EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO CALL Sen. Charles Grassley 202-224-3744 D.C. or 515-284-4890 Des Moines and Sen. Tom Harkin 202-224-3254 D.C or 515-284-4574  Ask them to please sponsor this bill.  This will also let them know Iowans care about saving this area. Phyllis

HEADLINES
1) Arctic Refuge Wilderness Bill to be Introduced in the Senate
2) The First Voice of the Wild: Honoring Joel Connelly

Arctic Refuge Wilderness Bill to be Introduced in the Senate
In less than two weeks, Senator Lieberman (I-CT) will introduce a bill in the U.S. Senate that would permanently protect the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as Wilderness. This important legislation reflects similar legislation in the House of Representatives, H.R. 39, introduced by Representatives Ed Markey (D-MA) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN).

While similar bills have been introduced in the past, Sen. Lieberman’s introduction of the Arctic Refuge Wilderness bill marks the best opportunity in recent years to build momentum in the Senate towards protecting our last great wilderness. In the last Congress, 23 senators joined Sen. Lieberman in sponsoring the Arctic Wilderness legislation. This session, there is a good chance of exceeding that number.

Please take action and contact your senators. Urge them to cosponsor the Arctic Refuge Wilderness bill and help permanently protect our country’s last great wilderness.

Over the past year, the government has conducted in-depth research on America’s two polar bear populations, bringing much needed attention to the state of America’s Arctic. The United States Geological Survey recently released nine more reports on polar bears, detailing new projections about population size and habitat as a result of climate change. In light of this new information, the government is accepting additional comments from the public until October 22 about the United States Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposal to list the polar as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Please take action and submit a comment.

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