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BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT (BLM)

It is our hope that the Obama administration will soon take decisive actions to protect Bristol Bay. The administration has acknowledged that the wild salmon fisheries of Bristol Bay are unique and contain an irreplaceable global resource. While they have recognized that recommendations to allow mineral development on these lands should be postponed, we can not afford to wait on amending the existing plan in its current form.  By not taking action at this time, the door is left open for a future pro-development administration to implement this flawed plan.  Please consider sending a letter to BLM Director, Bob Abbey or Click here to tell Secretary Salazar to create responsible management for public lands and our wild fisheries.



Alpine Adventures Owner Dan Oberlatz, Alaska Wilderness League's Jeremiah Millen, National Parks Conservation Association’s Melissa Blair and Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE



  • EPA Announces Environmental Justice Video Contest: Faces of the Grassroots

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is sponsoring an environmental justice video contest that challenges amateur and professional filmmakers to create videos that capture the faces of the environmental justice movement. The Faces of the Grassroots contest is an opportunity to publicly exhibit creativity, environmental justice stories, and connect with others working to raise awareness of the movement.

    “Faces of the Grassroots will help EPA expand the conversation on environmentalism and work for environmental justice,” said Charles Lee, director of the Office of Environmental Justice. “Participants can make a difference for the historically underrepresented in their community by using motion pictures to show the struggles and triumphs they have endured to advance environmental justice.”

    Videos can focus on any environmental justice activity, issue, or topic. Examples would be a music video about climate change, or a video recording a successful environmental justice project that has made a community a healthier and happier place to live.

    Awards will be given to the winning submissions in each category. The videos will also be featured on EPA's website and may be used as public service announcements. Entries must be received by 11:59pm EST on Thursday, April 8th, 2010. EPA will announce winners in honor of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day.  Click here for more information.

  • ARTICLE: Native hunting rights argued in Pt. Hope caribou trials
  • ARTICLE: Barrow, Alaska: Ground zero for climate change
  • ARTICLE: A letter to my people: Oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean
  • ARTICLE: Faith leaders speak up for Clean Air Act

TONGASS NATIONAL FOREST

We oppose the “Sealaska bill” (S. 881) which 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.

  •  ACTION: Tell your senators to stop the "Sealaska bill!"
  • UPDATE: Right now there is a tentative hearing set on the Sealaska bill in the House Natural Resources Committee on March 17th.   There will be a full committee heading in the House, but will not vote at this time.  There may soon be a vote in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee sometime in March. 


 Alaskans Visit Capitol Hill to Voice Concerns over S. 881

(Pictured from left to right: Davey Lubin, Johnnie Laird, Scott Newman)

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. Over the coming months we will be working to ensure these areas are not included an oil and gas lease sale planned for August 2010.