Columnist Paula Del Giudice: Drilling rejected in Arctic refuge

Thursday, April 25, 2002 | 9:31 a.m.

Paula Del Giudice's outdoors column appears Thursday. She can be reached at desertdenizens@aol.com.

This was quite a week for conservationists. The victory in the Senate rejecting an amendment to allow oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was enormous.

The issue was nearly bipartisan with eight Republicans joined with 45 Democrats and one Independent to turn back the latest attempt to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling.

According to the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), "The win represents the environmental community's biggest political win in years as a majority of senators opposed Arctic drilling under any condition or scenario, a major defeat for President Bush's oil and gas-focused energy plan. The Senate voted 54-46 to uphold a filibuster by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.), well short of the 60 votes necessary to conclude debate on the amendment to give the president authority to allow drilling in the Arctic Refuge, an American natural treasure, for a mere six months of oil that wouldn't be available for a decade."

President Dwight Eisenhower established the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in 1960, to protect "its unique wildlife, wilderness, and recreational values." Last year, President Bush made opening the Refuge to oil and gas drilling the centerpiece of his energy plan, despite evidence that drilling would destroy the Refuge's wildlife and not meaningfully increase our domestic energy supply, according to the LCV.

The House approved Arctic drilling as part of their version of a national energy policy last August but the measure met with stiff bipartisan opposition in the Senate, fostered by the most significant environmental grassroots lobbying campaign in a decade.

Pro-drilling senators tried one new tactic after another, from arguing that drilling would strengthen our economy to claiming that drilling would bring peace to the Middle East. But they failed to sway a majority of senators or the American public.

The Senate also turned back, by a vote of 64-36, an attempt by Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) to link Arctic drilling revenues to benefits for steel workers.

Each alternative identifies actions related to recreational opportunity zoning and shoreline zoning, developed areas, facilities and recreational services, recreational conflicts, sanitation and litter, resource protection, park operations and personal watercraft use. The plan was developed with extensive public input and participation by state and local government agencies.

Under the preferred alternative (Alternative C):

With the release of the DEIS, there is a 60-day public review and comment period. Comments will be analyzed by the NPS and its contractor to identify and respond to all substantive issues. An environmentally preferred and sound management practice option will be selected and presented in the final plan and record of decision.

The public is encouraged to visit the recreation area's web site at www.nps.gov/lame/lmpdraft/home.htm to view or download the latest information pertaining to this project.