The Arctic is all around us. Every year, birds that begin their lives on the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge journey to all 50 states and across six continents, before heading back to the Arctic, where the cycle of life begins again. The Arctic is the origin of life for more than just birds – numerous species of mammals bear their young on this vast expanse of tundra including polar bears, caribou and more. As we mark the 50th anniversary of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (established by President Eisenhower December 6, 1960), we must do everything we can to be sure that this last wild haven remains for generations to come.
- ACTION: HR39 (Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness Act) – More than 90 cosponsors. Please check here to see if your representative has yet to cosponsor. If not, please encourage him/her to sign on now by clicking here!
- ACTION: S231 (Bill to designate a portion of the Arctic Refuge as wilderness) - Currently 25 cosponsors. If your Senator hasn't already done so, please encourage him/her to become a cosponsor.
- ACTION: Sign this petition asking President Obama to Protect America's Arctic.
- UPDATE: The National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 requires that a management plan is developed to explain, in detail, how a refuge will be managed for the following 15 years. This plan, called the Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP), is necessary to ensure that biological integrity, diversity and environmental health is maintained or restored on each refuge and within the nation’s refuge system as a whole. Every refuge in Alaska, including the Arctic Refuge, must finalize its CCP by 2012. This process is scheduled to begin within the next year. We will let you know when the Department of Interior has finalized dates for the public comment periods and scoping hearings will be held, which will give people a chance to express their support for wilderness in the Refuge.
- FREE VIDEO: Alaska Wilderness League has a new video about the Arctic Refuge, written and narrated by acclaimed author Terry Tempest Williams. If your organization would like a copy or would like to show it to folks, please email me at anna (at) alaskawild.org.
