On May 1, members of the House Natural Resource Committee made a historic vote to move H.R. 1146, the Arctic Cultural and Coastal Plain Protection Act, forward. Today, we sent those members of Congress a thank you letter signed by 181 Alaskans from 43 communities, letting them know how much we appreciate their work on behalf of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Read the letter below, and even if you haven’t signed on, it’s not too late to let these representatives know you appreciate their vote!
Dear Representatives Anthony G. Brown, Matt Cartwright, Ed Case, Lacy Clay, TJ Cox, Joe Cunningham, Diana DeGette, Debbie Dingell, Ruben Gallego, Raúl Grijalva, Deb Haaland, Steven Horsford, Jared Huffman, Mike Levin, Alan Lowenthal, Grace Napolitano, Joe Neguse, Gregorio Sablan, Michael San Nicolas, Darren Soto, Paul Tonko, and Jeff Van Drew:
We are writing as Alaskans to extend a heartfelt thank you for your vote in the House Natural Resources committee on H.R.1146, The Arctic Cultural and Coastal Plain Protection Act. This historic vote marks a major Congressional effort to bring a bill to the floor that will advance protections for the Coastal Plain, rather than playing defense to oil and gas lobby efforts to exploit and forever change this sacred region for short-term financial gain.
Alaskans are grateful for your work in elevating this issue to national attention. Section 20001 of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act mandated leasing the Coastal Plain and changed the purposes of the Refuge to include oil and gas. It was snuck into an omnibus bill and was never debated on its own merits. The debate in the full House Natural Resources committee and in the Energy and Mineral Resources subcommittee was an important step in having the informed public process that this issue deserves. The vast majority of Americans recognize the value of maintaining for future generations the intact ecosystems of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and its importance to the Alaska Natives, including the Gwich’in and Iñupiat, who live in the region and rely on the Porcupine caribou herd for whom the Coastal Plain is a critical calving and nursery area.
There are many in power who only see Alaska’s future as a petro-state, and work to silence the many voices among us who do not agree with this vision. But we are here, and come from all walks of life. We claim settler and Indigenous heritage. We are young and old, rural and urban, and committed to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for spiritual, ethical, and economic reasons. We thank you for standing alongside us.
Thank you for this important vote.
Sincerely,
Lisa Baraff, Program Director, Northern Alaska Environmental Center, Fairbanks
Charlotte Basham, Clerk, Chena Ridge Friends Meeting (Quaker), Fairbanks
Enei Begaye , Executive Director, Native Movement, Fairbanks
F Stuart Chapin III, Professor Emeritus of Ecology, University of Alaska Fairbanks (retired), Fairbanks
Vicki Clark, Executive Director, Trustees for Alaska, Anchorage
Natalie Dawson, Executive Director, Audubon Alaska, Anchorage
Bernadette Demientieff, Executive Director, Gwich’in Steering Committee, Fairbanks
Jessica Girard, Director, Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition, Fairbanks
Scott Grundy, Retired Biologist, Alaska Fish & Game, Fairbanks
Jenna Hamm, Co-owner, Denali National Park Wilderness Centers, Denali National Park
Ernestine Hayes, Alaska State Writer Laureate 2016-2018, University of Alaska (retired), Juneau
M. Torre Jorgenson, Senior Scientist, Alaska Ecoscience, Fairbanks
James Kowalsky, Chair, Alaskans FOR Wildlife, Fairbanks
Sherry Lewis, Director and Former President, Arctic Audubon Society, Fairbanks
Paul Liedberg, Former Manager, Togiak National Wildlife Refuge, Dillingham
Princess Lucaj, Producer, Fairbanks
Fran Mauer, Wildlife Biologist (retired), Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Fairbanks
David Raskin, President, Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges, Homer
Paul Reichardt, Provost (retired), University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Evelyn Reitan, Kaktovik
Hugh Rose, Owner, Hugh Rose Photography and Tours, Fairbanks
Jerald Stroebele, Retired Refuge Supervisor, Northern Alaska National Wildlife Refuges, U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage
Emily Sullivan, Conservation Associate, Alaska Wilderness League, Anchorage
Kesler Woodward, Professor of Art Emeritus, University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Glenda Aasland, Fairbanks
Dawn Adams, Healy
Ann Agosti-Hackett , Fritz Creek
Mallory Allgeier, Anchorage
Todd Arkind, Fairbanks
Paul Arneson, Anchorage
Jane Atkinson, Owner, Running Reindeer Ranch, Fairbanks
Sharon Baring, Fairbanks
Theresa Bassett-Dolan, Anchorage
Kelly Bay, Glennallen
Amy Beck, Anchorage
Cristina Bieber, Kodiak
Marissa Bieger, Palmer
Jill Bohr Jacob, Ward Cove
Karen S. Bollinger, Fairbanks
Susan Borko, Seward
Nathan Borson, Gustavus
Juliette Boselli, Denali National Park
Judy Brakel, Gustavus
Jim Campbell, Owner, Arctic Treks, Fairbanks
Robyn Cassidy, Kodiak
Leah Cloud, Homer
Peggy Coleman Taylor, Sitka
Karen Colligan-Taylor, Gustavus
Valerie Cooper, Ketchikan
Benjamin Crawford, Anchorage
Wanda J Culp, Hoonah
Terry Cummings, Anchorage
Nicholas Dalessio, Girdwood
Karen Deatherage, Fairbanks
Jenna Difolco, Anchorage
Marilyn Dodd, Clam Gulch
Marilyn Dougher, Anchorage
Maija Dreimane, Anchorage
Lori Duvall, Anchorage
Cassandra Ellis, Fairbanks
Megan Evanson, Girdwood
Christy Everett, North Pole
Nina Faust, Homer
Robert Fink, Skagway
Carol Ford, Kenai
Troy Franklin, Fairbanks
Sarah Furman, Fairbanks
Joan Galt, Anchorage
Elisabeth Genaux, Juneau
Laurie Gentle, Homer
Hannah Gerrish, Fairbanks
Shelley Gill, Homer
Jeffrey Gillespie, Cantwell
Susan Hansen, Fairbanks
Michael Haukedalen, Anchorage
Kim Heacox, Gustavus
Melanie Heacox, Gustavus
Candy Hempel, Craig
James Hendrick, Denali National Park
Deenaalee Hodgdon, Student/Community Organizer, Brown University, Anvik
Marie Hopkins, Anchorage
Laurie Hueffer, Fairbanks
Wayne Jenkins, Homer
Karen Jettmar, Girdwood
Jennifer Johnson, Anchorage
Brenda Johnson, Juneau
Janet Jorgenson, Retired, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Fairbanks
China Kantner, Kotzebue
Carol Kasza, Business owner, Arctic Treks, Fairbanks
Frank Keim, Poet, Author, Activist, Fairbanks
Kasey Keogh, Fairbanks
Randy Keller, Wilderness guide, Isuma Guideworks, Homer
Keils Kitchen, Anchorage
Kathy Komara, Eagle River
Carolyn Kremers, Writer and former Fulbright Scholar, Fairbanks
Agneta Kupilik, Anchorage
Cecile Lardon, Ester
Lynn Larsen, Fairbanks
Caitlin Lenahan, Fairbanks
Anna Liljedahl, Fairbanks
Bonnie Lind, Anchorage
Carol Linkswiler, Fairbanks
Becky Long, Talkeetna
L Merrill Lowden, Haines
Lorene Lynn, Owner and Tundra Ecologist, Red Mountain Consulting LLC, Palmer
Philip S Marshall, Fairbanks
Frank Maxwell, Fairbanks
Gail Mayo, Environment Support, My Family and Farm, Fairbanks
Kimberly McConkey, Anchorage
Summer McGuire, Homer
Ruth McHenry, Kenny Lake
Timothy Mearig, Juneau
Renee Meaux, Anchorage
Shannon Meredith, Cooper Landing
Joseph B Meyer, Anchorage
Susie Miller, Chugiak
Pamela A Miller, Owner, Log House in Birch Woods B&B, Fairbanks
Odin Miller, Keep it in the Ground! working group liaison, Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition, Fairbanks
Leif Mjos, Anchorage
Debbie Moderow, Anchorage
Janice Morrow, Fairbanks
Leslie Morton, Soldotna
Amy Murphy, Anchorage
Mary Ann Nickles, Fairbanks
Helen Nienhueser, Anchorage
Lisa Paesani, Anchorage
David Personius, Two Rivers
Mille Porsild, Willow
Sheryl Post, Fairbanks
Gary Pounds, Anchorage
Mallory Primm, Homer
Alyssa Quintyne, Fairbanks
Matt Rafferty, Anchorage
Martha Raynolds, Biologist, PhD, Fairbanks
Terry Reichardt. Fairbanks
Barbara Reilly, Anchorage
Marty Remund, Port Alexander
Karen Rode, Anchorage
Barbara Rondine, MS Applied Behavioral Sciences, Child Development Associate, Quaker Meeting, C J Yung Association of No. AK, Fairbanks
Richard Rothstein, Anchorage
Margaret Schaffhauser, Physical Therapist, Holistic Physical Therapy, Fairbanks
Eric Schneider, Fairbanks
Jim Schwarber, Fairbanks
Stuart Scudder, Juneau
Rebecca Sentner, Anchorage
Shaun Sexton, Chugiak
Mary Shields, Tour provider, Author, Dog musher, Love Wildlife Alive, Fairbanks
Melanie Smith, Anchorage
Susan Smith, Fairbanks
Douglas Smith, Talkeetna
Bradley Snow, Fairbanks
Anna Sorensen, Owner, Valley Girl Bookkeeping, Fairbanks
Susan Soule, Anchorage
Ann Spencer, Anchorage
Sue Sprinkle, Fairbanks
Richard Steele, Juneau
Mark Steen, Cordova
Shoshanah Stone, Anchorage
David Story, Cooper Landing
Cody Strathe, Owner, Squid Acres Kennel, Fairbanks
Christin Swearingen, Anchorage
Michael Taylor, Gustavus
Dorothy H Thompson, Fairbanks
Peg Tileston, Anchorage
Susan Todd, Associate Professor of Resource Planning, Univeristy of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks
Doug Toelle, Owner, Running Reindeer Ranch, Fairbanks
Jessica Toubman, Denali National Park
Ingrid Tripple, Fort Wainwright
Rebecca Turner, Wasilla
Chelsea Vukovich, Anchorage
Martha Wallace, Soldotna
James Warren, Fairbanks
Julianne Warren, Fairbanks
Bill Watkins, Denali National Park
David Wellman, Copper Center
Michael Whalen, Fairbanks
Lita White, Anchorage
Lylith Widmer, Haines
Melany Wilson, Anchorage
Susanne Wilson, Homer
