On Friday February 9th, from 2-4 p.m. in Amherst Center, UMass students and MassPIRG students from the Five College area with be protesting against BP-Amoco, ExxonMobil and Chevron and Phillips plans to drill in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge.
The refuge consists of 19 million acres of pristine wilderness along the northern coastal plane of Alaska. The purpose is to educate the public on the oil companies’ plans to drill in the Artic and the dangers of doing so. This is the kickoff event in western Massachusetts for the PIRG’s National Campaign to protect Alaska’s Wilderness.
Alaska supports dozens of endangered species, old-growth forests, unspoiled tundra and breathtaking mountains. While most of America has been subject to pollution, development and urban sprawl, Alaska’s untouched wilderness is constantly threatened by logging, oil drilling, mining, road building and other destructive practices that destroy the wilderness’ ecological value and natural beauty.
Of the many wilderness areas in Alaska, there are two that are under particularly fierce attack. The first is the Artic National Wildlife Refuge.
It is the only portion of Alaska’s Northern Slope that is not open to oil drilling. Despite this, oil companies are pushing to open up the Refuge to drilling. The Refuge was created in 1980 and is the only conservation area in the nation that provides a complete range of Artic ecosystems balanced with
wide variety of wildlife. It is remote and untouched; there are no roads, development, or trails and one must fly, boat or walk to get there.
The Refuge is home to a variety of wildlife such as large populations of caribou, three species of bear, wolves, snow geese and thousands of other migratory birds. Reintroduced musk oxen thrive in the Refuge, 100 years after nearly going extinct. It is also the only U.S. conservation area where polar bears regularly den.
The second area under attack is the Tongass National Forest located in southeaster Alaska. It is the largest ancient rainforest in the United States. The Tongass National Forest is home to some of the most magnificent old growth forest in the country. However, timber companies are logging the forest at a frightening rate. It is filled with mist-shrouded fjords, glaciers and cefields and meadows filled with wild-flowers. The Tongass supports dozens of endangered species like salmon, bear, eagles and a number of species of birds. The Tongass also contains some of the nation’s oldest old growth forest, containing old growth spruce, hemlock and cedar. Its trees are hundreds of feet tall and dozens of feet around. Yet each year, over 150 million board feet of timber are logged from the Tongass, most of it from
roadless stretches of old growth that provide the best wildlife habitat. Many
parts of the national forest are now scarred with immense clearcuts.
The timber industry is pushing for increased logging and road building in this pristine wilderness. If they are allowed to expand their logging, it would mean the continued destruction of the country’s greatest forest.
There are many ways a student can help save these areas. BP is currently the target of a campaign by Ecopledge.com, to convince them to cancel plans to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Ecopledge.com is urging students and stockholders not to work for or invest in BP unitl they agree to protect the Refuge. For more information on this and other events contact www.studentpirgs.org.
