On Wednesday, February 2, 2005, Friends of Animals and other members of the Arctic Coalition held a Rally for the Refuge, near the Capitol in Washington DC. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT), Senator Mark Dayton (D-MN) and Representative Ed Markey (D-MA) spoke to the crowd in support of House Bill HR 567 and Senate Bill S261, bills which would permanently protect the the Arctic National Widlife Refuge.

The following statement was issued by Friends of Animals’s president Priscilla Feral:

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge provides a home for more than 200 species of birds and animals including Tundra swans, caribou, polar bears, grizzly bears and wolves. The full protection granted under a wilderness designation is crucial if this biocommunity is to survive and thrive.

Senator Barbara Boxer addresses the crowd
(photo: John A. McComb)

Contrasting Prudhoe Bay, an industrial complex, with the landscape of the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge in northeastern Alaska, Friends of Animals recognizes that the Refuge’s unique wilderness exists almost nowhere else.The coastal plain is void of the damage and obtrusiveness of steel oil pipelines, gravel roads, exploration equipment, drilling rigs, processing stations, air strips and contamination from spills.

Friends of Animals believes that the U.S. has a moral obligation to keep the coastal plain off-limits to oil exploration. We urge Congress to list the Arctic Refuge as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System.

What you can do:

Please contact your Senators and ask them to co-sponsor S 261, the Senate bill to permanently protect the Arctic Refuge. Also ask them to oppose all attempts to open the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling and exploration.

Contact your Congressional Representatives and ask them to co-sponsor the H567, the House bill to permanently protect the Arctic Refuge. Also ask them to oppose all attempts to open the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling and exploration.

It is especially helpful to visit the state offices of your Senator or Representatives. If you are able to do this, contact Bill Dollinger in our Washington DC office, at (202) 296-2172.

You can locate your Senators and Representatives at http://www.congress.org

The Honorable
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Congressional Switchboard 202-224-3121

The Honorable
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Congressional Switchboard 202-224-3121

For backround on this issue, see the following related links:
Urgent: Action Needed for Arctic Refuge