Arctic Refuge at risk yet again: only you can save this pristine treasure

photo of an Arctic fox

Because of the good work of millions of Americans who stood up to oppose Arctic drilling last year, the future of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has been looking bright. That is, until controversial language threatening the Arctic Refuge was included in the Senate budget bill – again!

Slipping Arctic drilling into the budget is an irresponsible and destructive abuse of the budget process – and a waste of time for the Senate, which rejected drilling in the Arctic Refuge as recently as last December.

Please take action now! Write your senators and urge them to oppose any bill that would despoil the Arctic Refuge.

Want to take the next step? Call your senators! Click here for a calling guide.

Personalized messages carry much more weight than form letters. Please, take a moment to include why protecting the Arctic Refuge is so important to you. Even changing the subject line can help your letter stand out!

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Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Keep Arctic Refuge drilling out of our budget bill

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

It is with profound disbelief and regret that I write to you yet again about legislation that threatens America's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. I am troubled by the actions of the Budget Committee, which once again has crafted legislation that would use the budget process to open the Arctic Refuge to oil and gas drilling.

For the past several years, drilling supporters have tried to achieve their misguided aims through nearly every back door imaginable. Ultimately, Congress has rightly rejected drilling in the Arctic Refuge again and again. Instead of wasting more energy on bad ideas from years past, Congress should be avoiding dead-end budget schemes and looking toward clean energy solutions for the future.

I urge you to oppose any legislation, including the budget bill, that puts the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge at risk. Instead, please focus your attention on priorities for our nation that protect our environment and avoid an unnecessarily contentious debate over our national budget.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
March 08, 2006

Background Information

photo of a polar bear At the end of 2005, Americans won a major victory for the pristine Arctic Refuge, when Arctic drilling was successfully kept out of both the final budget reconciliation and defense spending bills. Millions of people called on Congress to oppose these underhanded maneuvers, and our voices were heard loud and clear on Capitol Hill.

But now it’s a new year, and a new ball game. Once again, the Senate Budget Committee Chairman Judd Gregg (R-NH) has taken the unfortunate action of including Arctic Refuge drilling in the budget bill for next year. By burying the drilling language in the federal budget, drilling proponents have shown a blatant disregard for the American public’s desire to keep the Arctic Refuge safe from the destructive impacts of oil development.

Already sent a letter? Take the next step: CALL YOUR SENATORS!

The message is the same as it has always been: Save the Arctic Refuge!

Just dial (toll free!) the capitol switchboard: 1-877-762-8762.

Then ask to be connected to your senator’s office. You can use the sample script below as a guide:

My name is [NAME] and I live in [CITY]

I am very upset that Arctic Refuge drilling is once again in the budget bill

I want the senator to oppose any budget that would threaten this pristine refuge

OTHER POINTS TO MAKE:

o Instead of debating this dead-end issue, Congress should be discussing real, clean energy solutions

o Using the budget to open the Arctic Refuge to drilling is an abuse of the budget process and cannot be condoned

o This issue was decided last year. It’s time to put this debate behind us for good

o I believe the Arctic Refuge should be protected because...

The stakes are high, and a quick call is an easy and effective way to make your voice heard.

Photo of caribou swimming The fate of a wild place

At the heart of the debate is the pristine Arctic Refuge coastal plain, home to polar bears, brown bears, musk oxen, and wolves, along with millions of migratory birds and the Porcupine caribou herd, which migrates thousands of miles to calve there during the summer months. The Gwich'in people depend upon this annual migration for their subsistence way of life, and call the coastal plain "the place where life begins." This 1.5-million-acre area between the Brooks Range and the Arctic Ocean is the biological heart of the 19 million acres designated by Congress in 1980 as a national wildlife refuge.

The spider web of roads and pipelines necessary to wrest oil from this unique landscape would broadly and permanently damage an enormous swath of the coastal plain. Allowing drilling in the Arctic Refuge to be slipped through as part of the federal budget won’t lower anyone’s energy bills, but would permanently mar a pristine public wilderness.

Please, take action and express your anger at this recycled scheme, and urge your senators to do everything in their power to get drilling in the Arctic Refuge out of the budget, once and for all.

We need to make it crystal clear that allowing this provision to be slipped into the budget bill is just as unacceptable this year as it was last year. Take action today!