Wilderness Bill:

The Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness Bill (HR 139) has been introduced again this session – and already we have many Champs to thank! This bill has the same language and bill number as last session, and will provide permanent Wilderness protection for the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Please send a short note to your Representative (if in this group) to thank them for once again co-sponsoring permanent protection for the Refuge:

MN – Congresswoman McCollum (MN-04), Congressman Ellison (MN-05), Congressman Nolan (MN-08)

IA – Congressman Braley (IA-01), Congressman Loebsack (IA-02)

Contact your member of congress and ask them to please co-sponsor this important legislation.

Arctic Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced earlier this year that he would be stepping down and returning home to Colorado. The Arctic Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) was not finalized before he left, so along with our partners, Alaska Wilderness League will continue to contact the new Secretary, Sally Jewell, to ask her to finalize this important plan for our nation’s wilderness icon.

Recently 13 CEOs of conservation groups, including: Alaska Wilderness League, National Audubon Society, Defenders of Wildlife, Environment America, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, League of Conservation Voters, Native American Rights Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, Ocean Conservancy, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Sierra Club and The Wilderness Society sent a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell moments after she was sworn into office to encourage her to finalize the overdue Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as one of her first acts in office.

After more than three years of work by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska and Washington, DC, a CCP for the Arctic Refuge is nearly complete, and signers to the letter urged Jewell to get it over the finish line.

On Wednesday, April 17, Alaska Wilderness League activists from across the country alongside a menagerie of Arctic animal mascots welcomed Interior Secretary Jewell to Washington, DC. They delivered the letter in person along with comments from 125,000 people that urged her predecessor to get the job done.


Continuing work to keep Arctic development free

Alaska Wilderness League along with the groups listed below have been mobilizing and organizing activists online and offline to add their names to the push to protect the Arctic Ocean from Shell and other Big Oil companies – and the momentum is working, as Shell has already cancelled plans to drill this year after 12 months of errors, mishaps, and near-disasters, and Conoco Phillips has cancelled plans to begin to pursue Arctic drilling.

An oil spill in the Arctic Ocean could devastate human and wildlife communities alike. President Obama cannot allow drilling in the Arctic Ocean. Shell’s long list of setbacks and failures – coupled with the extreme risk for oil spills and further climate destruction in an already fragile ecosystem – provides overwhelming evidence that the oil and gas industry is not prepared to operate safely in the Arctic Ocean. President Obama should prioritize protecting the Arctic as part of his climate legacy and not approve any further offshore drilling in the region.

Alaska Wilderness League has called on President Obama to begin his climate legacy by saying no to Arctic Ocean drilling. You can add your name to our petition here: http://act.alaskawild.org/sign/Climate_Legacy/

The Coalition Released the Following Statement:

“For hundreds of thousands of Americans, seeing Shell’s drilling rig run aground in the harsh Arctic weather last December was the last straw. The outpouring of action since then is a loud and clear signal that President Obama should suspend all risky and dangerous drilling activities in the Arctic Ocean.

In one year, one of Shell’s ships caught fire, rigs lost control, ran aground, and became the subject of criminal investigations, proving time and time again companies are not prepared for the Arctic. On March 14, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar admitted that ‘Shell screwed up’ and announced it would not be allowed back into the Arctic without major changes. The nearly 2 million Americans who have spoken up recognize that if the largest and wealthiest company in the world cannot figure out how to drill safely in the Arctic, all of this risky and dangerous drilling should be put on hold immediately.

Now, it’s time the Obama administration recognizes the same thing and reflects it in policy. The administration should not make any new decisions until it has completed a more thorough review of all drilling operations in the Arctic, implemented the most rigorous standards and determined whether and under what conditions to allow offshore drilling. As nominee for Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell should prioritize these challenges, and make sure that the Interior Department does not make the same mistakes again, acting immediately to put a pause in the Arctic until this in-depth review is complete.

The threat to America’s Arctic from drilling doesn't just stop at spills and disasters, and the destruction of one of our most pristine places. Dredging up more dirty fuels and then burning them into our atmosphere is a one-two punch for America’s Arctic, destroying one of our most pristine places and making the climate crisis that is melting the region even worse. The administration can’t build a climate change legacy while drilling in the Arctic Ocean.

In one year, Shell proved beyond a doubt that no Big Oil company is prepared to drill in the Arctic and the potential threats this destructive practice would pose are numerous. But, if the Obama administration needed another reason to rethink the United States’ Arctic Ocean drilling program, they now have nearly 2 million more of them.”

The coalition is made up of the following organizations:

Sierra Club – Alaska Wilderness League – Center for Biological Diversity – Friends of the Earth – Greenpeace – Earthjustice – National Audubon Society – Natural Resources Defense Council – The Wilderness Society – League of Conservation Voters – CREDO

Shell Fails in 2012

Shell began 2012 by stating that they were ready to drill for oil in America’s Arctic Ocean. On New Year’s Eve, Shell’s promises rang false yet again — with an exclamation point to end its series of failures in 2012 – the “Kulluk” drill rig ran aground near Kodiak Island in a ferocious Gulf of Alaska storm. 

In 2012, Shell’s failures included:

• Losing control of both of its drill rigs – the “Discoverer” slipped an anchor in Dutch Harbor, AK this summer, and just recently the “Kulluk” ran aground near Kodiak Island, AK.
• Backtracking on its promises by failing to meet Clean Air Act standards and its stated ability to clean up 95 percent of oil spilled saying instead that it meant it would merely encounter (not recover) 95 percent.
• Failing to meet Coast Guard standards for its oil spill response barge, which had four illegal fluid spills while still in port in Washington state and its oil spill containment dome was “crushed like a beer can” during testing in the relatively calm waters there.
• Abandoning its drilling site in less than 24 hours when an ice sheet larger than the combined five boroughs of New York City barreled down on its location and at the end of the drilling season, the “Kulluk” got stuck for nearly a week by frigid temperatures and ice trying to leave the Arctic.

Sign Alaska Wilderness's petition to President Obama asking him to not allow Shell to drill in America's Arctic Ocean.  

UPDATE:  September 17, 2012

Shell Abandons Plans to Drill in the Arctic this Year: Oil Giant Still Ill-Equipped to Handle Extreme Arctic Conditions

Washington, DC -- Royal Dutch Shell has announced that it will not move forward with plans to drill for oil in the Arctic's Beaufort and Chukchi Seas this year. Known as the Polar Bear Seas, these waters are home to the entire US population of polar bears and serve as an important migration route for bowhead and beluga whales. They are also home to some of the most extreme and dangerous conditions on the planet, making drilling a risky proposition.

In response Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune issued the following statement:

"Shell's announcement is recognition of what we've been saying all along-the company cannot safely drill in our Arctic waters. Shell's disturbing trend of failing to meet safety and pollution requirements comes against a backdrop of shifting ice floes and other reminders of the dangers and difficulty of drilling in the Arctic.

The extreme conditions of the Arctic have resulted in a delicate natural balance that has allowed wildlife and local communities to survive for generations. Oil drilling here could damage Arctic waters and wildlife for decades and end Alaska Natives' ancient subsistence way of life.

Realizing the dangers of drilling in this pristine and harsh environment, more than a million people have spoken out in opposition to Shell's drilling plans over the past months. The truth is that we don't need to open this irreplaceable area to drilling. Instead we should focus on making our cars cleaner and more efficient, expanding our transportation choices and investing in clean energy innovation.

The Polar Bear Seas, special places in the Western Arctic and the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge should be protected, not given away to Big Oil. "

  Shell Receives Approval to Start Arctic Drilling Prep Work

Royal Dutch Shell today received permission to begin preparations to drill in the Arctic’s Chukchi Sea despite the fact that its oil spill response vessel is not yet certified or in place.

In response Dan Ritzman, Sierra Club Arctic Program Director, issued the following statement.

“The reality is that we don’t know what Shell will encounter when they begin drilling to lay the groundwork for wells in the Polar Bear Seas. Allowing the company to move ahead without a vital piece of its oil spill response plan unnecessarily increases the risk to Arctic waters, wildlife and communities.

Shell’s inability to meet the safety and pollution requirements it agreed to presents a disturbing trend. The company must be held accountable at every step in the process. It should not be allowed to get a jumpstart on drilling or extend its drilling season simply because of poor preparation.”

Chill the Drills

Shell, one of the largest companies in the world, is preemptively suing the Sierra Club and other environmental groups for caring about the Arctic.

The oil giant has set its sights on the Polar Bear Seas, a sensitive and pristine habitat on Alaska's Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. Think the Arctic is worth saving? Send us your "So Sue Me" image and show Shell that we can't be intimidated.

More drilling in the Arctic won't lower gas prices, but it will extend our dependence on this dirty fuel. The real solution is so simple that you can state it in three little words.

The Bullying Congressman vs. Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

A hearing about drilling in the Arctic Refuge got pretty heated when Rep. Don Young (R-AK) called testimony about protecting the Arctic Refuge “garbage” and said that those who care about conserving this critical wild place were “elitists.” Professor Douglas Brinkley, an acclaimed historian and Arctic Refuge expert, stood up to a Congressional bully – you can watch their exchange here.

This has made pretty big news in Washington – which is great for the Arctic Refuge: The more people who see this video, the more people will understand the biggest threat to our nation’s greatest wilderness icon is Big Oil and their friends in Congress. Now, we’re hoping to get this out far and wide—and hopefully get this footage picked up by more key media outlets.

There are some places in this country that define what it means to be American—the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Alaska is one of those places. For the past 50 years, our country has remained committed to protecting one of our last wild places – and it’s great to see people stand up for those values in the halls of Congress!

The Arctic Ocean is one of the most productive, fragile, and least understood marine ecosystems in the world. Unfortunately, it is also one of the world’s most threatened marine environments. Made up of the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, America’s Arctic Ocean is facing accelerating and dramatic changes due to climate change, along with proposals for massive and risky oil and gas development.

A recent poll shows that a vast majority of Americans support commemorating the 50^th anniversary of the Refuge by granting it stronger protections. The poll showed that more than 60 percent of Americans would like to see the Arctic Refuge recognized at a level on par with other pristine landmarks such as the Grand Canyon, Muir Woods, and Yellowstone.

As Representative Markey, chairman of the twin energy committees in the U.S. Congress said, “The BP Deepwater Horizon spill of nearly 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico this summer was one of the worst environmental disasters in our nation’s history. The BP spill is a stark reminder that when it comes to oil drilling there is no such thing as ‘immaculate extraction.’ On the 50^th anniversary of the establishment of the Arctic Refuge, the time has come to grant this unique and pristine American treasure the strong protections that it deserves.”

Western Arctic/The Reserve

The National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska is one of Alaska’s best kept secrets and one of our nation’s greatest natural treasures. The administration and Congress must work to keep important habitat areas within the Reserve protected from destructive industrial development.

UPDATE:  According to the USGS, “The estimated volume of undiscovered oil is significantly lower than estimates released in 2002, owing primarily to recent exploration drilling that revealed an abrupt transition from oil to gas and reduced reservoir quality in the Alpine sandstone 15–20 miles west of the giant Alpine oil field. The National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA) has been the focus of oil exploration during the past decade, stimulated by the mid-1990s discovery of the adjacent Alpine field—the largest onshore oil discovery in the United States during the past 25 years. Recent activities in NPRA, including extensive 3–D seismic surveys, six Federal lease sales totaling more than $250 million in bonus bids, and completion of more than 30 exploration wells on Federal and Native lands, indicate in key formations more gas than oil and poorer reservoir quality than anticipated. In the absence of a gas pipeline from northern Alaska, exploration has waned and several petroleum companies have relinquished assets in the NPRA.”  For more see here

On July 21, 2010, a federal court judge in Alaska cancelled a Bush-era lease sale that opened critically important waters within the Arctic's Chukchi Sea to dangerous oil and gas drilling. The court agreed with Alaska Natives and Alaska Wilderness League that the federal government had failed to consider the environmental impacts of drilling on the fragile Arctic ecosystem before allowing oil companies to purchase leases.

As Caroline Cannon, president of the Native Village of Point Hope, an Inupiat Eskimo whaling community that survives off the bounty of the Chukchi Sea, told the Associated Press: "So little is known about our Arctic Ocean. Scientifically, they have not enough data. [It's] so good ... that the world has heard us, in a sense."

This ruling is the latest in a string of decisions showing that our nation's proposed Arctic drilling program is fundamentally flawed. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar must now take the time to gather crucial information about this unique, fragile marine environment and ensure that the Arctic remains a pristine, abundant place. As always, the League will keep you updated on opportunities to advocate for our one and only Arctic ecosystem.   Find out more.

UPDATE:  The Bureau of Ocean Energy, Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) in August 2011 released a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the Chukchi Sea Oil and Gas Lease Sale 193, held in February 2008. The Final SEIS provides additional environmental analysis that supplements the review originally completed as part of the planning for Lease Sale 193. Specifically, the Final SEIS addresses concerns raised by the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska in its July 21, 2010, decision remanding Lease Sale 193 back to the agency, incorporates additional public comment, and includes a new analysis of the environmental impacts of a hypothetical Very Large Oil Spill (VLOS) scenario.  Find out more.

Bristol Bay Home of Salmon, Gold and Copper

Alaska's Bristol Bay is a place of bounty and balance. It is blessed with more than half of all wild salmon in the world!

A report by the University of Washington reveals the intricacy of the ecosystem, embodied in its sustainable fishery: salmon populations have adapted to each individual stream that feeds Bristol Bay, their cycles of ebb and flow continually self-regulating the species. A truly natural blessing!

But, Bristol Bay also has an abundance of another kind: minerals. The proposed Pebble Mine development, if built, would be one of the world's largest gold and copper mines. Positioned near vital watersheds and salmon streams, Pebble Mine and other hard-rock mining threaten the natural balance here. Damaging even a few streams with toxic mining runoff would disrupt the natural diversity of the ecosystem, permanently upsetting this natural system.

Multiple species of wild salmon thrive in Bristol Bay and this natural abundance has fostered a truly remarkable natural resource. As salmon journey upstream to spawn in the nutrient rich waters, they replenish the streams with minerals from the ocean and fertilize the trees as feeding wildlife sow them about the forest. It is a truly balanced cycle.

These iconic salmon also yield vital human benefits, supporting local communities, subsistence cultures, world-class angling, recreational boating and fishing, and a healthy food source for the entire country!

Earlier in the year, the U.S. Department of the Interior rightfully prevented offshore drilling in the bay, calling it a "national treasure." But the toxic threat of hard-rock mining onshore still threatens to tip the balance. The Department's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) must do its part to protect Bristol Bay.

Tongass National Forest

The “Sealaska bill” (S. 881/H.R. 2099) would transfer to private ownership some of the richest and most biologically productive lands in the Tongass National Forest. These lands are targeted for clearcut logging, threatening the intricate ecosystem and its small forest-dependent communities and thriving local industries. This bill has sparked widespread controversy and may undermine the ongoing collaborative dialogue on the future of the Tongass. The Sealaska bill only serves to reaffirm the old, divisive way of doing business. Any congressional action on the Tongass must include the strongest protections possible for valuable, intact old-growth and restore important fish and wildlife habitat damaged by past logging.  

UPDATE: U.S. Forest Service’s Implementation of a New Program of Work for the Tongass National Forest - Alaska Wilderness League commends the U.S. Forest Service for taking a strong, first step to advance a new vision of forest management in the Tongass National Forest. With the release of the 5-year project schedule, the Forest Service has made a substantive shift away from an unsustainable reliance on old-growth logging to a more comprehensive and balanced program of work. The updated program of work emphasizes managing the forest to conserve important fish and wildlife habitat, promotes job opportunities, and enhances the sustainability of our southeast Alaska communities.

The Tongass contains some of the best fish, wildlife, water, and forest resources in the country. By conserving fish and wildlife habitat in undeveloped areas and restoring habitat in areas previously impacted by clearcut logging, the Forest Service is prudently managing resources for key regional assets such as commercial fishing, recreation, tourism, and traditional and customary uses.

Dispatches from the Last Frontier (from Alaska Wilderness League)

As the oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster began to reach the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska Native leaders traveled to the Gulf coast on a solidarity mission. The following is their story, as reported by Rosemary Ahtuangaruak.

We start our trip feeling a great burden to bear – this is not something we want to do but something we must do. Our regional tribal council requested that we tour the Gulf of Mexico and report back about the Deepwater Horizon exploratory well blowout. Our lands are in the Arctic, a harsh, cold, remote place, unforgiving to those who are unprepared. And our traditions and our culture – hunting, whaling and sharing – are dependent on the lands, waters and air.

Click here to continue reading about this solidarity mission.

Alaska Senators Lisa Murkowski (R) and Mark Begich (D) are proposing “directional drilling,” which really means they want to drill sideways into the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from other environmentally sensitive areas, including offshore platforms in the Polar Bear Seas. The Coast Guard counted an average of 90 oil spills per day in the United States last year. Take Action!  Tell Senators Tom Harkin (202-224-3254 D.C., 515-284-4574 Des Moines ) and Chuck Grassley (202-224-3744 D.C., 515-284-4890 Des Moines) to oppose “directional drilling" into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Contact Phyllis Mains pmains@juno.com or 641-445-6326 to get involved in Arctic Wilderness issues

Last updated 04.26.13

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A Refuge Trek

Phyllis Mains, a former Iowa Chapter ExCom member, recently backpacked the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  Read her story. 

Schedule an Arctic Presentation

Iowa Chapter member Phyllis Mains traveled to Alaska and hiked in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  You can see some of her magnificent photographs here...  Phyllis is also available to do presentations about the Arctic for your group.  For more information, contact Phyllis at pmains@juno.com.

Check out the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve on Google Earth

NOAA's Arctic Report Card: Update for 2009

Arctic Nations Link Polar Bear Survival to Climate Protection

America's Last Great Wilderness

Learn more about the Arctic Refuge here...

Polar Bear Distribution Maps