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ACTION ALERT: ATTENTION ANCHORAGE AREA FRIENDS OF ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE (2/9/19)

ACTION ALERT: ATTENTION ANCHORAGE AREA FRIENDS OF ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

Take time on Tuesday, February 11th to tell the Bureau of Land Management why the rushed and irredeemably flawed oil and gas leasing process needs to be stopped in its tracks!

The Bureau of Land Management will hold an OPEN HOUSE from 1 pm to 7 pm on Feb 11th at the Dena’ina Center, 600 W. 7th Ave. with information boards and subject matter experts available to provide information and answer questions one-on-one.

At 2 pm and 5 pm BLM will give a PRESENTATION providing an overview of the DEIS. Beginning at 1 pm, individuals wishing to provide PUBLIC TESTIMONY, may do so, with breaks occurring at 2pm and 5pm for the BLM presentation.  The microphone will be available on a FIRST COME FIRST SERVE basis. A court reporter will be available to capture these comments. There will also be a court reporter available if individuals wish to provide their testimony ONE-ON-ONE throughout the public meeting period.  Comment stations with computers will also be available if attendees would like to submit comments ELECTRONICALLY.

If you are unable to attend, you can submit comments on proposed Arctic Refuge leasing alternatives presented by the BLM  at blm.gov/alaska, or by mail to Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program EIS, 222 W. Seventh Ave., Stop #13, Anchorage, Alaska 99513. The deadline for comments was recently extended to March 13th.

YOUR COMMENTS

Be prepared to tell the BLM WHY the lease sale process needs to be stopped. Your comments might include:

  • Your assessment of the value of the Refuge, including its importance as one of America’s last wild places.
  • Your concerns regarding the leasing process. You might include:
    • The Administration’s failed promise to Americans that the permitting would include a robust, scientifically sound review process with public comment and full tribal consultation.
    • The BLM’s disregard for the serious biological, cultural, and climate impacts fossil fuel extraction will have in the rapidly-warming Arctic.
    • The DEIS’s unacceptable deficiencies in current information about the impacts of oil and gas on the Refuge’s irreplaceable ecosystem, wildlife, and the people who depend on those resources
  • Your specific concerns regarding species, ecosystem functions, the potential contributions of greenhouse gases to global climate change, etc.

The Bureau of Land Management’s website includes additional information on the leasing program, including the EIS.



Photo Credit: Peter Mather/Minden Pictures, via Getty




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Arctic National Wildlife Refuge UPDATE (2/7/19)

The Department of Interior continues its race permit oil and gas leasing on the 1.6 million acre coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. While 800,000 “nonessential” Federal employees were idled by the recent government shutdown, the Bureau of Land Management continued work to complete the Draft Environmental Statement (DEIS). However the news isn’t all bad as public comment deadline on the DEIS has been extended from February 11th to March 13th.

As part of the public comment period, BLM has launched a rushed round of public meetings. The format of these “open house” meetings (as reported by Alaska Public Media here) includes a slide presentation from the agency and opportunities for the attendees to provide testimony via computers and court reporters, DOES NOT include opportunities a forum for the public to speak out. Meetings have already occurred in Fairbanks, Kaktovik, Utqiagvik, and Fort Yukon.  Meetings are scheduled at Arctic Village (Saturday, Feb. 9), Venetie (Sunday, Feb 10), Anchorage (Monday, February 11), and in Washington DC (Wednesday, Feb 23).  Your attendance and participation in these meetings is important and valuable – in spite of the shortcomings of the meetings’ format and opportunities for public engagement.  More information about these meetings is available here.

If you are unable to attend, you can submit comments on proposed Arctic Refuge leasing alternatives presented by the BLM before March 13th at blm.gov/alaska, or by mail to Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program EIS, 222 W. Seventh Ave., Stop #13, Anchorage, Alaska 99513.

This comment period is the last opportunity for the public to wade in on the BLM’s rushed and highly flawed process. Your comments might include:

  • Your assessment of the value of the Refuge, including its importance as one of America’s last wild places.
  • Your concerns regarding the leasing process. You might include:
    • The Administration’s failed promise to Americans that the permitting would include a robust, scientifically sound review process with public comment and full tribal consultation.
    • The BLM’s disregard for the serious biological, cultural, and climate impacts fossil fuel extraction will have in the rapidly-warming Arctic.
    • The DEIS’s unacceptable deficiencies in current information about the impacts of oil and gas on the Refuge’s irreplaceable ecosystem, wildlife, and the people who depend on those resources
  • Your specific concerns regarding species, ecosystem functions, the potential contributions of greenhouse gases to global climate change, etc.

The Bureau of Land Management’s website includes additional information on the leasing program, including the EIS.

(photo credit: National Geographic)




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2019 – January Advocacy Report

Advocacy Update

by David Raskin, Friends Board President

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is under heavy attack by the Trump Administration!
 
The BLM released a Draft Environmental Statement (DEIS) for Oil Leasing in the Coastal Plain. Comments are due by February 11, 2019. (Click here)
 
This DEIS addresses only the leasing portion of this horrible plan. BLM plans to prepare an additional DEIS for on-the-ground activities and drilling that may occur following projected lease sales. Also, preparation of a separate BLM environmental assessment of potential impacts of seismic exploration on the Coastal Plain and wildlife is underway. We expect to see that soon and will keep people informed when that is released for what is expected to be a 30-day public comment period.

 

We are working with many organizations to prepare comments on the Oil Leasing DEIS, which should be in the preliminary draft later this month. In the meantime, organizations are preparing information and talking points that we will make available for individuals to prepare and submit their comments. It is crucial that large numbers of concerned citizens let the BLM know that desecrating the Arctic Refuge would be a major environmental and social disaster. Please check our website and your emails for notices and information that will be provided as they become available.

This is the most important battle ever waged to save the Arctic Refuge, its wildlife, and the Gwich’in way of life. We need your involvement and commitment. We need your help.




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Alaska Refuges, Friends, and the Public Suffer from Shut Down: What You Can Do

by Poppy Benson, Friends Outreach Coordinator

What on earth does “the wall” have to do with Tetlin’s lynx research project,  a school children’s Discovery Lab in Homer or a snowshoe walk in Kenai?  Well these programs and so much more are being held hostage to the budget fight in Washington.  The federal government shutdown, now in its third week, has shuttered all Alaska Refuge visitor centers and offices, canceled environmental education and public programs, postponed meetings and agreements, delayed hiring even of volunteers, postponed commenting on the Arctic Refuge oil leasing EIS, and postponed the start of winter biology projects such as the lynx project and moose counts. 

Only 21 employees in Alaska were deemed “essential” and they are working without pay mainly to protect facilities and carry out the shutdown.  All others have been sent home as the Fish & Wildlife Service, without a budget, has no authority to pay employees.  Two Friends events have already been cancelled due to the shutdown and several others are at risk.  We can’t meet with Refuge staff if they aren’t on the job.  Below is a list of some closures, cancellations and postponements that we know about.  It is hard to get information on the scope of the cancellations when there are no refuge staff available to talk to.  We also do not know if refuge wildlife and lands are suffering damage such as is reported for the Lower 48 National Parks and Refuges.  All lands remain open to public use but the public is warned they are on their own.

CLOSED:

  • Alaska Islands & Ocean Visitor Center, Homer (Alaska Maritime Refuge)
  • Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, Soldotna
  • Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, Kodiak
  • Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, Bethel
  • All Alaska Public Information Centers

CANCELED:

  • Friends Strategic Planning Workshop &  “Meet the Managers” events 
  • Environmental education programs – all Refuges

NOT MAINTAINED:

  • All Refuge Facebook pages, web pages and other social media communicating with the public.
  • Refuge trails, roads and cabins

AT RISK:

  • Friends Membership meeting on January 15.  Won’t have a speaker if shut down in effect.
  • Friends Discovery Trip to the Dolly Varden Cabin on the Kenai Refuge, February 1 – 3
  • Friends opening of the Coldfoot Visitor Center for aurora watchers, February 15 to April 15.  The issue here is whether or not the extensive background checks can be completed in time.
  • Yukon River Fishery Decisions – State Board of Fish Meeting son the Yukon & Kuskokwim finfish – January 15 – will be no Yukon Delta Refuge staff or FWS fisheries participation
  • Arctic Refuge comments on oil and gas leasing of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge – February 11
  • Alaska Marine Science Symposium January 28 – no FWS or NOAA participation if the shutdown continues.
  • The hiring of refuge summer seasonal staff and volunteers.
  • Winter biology projects.
  • Rural children’s Migratory Bird Calendar Contest
  • UAF Oral History Project planned for several Native communities

TAKE ACTION:

Contact our Congressional Delegation and the President and tell them to quit holding Alaska’s National Wildlife Refuges hostage over a budget fight.   Tell them:
this shut down is costing all of us taxpayers money and opportunities to enjoy our public lands, programs, and facilities; the impact of this shut down will extend well beyond a return to work as our hardworking refuge staffs will be hard put to make up for this time lost from the job; and it is a breach of faith to not pay employees especially those who are still required to work.

It doesn’t take but a minute to fill in the email forms on our delegations’ web pages:

Senator Lisa Murkowski

Senator Dan Sullivan

Representative Don Young

President Trump

Not from Alaska?  Find links to your representatives and updates on the shut down at the National Wildlife Refuge Association here.

 




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2018 Review: Friends Advocacy Initiatives

In 2018, we were confronted by many important threats to our National Wildlife Refuges and Parks in Alaska and the Nation. Friends are at the forefront of efforts to prevent the Administration from permanently damaging habitat and wildlife and giving away lands in national conservation units. Below are the major actions in which we have participated along with our many conservation partners.
 
Izembek Land Trade and Road    
Secretary Zinke and his staff undertook a series of secret negotiations that resulted in a land trade with those who have pushed for an unnecessary and costly road through the heart of the Izembek Wilderness. The Friends organization is the lead plaintiff along with eight other conservation organizations in the lawsuit filed in the Anchorage Federal District Court that challenges the proposed land trade and road. We are represented by Trustees for Alaska that has performed excellent legal work on behalf of the conservation organizations.   Everything has been submitted and argued, we and await a ruling by the Court on our motion for summary judgment.
 
Oil Drilling in the Arctic Coastal Plain

 The criticism continues concerning the DOI fast-track goal of completing a draft environmental statement (DEIS) for oil leasing in less than six months. The environmental assessment for the proposed seismic testing has not been issued by BLM but could occur very soon. For a summary of the potential risks and impacts from seismic activity, click on the Alaska Wilderness League fact sheet here. We expect that the potential environmental impacts of seismic exploration and lease sales will not be adequately addressed and documented, which would result in extensive litigation by national organizations and Friends challenging these proposed actions.
 
Predator Control
Friends and 14 other organizations intervened in the lawsuit by the State of Alaska and Safari Clubs International that challenged the National Park Service 2015 predator control regulations. The case was put on hold until December 10, 2018, because the Park Service was ordered by the DOI to issue revised regulations. We joined the other organizations in comments drafted by Trustees for Alaska opposing the revised regulations. We await the outcome of that process.
 
Kenai Revised Regulations
The USFWS is preparing revisions to the regulations regarding hunting and access in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. This revision was ordered by DOI to accommodate the long-standing efforts of the State of Alaska to dramatically increase hunting and motorized access on the Refuge. As with the similar DOI orders to the National Park Service, their plan is to eliminate long-standing protections to habitat and wildlife on national wildlife refuges. We expect that the Department of Interior will require the Refuge to accept the demands of the State to allow baiting of brown bears and off-road vehicle access during the winter, but expanded hunting in the Skilak Wildlife Recreation Area along the Skilak Loop Road may not be addressed until later. We are closely monitoring this process and working with our conservation partners to prevent or minimize these destructive regulations.
 
Hovercrafts on Navigable Waters
Together with the National Parks Conservation Association and other organizations, Friends entered an amicus brief in Sturgeon v. Masica in opposition to Sturgeon’s claim that, contrary to National Park Service regulations, he can operate his hovercraft on the navigable waters of Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve. After the Ninth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals denied his claim, the case was accepted by the U.S. Supreme Court, which has not yet issued its decision.

Alaska Native Veterans Land Allotment Equity Act
Senator Sullivan’s bill to amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act represents a major threat to federal conservation units in Alaska. It would revise provisions regarding land allotments for Alaska Native Vietnam veterans. Eligibility is expanded to include all Alaska Native veterans who served between August 5, 1964, and May 7, 1975. Allotments may be selected from vacant federal lands or lands that have been selected or conveyed to the State of Alaska or an Alaska Native corporation, if the State or corporation relinquishes or conveys the land to the United States for allotment. An heir of a deceased eligible veteran, regardless of the cause of death, may apply for and receive an allotment. We are following the progress of this legislation and hope that it will not become law.

On behalf of our Board of Directors, I wish you all a wonderful Holiday Season and a New Year filled with conservation victories against the forces of darkness!
by David Raskin, Friends Board President




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2018 October Advocacy Report

Oil Drilling in the Arctic Coastal Plain
The criticism continues concerning the DOI fast-track goal of completing a draft environmental statement (DEIS) for oil leasing in less than six months. The environmental assessment for the seismic testing has not been issued. For a summary of the potential risks and impacts from seismic click on the Alaska Wilderness League fact sheet here.

Izembek Land Trade and Road
DOI is moving forward with technical administrative items to advance the land exchange, including surveying the road corridor and material sites.  Notice of the survey was in Federal Register on Sept. 12th DOJ has confirmed that BLM is going to be republishing the FR Notice because it was confusion.  This will restart the clock on the 30 day review and protest period once it is republished.

The lawsuit challenging the proposed land trade and road through the heart of the Izembek wilderness is in the hands of the Anchorage Federal District Court as Trustees for Alaska performs excellent legal work on behalf of Friends and eight other conservation organizations who filed the lawsuit against the proposed land trade and road.  We await a ruling by the court on our motion for summary judgment. There was little new in the government brief, and we remain optimistic that we will prevail against this destructive, costly, and unnecessary project.

Kenai Revised Regulations
The USFWS is preparing revisions to the regulations regarding hunting in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. This revision was ordered by DOI to accommodate the long-standing efforts of the State of Alaska to dramatically increase hunting and motorized access on the Refuge. As with the similar DOI orders to the National Park Service, their plan is to eliminate long-standing protections of habitat and wildlife on national wildlife refuges. We expect that the Department of Interior will that the Refuge follow the demands of the State to allow baiting of brown bears, off-road vehicle access during the winter, expanded hunting in the Skilak Wildlife Recreation Area along the Skilak Loop Road. We are closely monitoring this process and working with our conservation partners to prevent or at least minimize these destructive regulations.

 

 




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September 2018 Advocacy Update

By Board President, David Raskin

Oil Drilling in the Arctic Coastal Plain
The criticism continues concerning the DOI fast-track goal of completing a draft environmental statement (DEIS) for oil leasing in less than six months. There are serious questions about the financial health, expertise, and independence of the contractor to whom BLM has granted a permit to conduct extensive seismic exploration on the Coastal Plain. Such operations would leave lasting scars on the tundra and destroy vegetation. Seismic testing also poses a risk to denning polar bears that are increasingly coming onshore in the Arctic Refuge to build their winter maternity dens. Even with the best technology, it is not possible to identify all denning sites. The vibrations from testing can and have caused female polar bears to abandon their cubs. For a summary of the potential risks and impacts from seismic click on the Alaska Wilderness League fact sheet here.
 
The Bureau of Land Management has yet to post the full seismic application, only a seven-page project proposal summary document. Seismic exploration could begin as soon as this December. The BLM claims that the impacts from seismic exploration are minimal and necessitate only a brief Environmental Assessment rather than a full Environmental Impact Statement. This rushed and potentially flawed process to assess the potential damage from seismic exploration and oil development continues to raise the specter of legal action by conservation organizations that would considerably delay the government’s frantic rush to develop oil in the Arctic Refuge.
 
Izembek Land Trade and Road
The lawsuit challenging the proposed land trade and road through the heart of the Izembek wilderness continues to work its way through the Anchorage Federal District Court as Trustees for Alaska performs excellent legal work on behalf of Friends and eight other conservation organizations who filed the lawsuit against the proposed land trade and road.  Trustees is preparing our reply to the Department of Justice reply brief that was filed August 22. There is little new in the government brief, and we remain optimistic that we will prevail against this destructive, costly, and unnecessary project.
 
Kenai Revised Regulations 
The USFWS is preparing revisions to the regulations regarding hunting in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. This revision was ordered by DOI to accommodate the long-standing efforts of the State of Alaska to dramatically increase hunting and motorized access on the Refuge. As with the similar DOI orders to the National Park Service, their plan is to eliminate long-standing protections of habitat and wildlife on national wildlife refuges. The State wants to authorize hunting of brown bears at bait stations, which has never been allowed on refuges, and expand hunting and access in other areas of the refuge that have been limited by extensive studies and public participation that resulted in the current regulations. We are closely monitoring this process and working with our conservation partners to prevent or at least minimize these destructive regulations.
 
Sturgeon v. Frost
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to rehear the Sturgeon lawsuit against the National Park Service that had prevented his continued operation of a hovercraft in a national park. This suit challenged the authority of the Park Service to regulate activities on navigable waters in the national parks, which has major implications for national wildlife refuges and other national conservation lands. We had joined an Amicus Brief submitted by Trustees for Alaska on behalf of 14 conservation organizations in support of the Park Service. The Sturgeon oral argument has been scheduled for Monday, November 5 in the Supreme Court.
 
There are no big changes in the government’s arguments, although there has been a change in the alignment of the amici.  The congressional delegation did not file this time, and the ANCSA corporations mostly dropped out, only Ahtna filed. We are in a strong position with the brief we had previously filed, which is being updated for resubmission.  The U.S. brief on behalf of the National Park Service will be filed on September 11.




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August 2018 Advocacy Update

August 2018 Advocacy Update
by Board President, David Raskin

Oil Drilling in the Arctic Coastal Plain

There has been considerable criticism of the DOI fast-track goal of completing a draft environmental statement (DEIS) in less than six months. We participated in a meeting of conservation organizations with the BLM staff that is implementing orders from DOI.  The scoping process has been completed and comments can be viewed online.

It appears that the independent contractor hired to prepare the Draft Environmental Statement (DEIS) will rely mostly on existing data and previous analyses, most of which are either incomplete or out of date. BLM was not forthcoming in response to our questions about the process and timing of actions. The Yukon government is launching its own study of drilling impacts in Alaska’s Arctic refuge. The Canadian territory is particularly concerned with potential impacts to the caribou herds who calve on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain and the Gwich’in people who depend on them for subsistence

In the meantime, BLM has accepted a permit to conduct extensive seismic exploration on the Coastal Plain. The BLM is working on an Environmental Assessment (EA) of the proposed activities, but they provided little information about the timing of its completion, if and when a public comment period will occur, and when a decision will be made on the need for a full environmental analysis. The potential damage from such activities is great, and lasting damage from previous seismic activities is described in this article:

This rushed and potentially flawed process to assess the potential damage from seismic exploration and oil development has raised widespread concerns that legal action by conservation organizations would cause considerable delays in government plans to develop oil in the Arctic Refuge.

Izembek Land Trade and Road

Under orders from DOI, the Fish and Wildlife Service granted a permit for survey work to delineate the boundaries of the lands in the Refuge that would be conveyed to build the road through the Izembek Wilderness. This legally-questionable survey that was hurriedly completed in July impacted wildlife and habitat with 80 helicopter landings and installation of 122 survey monuments. This intensive work with motorized equipment and aircraft was conducted within congressionally-designated wilderness in preparation for trading away vital public lands to a private entity to build the controversial road through the heart of the Izembek Wilderness.

The lawsuit challenging the proposed land trade and road through the heart of the Izembek wilderness is working its way through the Anchorage Federal District Court as Trustees for Alaska continues its excellent legal work on behalf of Friends and eight other conservation organizations who filed the lawsuit against the proposed land trade and road.  Our legal brief was filed, and the Department of Justice reply brief is due on August 22. We remain optimistic that we will prevail against this destructive, costly, and unnecessary project.

Sturgeon v. Frost

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to rehear the Sturgeon lawsuit against the National Park Service that had prevented his continued operation of a hovercraft in a national park. This suit challenged the authority of the Park Service to regulate activities on navigable waters in the national parks, which has major implications for national wildlife refuges and other national conservation lands. We had previously joined an Amicus Brief submitted by Trustees for Alaska on behalf of 14 conservation organizations in support of the Park Service. We reaffirmed our participation in this new round in the Supreme Court.




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July 2018 Advocacy Update

July 2018 Advocacy Update
by Board President, David Raskin and Board Member, Val Glooschenko

Oil Drilling in the Arctic Coastal Plain

The Department of Interior (DOI) has completed the scoping hearings for the proposed sale of oil leases in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In spite of many formal requests to have additional hearings to allow testimony from those were not allowed time to speak at the hearings, DOI refused to extend the hearings, and the June 19 deadline for comments has passed. Conservation organizations estimated that at least a half-million comments were submitted in opposition to the lease sale and there were organized demonstrations at several hearings. We thank all of our members who submitted comments.  The DOI fast-track goal of completing a draft environmental statement (DEIS) in less than six months seems unrealistic if it is intended to comply with federal law. Conservation organizations are closely monitoring this process and will respond appropriately.

Izembek Land Trade and Road

The lawsuit challenging the proposed land trade and road through the heart of the Izembek wilderness is working its way through the Anchorage Federal District Court as Trustees for Alaska continues its excellent legal work on behalf of Friends and eight other conservation organizations who filed the lawsuit against the proposed land trade and road.  Our legal brief is due on July 11, and the Department of Justice reply brief is due on August 22. We remain optimistic that we will prevail against this destructive, costly, and unnecessary project.

Of interest was a June 26 interchange between President Trump and Senator Murkowski during a meeting with senate Republican appropriators. Ms. Murkowski erroneously stated it is “a non-commercial road that we have been fighting about for 30 years,” although she has previously stated that the road is for economic development, and the language of her own legislation includes authorization for commercial transportation. President Trump replied that in the next couple of months the appropriations “will be complete and they can go ahead and build.” We have very different ideas!

Stop Alaska’s War on Wolves and Bears
by Val Glooschenko

The Department of the Interior has proposed allowing unethical hunting practices on lands managed by the National Park Service?In May 2018, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke directed the National Park Service to allow extreme hunting methods in Alaska’s national preserves, such as baiting brown bears, killing black bear mothers and cubs in dens, and killing wolves and pups by trapping during denning season.  It is also proposed to allow gunning down migrating caribou while they are swimming and baiting of bears with garbage or donuts.

This unethical attack on bears and wolves on represents a reversal of hunting regulations finalized in 2015 by the Park Service, banning these unsportsmanlike practices. The Park Service implemented its previous 2015 wildlife management regulations after an extensive, multi-year public engagement process in which more than 70,000 Americans spoke out against these shameful hunting methods. However under Ryan Zinke, the National Park Service is being asked to reverse its previous 2015 policy.  Zinke’s reversal, if implemented, would force the Park Service to surrender its authority to protect bears and wolves and return to these shameful and unethical practices

Under leadership of the National Park Conservation Association, a number of conservation organizations are working together to alert the public about this matter.  A strategy is being outlined to generate letters to the editor, opinion pieces, group letters and letters from individual Alaskans opposing the change in park regulations by the National Park Service.  This comment period ends on July 23.

Additional information on this matter is available from the following  websites provided by the National Parks Conservation Association and Defenders of Wildlife: .  

Concerns about the proposed new regulations can be submitted through the NPCA or the Defenders of Wildlife websites or sent directly to the address below: 

Andee Sears, Regional Law Enforcement Specialist, Alaska Regional Office, 240 West 5th Ave., Anchorage, AK 99501. Phone (907) 644-3410. Email: AKR_Regulations@nps.gov

Several sample letters follow:

From Members of the Public :

I am an Alaskan (personalize here if possible). Like so many of us, I came to Alaska partially for the opportunity to live in a place with bears and wolves in the wild. I am very disappointed that Secretary Zinke has proposed allowing the state to use extreme sport hunting methods like brown bear baiting to reduce predator populations on national preserves. Those lands were set aside to protect our resources for future generations, including balanced populations of predators and prey. Alaska will be worse off if our national parklands are treated like glorified game farms.

Hunter Letter:

 I am a hunter. It is an important part of Alaska culture.  And I am glad hunting is allowed on the 20 million acres of national preserves in Alaska.  But I don’t support extreme sport hunting measures like brown bear baiting, and I don’t support the state of Alaska’s efforts to reduce bear and wolf populations on national parklands.  That is not what our country’s national park lands are for. The National Park Service needs to stand strong and protect predators and balanced, healthy ecosystems for us and for our children.

Tourism Talking Points

  • Last year, 2.7 million people visited AK national parks and spent $1.3 billion in the state.
  • Those people come to see wildlife, particularly bears.
  • Seeing bears in the wild is a special experience that is transformative for so many visitors, and for so many Alaskans.
  • We need to make sure the Park Service can protect bears, wolves and balanced ecosystems so that visitors and Alaskans have a chance to experience iconic wildlife and so that our tourism economy continues to bring in money for Alaskans.






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