Fw: Speak out to protect the Arctic Refuge forever

 

----- Original Message -----

From: NRDC - Frances Beinecke

 

Sent: Wednesday, 26 October, 2011 5:02 PM

Subject: Speak out to protect the Arctic Refuge forever

Act now to protect the heart of the Arctic Call on the Fish and Wildlife Service to designate the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge as wilderness and keep it safe from oil rigs -- forever! Dear Anne, We have a rare opportunity right now to protect the heart of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge forever. The Obama Administration is writing a conservation plan for the Arctic Refuge that could recommend wilderness protection for its Coastal Plain -- an area which has been targeted by Big Oil for decades. Please call on the Fish and Wildlife Service to designate the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge as wilderness, which would be off-limits to oil development. Since the Arctic Refuge was set aside by Congress more than 50 years ago, a majority of Americans has shown support for protecting this vast wilderness and its abundant wildlife. As the biological heart of the Arctic Refuge, its Coastal Plain provides irreplaceable habitat for bears, wolves, Arctic foxes and millions of migratory birds. This pristine wildland is also our nation's largest denning site for pregnant polar bears ... the only birthing ground for the 180,000-member porcupine caribou herd ... and the last home of 350 shaggy muskoxen, a species that survived the previous ice age. Simply put, there is no other place like it on the planet. Yet the oil giants and their Congressional allies have pushed repeatedly to open up the sensitive Coastal Plain for drilling. NRDC has fought for decades to stave off every attempt by Big Oil to drill in America's greatest wildlife sanctuary, but a wilderness designation for the Coastal Plain would ensure that it is protected from oil rigs forever. This recommendation would be an important first step in that direction. Congress would still need to act on the Administration's recommendation -- and that is unlikely to happen anytime soon -- but in the meantime, the Interior Department would manage the Coastal Plain as if it were protected wilderness. And, following this recommendation, the President could declare the Coastal Plain a National Monument, thereby saving it from any further attacks by Big Oil. Help us generate a massive outpouring of support for protecting the Coastal Plain by sending a message to the Fish and Wildlife Service today. Let them know you support their plan to recommend its designation as wilderness. Thanks for taking action to keep the Arctic wild and free. Sincerely, Frances Beinecke President Natural Resources Defense Council

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