Friends of Animals would like to thank all of our active supporters who responded to the call to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Your calls and letters have reached Congress at a pivotal time —when language in the proposed budget legislation would have allowed oil drilling and exploration in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge.

On November 9th, this full-page ad appeared in The New York Times. The signatories were: Alaska Wilderness League, Alaska Coalition, Defenders of Wildlife, Earthjustice, The Episcopal Church, Eyak Preservation Council, Friends of Animals, Gwich’in Steering Committee, League of Conservation Voters, National Audobon Society, Natural Resources Defense Council, Republicans for Environmental Protection, Sierra Club, Trustees for Alaska, U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Washington Association of Churches, and The Wilderness Society.

In the face of pressure from the White House and the influence of the major oil interests, enough lawmakers chose to listen to environmental concerns. Late last night (9 November 2005), the House of Representatives removed the provision, in order to keep the budget bill alive.

The bill will now make its way through a conference committee which includes members of both the House and the Senate. This committee will work out any differences between their two versions of the legislation. The Senate version still carries a provision to allow drilling in the Refuge, so problematic language could be reinstated before the bill is put before the entire Congress for its final vote.

So please keep encouraging your legislators to oppose any budget bill if it allows drilling in the Arctic Refuge.

You can locate your Senators and Representatives through http://www.congress.org and write to them at:

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