From Vick Hoover, Sierra Club Staff, working on Arctic Refuge. Phyllis We don't know all that much about how Colorado Senator Ken Salzar will be for our public lands as new Secretary of the Interior, but here is his statement on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge , when he first signed on to the Arctic wilderness bill: As he pointed out: "we must commit ourselves to recognize some areas as ‘off limits,’ and the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve is a national symbol of that commitment." Right he is. And, why not send a holiday message to your own senators, if they have any pro-enviroment record at all, and mention that the new Congress, starting in January, could be a good time to finally promote real, permanent wilderness protection for the Arctic Refuge -- ask them to consider becoming a Senate champion for Arctic Wilderness... Protection for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge's coastal plain looms so important for Sierra Club that we now have a full-time organizer on staff just to work on the Arctic Refuge--this is Kit McGurn, based in Seattle; keep Kit's name in mind because you'll be getting a message from Kit very early in the new year... Salazar has co-sponsored the Arctic Refuge Wilderness Bill since he got into the US Senate. His record on the environment may not be stellar but he's been challenged to hold on to a seat in a state where democrats have to be like Alaska democrats to keep getting elected. We hope he will be a stronger conservationist in his appointed position. Below is his statement on the Arctic Refuge from 2005 (And below that, see links to two NY Times articles about him.): ____________________________________________________________ Stuck in a dead end job?? Click to start living your dreams by earning an online degree. http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/PnY6rw2kE7OqHaiemvmsihENvyPUQTrxwQzbQgVjhPRl2flU1iwpz/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe 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