughly 50% of the areas slated for drilling nationwide are off Alaska. The fishery-rich Cook Inlet is on the chopping block, as are other significant areas in Alaska’s Bristol Bay, Beaufort Sea, and Chukchi Sea. Now your help is needed to protect Alaska’s bays, seas and ocean from these plans to drill for oil and gas. Sea lions, otters, walruses, and whales – along with Alaska’s world-class fisheries – are in serious danger from the proposals to open-up Alaska’s offshore areas to wide-scale drilling. Please tell the Department of Interior to back-off of Alaska’s incomparable oceans and change its plans to turn Alaska’s oceans into a giant oil field. The public comment period is closing next Friday, November 24, so please take action now. Look over our talking points below, and then click here to comment on the “5-Year Program” that threatens Alaska’s oceans. Afterwards, click here to comment on the draft Environmental Impact Statement, a document that is supposed to demonstrate that all scientific and local concerns have been adequately addressed. To ensure that the government receives these comments, consider printing them and mailing them to the addresses listed at the very bottom of this message. Thanks for helping keep Alaska wild. Sincerely, Cindy Shogan Executive Director Alaska Wilderness League www.AlaskaWild.org In your letter to MMS, please consider saying that: The North Aleutian Basin, the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas and the Lower Cook Inlet should be removed from the 5-Year Program, and Bristol Bay should continue to be protected through its Presidential Moratorium on exploration and drilling activities. The draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) does not: adequately include important scientific information respond to local community concerns address impacts on marine resources, wildlife, birds and fisheries Energy exploration and development threaten Alaska's sustainable ocean economies. The United States needs to develop an economically viable and rational energy plan. Nationally important fisheries are supported by the areas that are proposed for oil and gas activities. Nationally protected parks and refuges are near to proposed sale areas, including Katmai National Park, the Arctic National Wildlfe Refuge, the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area, the Lake Clark National Park, and the Kodiak, Becharof, Alaska Peninsula and Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuges. The Alaska ocean areas slated for energy development are migratory routes for Bowhead and Beluga Whales, while the Bering Sea region supports the last 100 Pacific Right Whales. Gray, Humpback, Fin, Minke and Orca whales use the Bering Sea and Lower Cook Inlet, and there are increasing sightings of these whales in the Chukchi. In addition, these areas provide habitat for other birds and animals, including Stellar sea lions, sea otters, several types of seals and a host of bird species. The world's larges clam beds are in the Chukchi Sea. People whole lives depend upon a clean and healthy ocean could be severely impacted by oil and gas developmentand exploration. The draft EIS and 5-Year program dramatically downplay the risk of oil spills and damages. Yet it would be impossible for industry to clean up oil spills in these Alaska waters, which are known for their harsh climates and weather, and are covered in ice for much of the year. For the draft Environmental Impact Statement: James F. Bennett 5-Year Draft EIS Comments 381 Elden Street, MS 4042 Herndon, VA 20170 For the proposed 5-Year Program: Renee Orr 5-Year Program Manager 381 Elden Street, MS 4010 Herndon, VA 20170 If you no longer wish to receive - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubsribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask] Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp