America’s Arctic is a treasure chest of precious gems. From the famed coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, to the spectacular Western Arctic with its expansive wetlands and wildlife habitat, these areas are as unique and as ecologically valuable as they are threatened. Before we recklessly hand them over to the oil industry, we should study their value and protect some of these special places for future generations.
A redesign of ArcticGems.org is nearly completed. See
the new ArcticGems.org site.
ArcticGems.org is designed to educate visitors about America’s endangered
Arctic region, with a focus on the lesser-known Western Arctic region.
The 23-million acre Western Arctic, inappropriately named the National
Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A), is the largest remaining unprotected
wild area in the United States. Unfortunately, like the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge to the east and the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Western
Arctic has been targeted by the Bush administration’s national energy
plan as a priority area for oil and gas development.
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The Western Arctic is...
23 million acres - America’s
largest single block of unprotected wilderness. It is home to
the Inupiat Eskimo people, and vital habitat for nesting raptors,
migratory birds, moose, grizzly bears, wolves, beluga wales, spotted
seals and 430,000 caribou. After handing over all 9 million acres
of the Northwest planning area to the oil and gas companies, the
Bush administration now has its sights on the Northeast area,
including the spectacular Teshekpuk Lake. Read
more about the Western Arctic.
July 2,
2004: Press Release
Citizens Speak Out Against Administration’s Shortsighted
Plan to Lease More of NPR-A (Alaska’s Western Arctic) to
Oil and Gas.
July
1, 2004 - [Audio] Dr. John Schoen, the lead scientist in Audubon's
study of the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska/ Western Arctic,
discusses the NPR-A with Wild
Side News.
Click
here to learn what else is going on
right now on this important issue!
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America's Western Arctic is in great danger!
