Number: 2001-03
WHEREAS, the Arctic National Wildlife Range was established in 1960 for the purpose of preserving unique wildlife, wilderness, and recreational values; and
WHEREAS, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (Arctic Refuge) was established in 1980, encompassing the original 8.9 million-acre wildlife range and approximately 7 million additional acres to conserve fish and wildlife populations and habitats in their natural diversity including, but not limited to, the Porcupine caribou herd, polar bears, muskoxen, snow geese, and other migratory birds, and Arctic char and grayling; and
WHEREAS, certain critical fish and wildlife habitats on the coastal plain, especially for caribou, snow geese and overwintering fish, are unique and may be irreplaceable and should not be disturbed or altered; and
WHEREAS, the Arctic Refuge coastal plain is the only portion of the entire Arctic coast of the United States that is presently closed by law to oil and gas exploration and development and that is congressionally designated for protection of its natural values; and
WHEREAS, more than five decades of scientific research and studies demonstrate that the coastal plain is of biological significance to the health of the wildlife populations of the Arctic Refuge and merits permanent protection; and
WHEREAS, the Arctic Refuge coastal plain is key to the conservation of the full spectrum of arctic and subarctic ecosystems in an unbroken continuum; and
WHEREAS, oil and gas activities in the Arctic Refuge coastal plain would have significant adverse impacts on unique and irreplaceable wildlife resources and habitats and would be incompatible with the purposes for which the Arctic Refuge was established; and
WHEREAS, Congress required a further study of the wilderness, wildlife, and oil potential for the 1.5 million acre coastal plain area of the Arctic Refuge twenty years ago, and at the same time prohibited leasing, development and production of oil and gas in this area and withdrew it from the mining and mineral leasing laws of the U.S.; and
WHEREAS, the mandated study completed in 1987 predicted that oil and gas development in the Arctic Refuge would have major impacts to the Porcupine Caribou Herd, muskox, water quality and quantity, subsistence, and wilderness; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service concluded in 1995 that new scientific information further substantiated the risk of such major adverse impacts to fish and wildlife and their habitats; and
WHEREAS, the Gwich’in Athabascan Indians of northeast Alaska and Canada have depended on the Porcupine caribou herd for 20,000 years to sustain their culture; and
WHEREAS, the ecological integrity of the Arctic Refuge is vitally important to the cultural and economic survival of the Gwich’in and therefore oil and gas development in the Arctic Refuge would be a direct threat to the existence of their communities; and
WHEREAS, the estimate for economically recoverable oil in the refuge coastal plain is equivalent to less than 200 days worth of oil for the nation; and
WHEREAS, the United States already consumes more energy per capita than any other major industrialized nation and needs to, but has failed to, develop a National Energy Policy designed to reduce dependence on fossil fuels; and
WHEREAS, there is vast untapped potential in alternative energy resources such as solar, wind, and other renewables, and energy efficiency, that deserve high priority in plans for a sustainable future in light of concerns about global climate change;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, at its Annual Meeting assembled April 4-6, 2001 in Washington, DC, announces its celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and its support for Congressional wilderness designation of the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in order to protect its wildlife and wilderness provided that access to the refuge is administered and controlled under the terms of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation firmly rejects any arguments that the Arctic Refuge coastal plain should be opened to oil and gas development due to possible conservation benefits, financial incentives, impact aid, conservation program funding, or any other claimed benefits that may accrue outside the Arctic Refuge.