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alaska report

VOLUME 33 | NUMBER 4 | dEcEMBER 2007

Teshekpuk Lake drilling planned in the Western Arctic

December 2007 | �

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Public overwhelmingly says, “NO!”

SierraClubactivistsrespondedtotheNovember6deadline for theDepartmentof Interior’spubliccommentperiod for its latest supplemental environment impactstatement on leasing the sensitive wetlands surround-ingTeshekpuk Lake, a Special Area in the western Arctic’sNationalPetroleumReserve-Alaska(NPRA).Thecourt-man-datednewdocumentresultedfromadistrictcourt’srejec-tion of the previous plan for this environmentally impor-tantareaforcaribouandwaterfowlinAlaska’sArctic.

As of the deadline the Bureau of Land Manage-ment (BLM ) had received around 150,000 comments onits plan to lease in this fragile area.This new outpouringcameclosetoayearaftertheBLMhadreceivedmorethan200,000 public comments opposing its initial oil and gasplansfortheTeshekpukLake--orT-Lake--area.Commentsfrom Alaska Natives, sportsmen, environmental groupsand the public challenged the agency's failure to providean adequate quantitative assessment of the cumulativeeffects of oil and gas development or to account for rel-evanteffectsofclimatechanges.

The Teshekpuk Lake region is the only part ofthe Northeast Planning Area of the National PetroleumReserve-Alaskathat–fornow–remainsclosedtodrilling.Four Presidents and their Secretaries of the Interior haverecognized the importance of this wildlife area and actedtoprotectit.ThewetlandsaroundTeshekpukLakeprovidecritical molting habitat for up to one-third of all brant (amarinegoose) inthePacificFlyway. The45,000-headTes-hekpuk Lake caribou herd bears its calves and seeks relieffrominsectsnearby.

“Drilling atTeshekpuk Lake would destroy habitatimportant for waterfowl that are hunted in every state fromthe MississippiValley west to the Pacific Ocean,” said SierraClubsportsmen’sorganizerJonSchwedler. “Thisplace is too

importanttowildlifetothrowtotheoilindustry.” Sierra Club has not opposed leasing in most of

the vast 23-million acreN a t i o n a l Pe t r o l e u mReserve-Alaska, but hasinsisted on keeping theidentified“Special Areas”in the NPRA closed todevelopment. TheseincludeTeshekpuk Lake,the Colville River water-shed, Kasegaluk Lagoon,andtheUtukokRiverUplands.(seemap,page2)

Just a little more than a year ago, the U.S. DistrictCourt of Alaska struck down the first Interior plan to sell oiland gas leases on more than 400,000 acres around the lake.Thejudgefoundthattheenvironmentalanalysisviolatedfed-eral lawsby failingtoconsider thecumulativeenvironmentalimpact of widespread oil and gas drilling in the reserve andacrosstheNorthSlope.(Seealaska report, Jan07,Mar06,Jul04,Feb03andearlier.)Nevertheless,theagencycontinuestopursue oil and gas leasing of this sensitive and pristine area.Approximately3.8millionacresoftheNPRAhasalreadybeenleasedtotheoilandgasindustry.

RosemaryAhtuangaruak, formermayorofthecityofNuiqsut,commented,“Humanhealtheffects fromoilandgasdevelopmentcontinuetorisewithhighernumbersofasthma-related illnesses occurring in my village of Nuiqsut, just fourmiles from the Alpine oil fields ” Ahtuangaruak is a commu-nityhealth-carepractitionerandboardmemberoftheInupiatCommunityofArcticSlope.

The BLM did not select a preferred alternative in itsAugust20SupplementalEIS.Asaresult,thereisnowayto --continued next page

BlackbrantatT-Lake

� | alaska report

--continued from page 1Teshekpuk Lake leasingknow how and when the agency plans to proceed with

its plans forTeshekpuk Lake. Whatever happens, this regionremainsamajorconcernforSierraClubanditspartnersintheenvironmental community. We’ll follow plans and activitiescloselyandalertourmemberstothenextopportunitytohelp

protecttheWesternArctic’soutstandingwildlifehabitat.w --TrishRolfe

Juneau Road boondoggle

Update and call for Action

In early November Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s officeissuedastatementurgingAlaskans tocontact their legisla-torstosupportfundingaJuneauRoad.InresponsetotheGovernor’srecentdecisiontosupportthiscostlypetprojectof her predecessor former governor Frank Murkowski, theAlaskaChapterurgeditsmemberstoasktheirstatelegisla-torsandthegovernor tostopthissenselessMurkowski-eraboondoggle,whichSierraClubhasopposedfromthestart.

Why does the Sierra Club oppose a Juneau road?

**--Need:The proposed Juneau Road is not needed.SoutheastAlaskacommunitiesarewellservedbytheirspe-cial“road”—the Alaska Marine Highway System—the stateferriesthatplybackandforththroughtheinlandwaterwaysof Southeast.The new fast ferry, the m/v Fairweather, hashalved the time it takes to travel the Lynn Canal betweenJuneau,Skagway,andHaines.

**--Opposition: The proposed Juneau Road is unwant-ed by the local communities. Haines and Skagway havepassed resolutions opposing the road. Juneau also optedforimprovedferryaccessovertheproposedroad.

**--Safety: TheproposedJuneauRoadisunsafe. Ifbuilt,the proposed 51-mile road would be one of the most dan-gerous roads in America, crossing more than 60 avalanchechuteswhilewindingalongtheeastsideofLynnCanal--oneoftheworld’sdeepestfjords--fromjustnorthofJuneautotheKatzehin River. A geological report issued this past summerlisted a total of 112 geological hazards along the road’s route.The report identified 38 recently active rockfall and landslidehazardswithenoughrockmassthattheyhavethepotentialtoclosethehighwayforweeks.

**--Threats:TheproposedJuneauRoadthreatensCongres-sionally protected wild areas in famed Berners Bay just northofJuneau. Itwouldcarvearoadintothelargestroadlessareainthenational forestsystemandcut throughtheheartof theproductiveestuariesattheheadofthebay--estuariesinhabitedby sea lions, wolves, bear, moose, whales, thousands of baldeagles,andtensofthousandsofgulls.

**--Cost: The proposed Juneau road is costly:The Depart-ment ofTransportation’s updated cost estimate is now $374millionplus4to5percentannualinflationforeachyearofcon-structiondelay. Theproject isanticipatedtostart in2008andnot be completed until 2020. The road would almost surelycostevenmorethanthecurrenthighestimates;atpresent,thedepartment doesn’t know how much the road will ultimatelycostbecausethegeotechnicalinformationisincomplete.

**-- Priority: Instead of funding an exorbitant and danger-ous road, dwindling transportation funds should be spent onfixingexistinginfrastructure,includingtheAlaskaMarineHigh-way, and making needed safety improvements on hazardousAlaskaroadssuchastheSewardandGlenallenHighways.

**--Use:TheproposedJuneauroadwouldhavevery lowtrafficvolume.Itwouldstilltaketwodaysofwinterdriving,twointernationalbordercrossings(intoandoutofCanada)and a ferry ride to get to Juneau from Anchorage or Fair-banks--exploding the myth that direct road access would beprovidedtothecapital.

e WHAT YOU cAN dO:

EVEN if YOU dON’T LiVE iN ALAskA, pLEAsE TAkE THE TiME TO

cALL GOVERNOR pALiN ANd VOicE YOUR OppOsiTiON TO THE

JUNEAU ROAd. TELL HER THAT, As A fUTURE VisiTOR TO ALAskA,

YOU pREfER THE UNiqUE cONVENiENcE Of A WELL-dEsiGNEd

fERRY sYsTEM iN sOUTHEAsT ALAskA TO A dANGEROUs ROAd

WHicH WiLL LEAVE A scAR dOWN LYNN cANAL. Write tO:

ALAskA GOVERNOR sARAH pALiN

p.O. BOx 110001, JUNEAU, Ak 99801-0001,

pHONE (907 465-3500; EMAiL: GOVERNOR@GOV.sTATE.Ak.Us

iN AlAskA, pLEAsE VOicE YOUR OppOsiTiON TO THE GOVERNOR,

ANd ALsO TO YOUR sTATE REpREsENTATiVE ANd sENATOR. Ask

THEM TO REdiREcT fUNdiNG sO THAT ALAskA’s ExisTiNG ROAds

GET THE MAiNTENANcE ATTENTiON THEY dEsERVE. w

For more information, contact Sara Chapell, Alaska Chapter,(907)766-3204;<schapell@aptalaska.net

AballotinitiativehasqualifiedfortheAugust,2008ballot in Alaska that seeks, for the third time, to end aerialshooting of wolves and bears, the primary method used inthestate’s“predatorcontrol”programsadministeredby theAlaskaDepartmentofFishandGame(ADFG).Alaskacitizenshavetwicevotedtorestrictthepracticeofaerialshootingofwolves--firstin1996andagainin2000.Bothtimes,thestatelegislature overturned the people's mandate and allowedthepracticetocontinue.

Nearly500wolveshavebeenshotbypermittees inprivateaircraftoverthepastfewyearssincethestate’sBoardofGame, (BoG)newlyappointed in2003bythen-GovernorFrankMurkowski,reinstatedacontroversialpredatorcontrolprogram.Sloweddownbrieflybyalegalchallenge,thispro-gramreallygotgoinginfullforceinwinterof2006.

Atitsmostrecentquarterlymeeting,inmid-Novem-ber, the BoG released details of a new“public education”campaigndesignedtopromotethestate’spredatorcontrolprograms.The controversial campaign will be funded by$400,000 of public money, approved by Alaska GovernorSarah Palin and the state legislature. Pro-wolf advocatesviewsuchpropagandauseofpublicfundsasunethicaland-worrythatthestate’s“education”campaignistimedtoinflu-enceAlaskavotersbefore theygo to thepollsnextAugusttodecidewhethertoendtheaerialshootingofwolvesandbearsbyprivatehuntersundertheguiseofpredatorcontrol.

TheSierraClub’sAlaskaChaptervigorouslysupport-edthepasttwoballotmeasuresagainstaerialwolf“control”,both through volunteer efforts and financial help; and willadvocatefornextyear’smeasureinthesameway.

Background

Numerous scientific studies show that wolves arebeneficial to the overall health of natural ecosystems.Theyhelp keep Alaska’s moose and caribou populations healthyandstrong. Wolf viewing isalso important toAlaska’sbillion-dollartourismindustry.

Alaska contends its current aerial shooting programconstitutes legitimate wildlife management with the goal ofboosting wild moose and caribou populations. This artificialgoalhasdrawnseriouscriticismfromthescientificcommunity.

In late September nearly 200 scientists from aroundthe country, including in Alaska, signed a letter sent to AlaskaGov.SarahPalin:Theletterstated,“WeurgetheStateofAlaskatoconsidertheecologicalrolethatlargepredatorsplayinpre-ventingeruptionsandcrashes[ofpreypopulations]andtocon-sider conservation and preservation of predators on an equalbasis with the goal of producing more ungulates for hunters.”Inaddition, thescientistspointedout,“Weareconcernedthatobjectives were often based on unattainable, unsustainablehistoricallyhighpopulations.Accuratedeterminationofhabitatcarrying capacity was seldom considered. The net result is to

December 2007 | 3

Help stop Alaska’s state-sponsored wolf massacreperpetually chase unattainable objectives with inadequatelydesigned predator control programs that risk long-term sus-tainability of ungulate habitat integrity and sustainability ofreasonablepredatorpopulations.”

Alaskaistheonlystatewhichallowsprivatehunterstouseplanestoshootwolvesandassistinshootingbears.State-licensed marksmen can target entire packs. Last year alone,nearly 100 wolves were slaughtered from the skies—eventhoughthestatefellfarshortoftheirgoals.Thisyear,thestate,anxious to make up for last year, could target hundreds morewolves.

(alaska report has followed the subject of wolf killingunder the“predator control” flag for many years, in more articlesthanwecaneasilyreferyouto:checkoutDec03,May00,Aug99,tostartwith,thenbacktoJuneandDec95,June,SeptandDec94,Sept and Dec. 93, March and Dec 92, March 90, March, June andDec.89,AprilandDec.88,andsoon….)

Protect America’s Wildlife (PAW) Act would help wolves

In September, Rep. George Miller (D-CA7) took a criticalfirststeptowardendingtheuseofaircrafttokillAlaskawolvesand bears when he introduced the“Protect America’sWildlife(PAW)Act.”

T h e a c twould close aloophole in theAirborne Hunt-ing Act, whichAlaska legisla-torsandofficialshave exploitedto permit pri-v a t e h u n t e r sto use planesto hunt, harassand kill wolvesandbears.Insomeareasofthestate,“landandshoot”canalsobe to kill grizzly bears and black bears. Aerial shooting is notonlyaseriousethicalconcernbutalsoagrowingnationalissue.Congress recognized this when it passed the federal AirborneHuntingActtostopthepractice.

--VickyHoover

e WHAT YOU cAN dO:

** URGE YOUR cONGREssiONAL REpREsENTATiVE TO sUp-pORT REp. GEORGE MiLLER’s “pAW” (pROTEcT AMERicA’s WiLdLifE AcT—HR 3663.) ** URGE THE BUsH AdMiNisTRATiON TO ENfORcE THE AiRBORNE HUNTiNG AcT (THEiR fAiLURE HAs ALLOWEd ALAskA TO UsE A LOOpHOLE TO LET pRiVATE GUNNERs kiLL

WOLVEs fROM THE AiR.) w

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Delegation ploy would toss out Wilderness

Inyetanotherlegislativeefforttostrikeablowatdes-ignated wilderness in southwestern Alaska’s Izembek NationalWildlifeRefuge,Alaska’sCongressionaldelegationseeksalandexchangebetweenfederalwildernessandstatelands.

For many years, the delegation has tried variousmaneuverstogetaroadconstructedacrossaportionofIzem-bekWilderness.Theirstatedgoalistofacilitatemedicalevacu-ationbyresidentsofthesmallNativecommunityofKingCovetoreachtheairportatthenearbycommunityofColdBay.(seealaska report, DecandSep03,Dec,SepandMay01,NovandJan99,Oct98,Sep97)

Although1998earlierlegislationslightlyextendedtheroadandfundedahovercraftferrytoimproveKingCovetrans-portation, the delegation has renewed its attack in the 110thCongress. The delegation’s bill (HR 2801 and S 1680) wouldgranttheIzembekRefuge61,000acresofStateofAlaskalandsinexchangefor206acresofcriticalwildlifehabitatandwilder-ness. Thestate landsproposedforexchangearemostlyunre-lated,non-comparablehabitat.

Thisanti-wildernessIzembekroadbillreceivedahear-ingOct.31intheHouseNaturalResourcesCommittee.

At the hearing, US Fish & Wildlife Service DirectorDale Hall testified that he supported the land exchange if anEnvironmental Impact Statement was prepared; this reversesagency policy of more than a decade. His surprising supporthadnobasisinscience.

The hearing testimony of the environmental coalitionopposingthelandexchange,includingtheSierraClub,empha-sizedtheclearproblemswithsuchaproposal:

• The proposed road is not needed. TheAlaskadelega-tionclaimstheroadisnecessarytoaddressthetransportation,health, and safety needs of King Cove. In fact, Congress metthose needs by the 1998 King Cove Health and Safety Act,which provided $37.5 million to upgrade King Cove’s medicalfacilities, purchase a hovercraft to provide regular ferry andemergency medical service between King Cove and Cold Bay,construct new marine terminals, and build an unpaved roadbetweenKingCoveandthemarineterminal. This law specifi-cally prohibited a road through izembek’s federally protected Wilderness. Unsatisfied, Alaska’s legislators still push to over-turnCongress’explicitintenttoprotecttheRefuge.

• The hovercraft is working. Hovercraft service beganregular training runs in February 2007, and started full opera-tiononAugust7,2007. Byallaccounts,thehovercraftservicehasmeteverymedicalevacuationneedofKingCoveresidentssinceitbeganitsfirsttrainingruns--(15effectiveevacuations.)

• The land swap would sacrifice quality—206 acres of critical, internationally recognized wildlife habitat—for quantity. The 61,000 acres of proposed exchange land doesnot offer comparable protection or habitat for the importantwildlife species of the Izembek LagoonsComplex.

• A road is not compatible with purposes for which the Izembek Refuge was established: to conservewildlifeandtheirhabitats;tofulfilltheUnitedStates’ internationaltreatyobliga-tions(suchasthefourmigratorybirdtreatiesandtheConven-tion onWetlands of International Importance); to provide forcontinued subsistence by local residents; and to ensure waterqualityandquantitywithintherefuge.

• The wildlife values of Izembek National Wildlife Refuge are globally significant and should not be compromised.IzembekLagoonwasdesignatedasaWetlandof InternationalImportance under the Ramsar Convention in 1987, duringthe Reagan administration. The area is a globally ImportantBirdArea,aStateGameRefugeandpartoftheWesternHemi-sphereShorebirdReserveNetwork. A roadwouldposeseriousthreats tothevastwaterfowlandshorebirdpopulations, tothe Alaska Peninsula caribou herd, wolves, and the highestdensitiesofbrownbearsonthelowerAlaskaPeninsula.

• Taking lands out of Wilderness designation for a road would set a terrible precedent for America’s National Wilderness Preservation System. When Congress desig-natesWilderness, the intent is tokeepthese landswild for-ever.Inthe43yearssincetheWildernessActpassed,nosignifi-cantremovalfromWildernesshastakenplace.Ifthisbillpasses,noWildernessareainournationissafefromattack.

Maribeth Oakes, formerly public lands director ofthe Sierra Club and now director ofTheWilderness Society’snationalwildliferefugesprogram,traveledtotheremoteIzem-bekRefugeinOctober. “Iwasalarmedtoseehownarrowthisisthmusreallyis.Andthelandistruetundra,aspongywetland.Putting a road there would require massive engineering viaculverts and other structures and would drastically alter theappearanceandproductivityofthetundra,”Oakesreflected.

--VickyHoover

Izembek Road plan resurfaces: Wilderness threatened

e WHAT YOU cAN dO: ** pLEAsE cONTAcT Nick RAHALL, (d-WV) cHAiRMAN Of THE

NATURAL REsOURcEs cOMMiTTEE, ANd URGE HiM TO OppOsE

THis BiLL ViGOROUsLY—GiVE A cOUpLE Of REAsONs ABOVE.

cALL His OfficE (202)225-3452 OR sENd HiM A BRiEf fAx

(fAxEs ARE GOOd!) AT (202)225-9061.

if YOU sENd HiM A fAx, ALsO sENd iT TO YOUR OWN REpRE-

sENTATiVE, As WELL As TO sEN. JEff BiNGAMAN, (d-NM) cHAiR-

MAN Of THE ENERGY ANd NATURAL REsOURcEs cOMMiTTEE-

WHicH OVERsEEs THE sENATE VERsiON Of THis BiLL.

** REAcH YOUR OWN cONGREssiONAL REpREsENTATiVE THE

cApiTOL sWiTcHBOARd AT (202)224-3121, OR WRiTE TO His OR

HER disTRicT OfficE. Ask YOUR REpREsENTATiVE TO OppOsE

THis izEMBEk ANTi-WiLdERNEss BiLL if iT cOMEs TO A VOTE.

** REAcH cHAiRMAN JEff BiNGAMAN BY pHONE AT (202)224-

5521, OR BY fAx AT (202)224-2852. w

Sierra Club and other conservation organizationsare strongly opposing an effort by Alaska Rep. DonYoungto privatize key old-growth forest sections of theTongassNationalForest,particularlyonhugePriceofWalesIsland.

SoutheastAlaska’sregionalNativecorporation,Sealaska,hasnotcompletedthelandselectionandtransfergrantedtoitin1971undertheAlaskaNativeClaimsSettlementAct(ANCSA). This September Congressman DonYoung intro-duced H.R. 3560, a bill to finalize Sealaska’s outstandinglandclaimsestimatedat60,000to65,000acres.

NoonedisputesSealaska’srighttoadditionallandselec-tions.HoweverANCSAclearlydefinesthewithdrawalareasfrom which Sealaska is to select its entitlement. Roughly327,000 acres are still available to Sealaska for selectionfromthesewithdrawal“boxes.”Rep.Young’sbill,H.R.3560,howeverarguesthattheseremaininglandsarenotofhighenough quality and that Sealaska should be allowed toselectallofitsremainingentitlement“outsidethebox.”Theland Sealaska is eying is among the richest and most bio-logicallyproductiveintheTongassandalsoincludessomeoftheforest’smostpopularbaysandrivervalleys.

Sealaskahasstatedplanstointensivelylogthefollow-ing areas on or near Prince ofWales Island outside of itslegislativelypermittedwithdrawalareas:

• NorthPrinceofWales–stilloneofthemostbiolog-icallyproductiveareas intheTongassdespitethe fact thatmuchofthisareawasloggedoncebefore.AnexistingroadinfrastructuremakesitevenmorevaluableforSealaska.

• TheSouthwestportionofKosciuskoIsland–amongthe largest remaining old growth forests growing on karst(limestonecaveformations)leftintheTongass.

• Kassa Inlet, MabelBay, Nutkwa Inlet – a long-timeconservation and local community priority. These areaswereslatedforpermanentprotectionintheHouse-passedversion of the 1990TongassTimber Reform Act but wereremovedfromthefinalbillbeforetheypassedthroughtheconferencecommittee.

“Enterprise sites.” Separate from the above loggingareas, RepYoung’s bill identifies 26 sites scattered acrosstheTongassthatwouldessentiallybeownedandmanagedby Sealaska as“Native Enterprise sites.” While the bill spe-cificallyprohibits loggingat thesesites,otherusesarenotclearlydefined.

• All of the sites are in the middle of highly popularanchoragesmuchusedbylocalresidents,huntingandfishinghotspots,and/orsitontheedgeofwildernessareas.

• Itisunclearfromthisbillhowthesesiteswillbeman-aged, i.e. ifmassivehotels,cruiseshipdocks,orupscalemari-nascouldbebuiltonthesites.

• The bill states that Sealaska shall have a“right ofaccess”within15milesofthesites.

• It isunclearwhetherthepublicand/oroutfittersandguideswillcontinuetohaveaccesstotheseareas.

December 2007 | 5

Oppose Tongass Land Grab: Prince of Wales Island threatened

H.R. 3560 claimsthat Sealaska should beallowed to high-gradethe best of the Tongassbecause the corporationwastreatedunfairlyinthepast. This claim is weakconsidering that Sealaskahasalreadyreceivedabout220,000 acres of maturetimber land, much morethanotherregionalNativecorporationsreceivedandSealaska has contributedapproximately $300 mil-

lionor42percentofthetotalshareofall13regionalNativecor-porationsunderarevenuesharingprovisionofANCSA.

Alan Stein, former Director of the Salmon Bay Protec-tive Association and President of the Point Baker Association,submitted a detailed statement for the hearing that cited hisown experience and past efforts to protect areas on Prince ofWales Island and emphasized the stressed condition of muchofthe IslandduetopastNativeCorporation logging. Hesaid,“…because of 25 years of past logging, existing clear cuts already pose a severe threat to wildlife in the area Sealaska wants to log.This bill would do nothing but seal their doom.Thedeerarethesoulofthisplace,theAmericaneagleitsspirit,and the raven its voice. Passing this bill will silence the raven,downtheeagle,andbringthedemiseofdeer….”

AlaskaWildernessLeaguehelpedprovideinformationforthisarticle.

e WHAT YOU cAN dO:pLEAsE WRiTE REpREsENTATiVE dON YOUNG ANd cOpY THE cHAiR Of THE HOUsE NATURAL REsOURcEs cOMMiTTEE, REp. Nick RAHALL.

The hONORABLe DON YOUNG510 L St, Suite 580

AnchorAge, ALASkA 99501-1954

PHONE:(202)225-5765FAx:(202)225-0425

The hONORABLe NICk RAhALLPHONE:(202)225-FAx:(202)225-9061. ALsO, Ask YOUR MEMBER Of cONGREss (202-224-3121) TO OppOsE HR 3560 if iT cOMEs Up fOR A VOTE iN THE HOUsE NATURAL REsOURcEs cOMMiTTEE OR ON THE HOUsE fLOOR. ExpREss YOUR cONcERN THAT THE LEGisLATiON sEEks TO REMOVE fROM THE pUBLic dOMAiN BiOLOGicAL-LY ANd cULTURALLY VALUABLE AREAs, sOME RiGHT NExT TO dEsiGNATEd WiLdERNEss, ANd OpEN THEM TO cLEAR-cUT

LOGGiNG BY sEALAskA cORpORATiON.w

� | alaska report

draft Revised conservation plan lacks teeth

The U.S. Fish andWildlife Service is asking for publiccomments on its draft Revised Comprehensive ConservationPlan. Only slightly different from the current plan publishedin1986, the revision, like itspredecessor,proposesonlya rela-tivelysmalladditiontotheexistingTogiakWilderness.ItmissestheboatentirelyonpotentialadditionstotheWildandScenicRiversAct.

Wilderness recommendation IntheexistingPlantheagencyrecommended334,000

acres of proposed wilderness for the Cape Newenham/CapePierce peninsula and nearby S. Fork Goodnews River areas.But the Reagan Administration did not accept the proposalandshelvedit--asitdidwithallotherrefugeandnationalparkwilderness recommendations. In the revision the Service iscontentto“honor”itsearlier334,000-acrerecommendationandforgo proposing any additional wilderness--in spite of havingdocumented the eligibility for wilderness of nearly the entirenon-wilderness portion of the refuge. The Administrationshould comply with ANILCA and submit a meaningful agencywildernessrecommendationtoCongress.

Wild and scenic rivers review In its firstPlan theServicedidn’tconsiderwild/scenic

riverstatusforriversoutsidetheTogiakWildernessdespitetherequirementoftheWildandScenicRiversActthattheDepart-mentofInterior(andotherfederallandmanagementagencies)determineeligibilityof riversaspotentialadditionstothewildand scenic rivers system as part of comprehensive manage-ment plans. In the revision only one river-lake system outsidetheTogiakWildernessisreviewedasapotentialwildandscenicriver.

Fred Paillet

All-terrain (off-road) vehicles Snowmobiles, motorboats, and“other means of sur-

face transportation traditionally employed” are permitted forsubsistencehunting,fishing,trappingandgatheringbyquali-fied local residents in Alaska refuges and other conservationsystem units, including wilderness. Thus ATVs are permitted“subject to reasonable regulation” provided they were“tradi-tionallyemployed”priortotheAct.

In the revised Plan the Service reviewed previousstudies and reports on subsistence and found that“The con-sistent message from...early 1980s subsistence reports andfrom FWS documents [from the 1970s] is that three-and-fourwheeled ATVs were common in the villages and along cer-tain coastal areas, but they were not used for subsistence onRefugelands.”

In other words, the FWS has determined that subsis-tenceATVswerenot“traditionallyemployed”prior to theActon what became refuge lands, which means that the use ofsubsistence ORVs on refuge lands, if it is occurring, is illegal.Butsince1980theagencyhasbeenlookingtheotherwayinthehopethattheATVsarenotbeingusedonrefugelands.Therevisionfailstoindicatewhethersuchuseisorisnotoccurring,andifitiswhatactiontheServiceintendstotake.

BackgroundTogiak NationalWildlife Refuge covers 4.7 million acres

adjoining Bristol Bay.The U.S. Fish andWildlife Service man-ages4.1millionacres -- continued next page

Togiak National Wildlife Refuge plan out for comment

n

e WHAT YOU cAN dO

pLEAsE sENd YOUR cOMMENTs TO THE fisH ANd WiLdLifE

sERVicE BY THE cOMMENT dEAdLiNE, JAN. 18, 2008.

ALTHOUGH THE pROpOsEd REVisiON fAiLs TO LiVE Up TO sOME

kEY ANiLcA MANdATEs, iT cAN BE BROUGHT iNTO cOMpLiANcE.

Ask THE sERVicE TO:

** UNdERTAkE A NEW REViEW Of THE NON-WiLdERNEss

REfUGE AREAs ANd REcOMMENd ELiGiBLE AREAs fOR THE

WiLdERNEss sYsTEM--BEYONd THE ExisTiNG 334,000 AcRE

REcOMMENdATiON;

** sTUdY ANd REcOMMENd qUALifiEd RiVER-LAkE sYsTEMs

OUTsidE THE TOGiAk WiLdERNEss fOR pOTENTiAL AddiTiON TO

THE WiLd ANd scENic RiVERs sYsTEM; ANd

** sTATE cLEARLY WHETHER OR NOT sUBsisTENcE ATVs ARE

BEiNG UsEd ON REfUGE LANds, ANd if THEY ARE WHAT THE

sERVicE iNTENds TO dO ABOUT iT.. Sendcommentsviamail,emailorphonebyJan.18,2008,to:MaggiArend,PlanningTeamLeaderU.S.FishandWildlifeService1011E.TudorRoad,MS-231;Anchorage,AK99503-6199fw7_Togiak_planning@fws.gov(907)786-3393(YoucanrequestapaperorCDcopyoftheTogiakDraftplan.)

Arctic Wilderness bill introduced in senate conservationists applaud Lieberman legislation

OnNov.7,SenatorJosephLieberman(I-CT),joinedby25Senate cosponsoring colleagues, introduced legislation thatwoulddesignatetheCoastalPlainoftheArcticNationalWildlifeRefuge asWilderness. Wilderness designation would perma-nentlyprotectwhatscientistshavecalledthe“biologicalheart”ofournation’slargestandwildestRefuge,placingitofflimitstooilandgasdevelopmentwhilecontinuingtoallowvitalsubsis-tenceuses.

Sen. Lieberman’s bill, S 2316, is the Senate version ofthe Udall-Eisenhower Arctic wilderness bill, HR 39, introducedintotheHouseofRepresentativesearlyin2007byRep.EdwardMarkey,MA-7 (see alaska report, May2007.)Thepurposeofboth bills is clearly laid out in the preamble of HR 39:“To pre-servetheArcticcoastalplainoftheArcticNationalWildlifeRefuge,Alaska, as wilderness in recognition of its extraordinary naturalecosystems and for the permanent good of present and futuregenerationsofAmericans.”

TheArcticRefuge,includingtheCoastalPlain,wasfirstsetasideforprotectionin1960asaWildlifeRangebyPresidentDwight D. Eisenhower, and later expanded and renamed theArctic NationalWildlife Refuge by Congress, and signed intolawbyPresidentCarterin1980. Sincethattime,pro-develop-ment forces have repeatedly tried to open the area as part ofshort-sightedenergyproposals. AndconservationchampionshaveintroducedtheArcticWildernessbillsineveryCongress.

TheArcticRefugeisaspectacularwildernesssacredtothe Gwich’in, Athabascan Indians who depend on the caribouforsubsistenceandasalinktotheirtraditionalwayoflife.“WearenotwillingtogamblewiththecalvingandnurserygroundsofthePorcupineCaribouHerd,”statesSarahJames,Chairwom-anoftheGwich’inSteeringCommittee.

“Oil rigs on the Coastal Plain would cause irreparabledamagetothefragiletundraofthisuniqueareawhiledoing

Togiak Refuge -- from previous page

withnearlyalltherestownedbyAlaskaNativecorporations. Togiak features world-class viewing of cliff-nest-ingseabirdsandwalrusathighlyscenicCapeNewenhamand Cape Pierce on the Bering Sea; clear river-lake systemshosting all five species of pacific salmon and trophy rainbowtrout, and high mountain country of national park quality.Subsistence economies of the six Alaska Native villages alongthecoastdependonthefishandwildlifeoftherefuge.

At2.4millionacres,theTogiakWildernessinthemoun-tainousnorthernsectionoftherefugeisthesecond-largestwil-dernessareainthenationalwildliferefugesystemsystemafterthe9millionacresofwildernessintheArcticNationalWildlife-

Refuge.w--JackHession

nothing to solve our long-term energy problems,” saidTrishRolfe,SierraClubAlaskaRepresentative.

The introduction of the ArcticWilderness bill, S. 2316, com-plements Senator Lieberman’s current efforts to fight globalwarmingbyenactingthefirstmajorbi-partisanlegislativepro-posal thatwouldcapheat-trappingemissions fromthe largestcontributorsinthecountry.

Original senate cosponsors of s. 2316

JoeBiden(D-DE) BarbaraBoxer(D-CA)MariaCantwell(D-WA) BenCardin(D-MD)`RobertCasey(D-PA)` HillaryClinton(D-NY)ChrisDodd(D-CT) DickDurbin(D-IL)RussFeingold(D-WI) TomHarkin(D-IA)EdwardKennedy(D-MA) JohnKerry(D-MA)HerbKohl(D-WI) FrankLautenberg(D-NJ)PatrickLeahy(D-VT) RobertMenendez(D-NJ)PattyMurray(D-WA) BarackObama(D-IL)JackReed(D-RI) KenSalazar(D-CO)BernieSanders(I-VT) ChuckSchumer(D-NY)DebbieStabenow(D-MI) SheldonWhitehouse(D-RI)RonWyden(D-OR)

December 2007 | �

e WhAT YOU CAN DO:If YOUR sENATORs ARE MENTiONEd ABOVE, pLEAsE THANk

THEM! if THEiR NAMEs ARE NOt LisTEd, pLEAsE URGE THEM

TO BEcOME cOspONsORs Of sENATOR LiEBERMAN’s ARcTic

WiLdERNEss BiLL, s. 2316.CONTACT YOUR SeNATOR ThROUGh

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ken Madsen and Arctic “Bird Year” Update

on Thanksgiving day, bird Year activists (MalkolmbooothroydandhisparentsWendyboothroydandKenMadsen)wereatthebosquedelApacheNationalWildlifeRefugeinNewMexico.Theyhavetraveled5598self-poweredmilesandidenti-fied 367 bird species. They have also given many presentationsaboutprotectingbirdhabitatintheArctic—aswellasclosertohome. In December they will be traveling through Texas, thenthrough the Gulf States to Florida in January, February andMarch. For more information and how to join them, visit their

website:www.birdyear.com. w

� | alaska report

alaska reportalaskareportisthenewsletteroftheSierraClubAlaskaTaskForce,encouragingadvocacyonAlaskafederallandsissues,particularlyastheypertaintothepassageandimplementationoftheAlaskaNationalInterestLandsConservationActof1980.

sierra club85SecondStreetSanFrancisco,CA94105-3456(415)977-5500

EdgarWayburn,M.D.,Chairman,AlaskaTaskForceVickyHoover,Editor

sierra club Alaska field Office 333West4thAve.,Suite307Anchorage,AK99501-2341(907)276-4048

TrishRolfe,AlaskaSeniorRegionalRepresentativeKatherineFuselier,ConservationOrganizerMaryellenOman,ProgramAssistant

sierra club Washington Office408CStreet,N.E.Washington,DC20002(202)547-1141

AthanManuel,Director,PublicLandsTeamMykeBybee,Washingtonrepresentative

Alaska Wins one against the coal Rush

Once again the Sierra Club and a concerned localAlaska community have defeated a proposed coal-firedpower plant! The Matanuska Electric Association (MEA), amember-owned cooperative based in theMatanuska-Susit-na (Mat-Su)ValleynortheastofAnchorage, tried itshardesttopresentaproposedcoalplantasinevitable. Fortunately,dedicatedvolunteersfromSierraClub,andlocalgroupslikeMEA Ratepayers, Friends of MatSu, and Cook Inlet Keepereducated thecommunityandpressed localgovernment toopposethisterribleidea.

Serving the communities between AnchorageandFairbanks,MEAisoneofanumberofsmallelectricalcooperatives that serve Alaska’s rail belt. Most of theseco-opsrelyonCook Inletnaturalgastomakeelectricity.Naturalgaspriceshowever,havebeenincreasingat20-30percentayear.Alaskahasalotofcoal,andmanyutilitiesseecoalasacheapandeasywaytogeneratepower.

According to MEA’s decision memo, building thecoalplanthasbecometerriblyexpensive.NewgovernmentregulationsencouragedbytheSierraClubalsomakeitmoredifficult to force a coal plant on the community. In Alaska,a state already gravely affected by global warming, largeinvestments in outdated, dirty, highly polluting and toxicenergydevelopments--likenewcoal-firedpowerplants--are

thelastthingsthatshouldbeconsidered.w-- Will Taygan, chair, Knik Group, Alaska Chapter

Sierra Club in Alaska treaded new waters this fallto address the future of Alaska’s sport hunting and fishingopportunities. The two-day Alaska Sportsman’s OutdoorSummit, Nov. 2 and 3, organized through the Club’s Build-ingEnvironmentalCommunitiesprogram,broughttogether70 of the strangest of bed fellows. Participants found thatthey shared values around the conservation of Nature andhealthywildlifepopulations. SierraClubstaffandvolunteersandparticipantswhohad“neverinmymindthoughtI’deverbecallingtheSierraClub”alldismantledstereotypes.

Shane Mahoney, an internationally known sports-man and wildlife conservationist, was the keynote speaker. A day of workshops followed, with topics that included: skillsandethicsaboutwaterfowlhunting;salmonstreamrestorationprojects;woodbisonrestorationprogramforAlaska;youthpro-gramsandopportunities,andmore..

TheSummitaimedtobuildonSierraClub'slonghisto-ryofworkingwithsportsman’s’groupsonconservationissues.WhenJohnMuirandTeddyRoosevelthiked intotheYosemiteValley together in 1903, they shared a first-hand interest inprotectingAmerica’swildplaces.Muirwasahikerwhowantedto wander in places that were free of industrial development.Roosevelt was a hunter who wanted to explore wild forests.They were natural allies. In their spirit of partnership, SierraClubcontinuestoworkwithhuntingandanglingorganizations

toensurethefutureofhealthywildlifeandecosystems.w -- Katherine Fuselier

sierra club Teams Up with Alaska sportsmen

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WOLVESP.3TESHEKPUKLAKEP.4IzEMBEKROADP.5TOGIAKPLANP.6ARCTICBILLP.7