Stop Oil Drilling in Alaska Wildlife Refuge!

by: The Wilderness Society
recipient: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Alaska Regional Director Tom Melius

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering allowing oil development on a core parcel of the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

This land, vital habitat to millions of migratory birds, moose, Dall sheep and bears is on the threshold of being ruined by roads, pipelines, and pollution.

What's at stake here?

An enormous wetland basin of rivers and lakes that is habitat for marten, wild salmon, moose, bears, wolves and more,
A base for hundreds of species of migratory birds, and
Native cultures that have relied on the region's resources for millennia.

This special place in America would be irreparably damaged if oil exploration and development is allowed, bringing with it roads, traffic, pipelines, oil spills and pollution.

We have until May 15 to tell the Fish and Wildlife Service that oil drilling has no place in this critical ecosystem. Please sign this petition today!

read petition letter ▾

Dear Tom Melius, Regional Director,

Thank you very much for the opportunity to comment on the Yukon Flats proposed land exchange Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). I am writing to express my deep concerns and opposition to this proposal.

The Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge (Yukon Flats Refuge) encompasses 11 million acres of some of the most productive Arctic wildlife habitat in North America. The wetlands, river floodplains and forested lowlands of the refuge support the highest density of breeding ducks in Alaska, along with three species of salmon and hundreds of other birds, mammals and fish species. Native Gwich'in Athabascan people have relied on these resources for thousands of years, and subsistence activities continue to define the cultural and social fabric of the eight native villages located in and near the Refuge.
The proposed land exchange would transfer close to 200,000 acres of surface and subsurface lands within the refuge in the center of the agency's recommended wilderness area and adjacent to the Congressionally designated Wild Beaver Creek corridor, to a for-profit corporation, Doyon, Ltd. (Doyon). Doyon hopes to transform this intact, wild ecosystem into a major industrial development for oil and gas extraction. If realized, this plan will irreparably harm and fragment the refuge. For example, up to 600 miles of roads and pipeline access routes across the refuge may be developed according to the EIS. Not only will the Yukon Flats be cut up into many small pieces by roads and pipelines, it will also be transformed into a major industrial development zone, no longer resembling a National Wildlife Refuge.

There are also far-reaching deficiencies in the DEIS. These include that the appraisal and land values information regarding the exchange lands is not included in the DEIS, which makes it virtually impossible for the public to be able to comment on whether or not this exchange is of equal-value and/or in the public's best interest. Also, there is insufficient information regarding the current and future effects of climate change on the Yukon Flats Refuge and how oil and gas development will alter and accelerate these effects. Finally, the impacts analysis in the DEIS is deficient as it does not fully reveal all of the impacts of this very significant proposed industrial development on the Refuge or to the people and cultures existing within and near the Refuge.

I strongly oppose the proposed land exchange because it will facilitate sprawling oil and gas development on vital habitat that has been set aside for protection in the Yukon Flats Refuge. Oil and gas development will bring roads, pipelines, air and vehicle traffic, air and water quality problems, harm to subsistence cultures that have existed in this region for thousands of years, and threats to the entire Yukon river watershed, including the designated Wild Beaver Creek and White-Crazy Mountain Recommended Wilderness area. Oil and gas development is not compatible with the purposes for which the refuge was established. Indeed, the Service currently does not allow oil and gas development on refuge lands.

I urge you to fulfill your agency's legal obligations to conserve and protect the lands within the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge, including the Wild Beaver Creek drainage, by choosing the No Action alternative.

[Your comment]

Thank you very much for considering my comments.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]

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The proposed land exchange would transfer close to 200,000 acres of surface and subsurface lands within the refuge in the center of the agency's recommended wilderness area and adjacent to the Congressionally designated Wild Beaver Creek corridor, to a for-profit corporation, Doyon, Ltd. (Doyon). Doyon hopes to transform this intact, wild ecosystem into a major industrial development for oil and gas extraction. If realized, this plan will irreparably harm and fragment the refuge. For example, up to 600 miles of roads and pipeline access routes across the refuge may be developed according to the EIS. Not only will the Yukon Flats be cut up into many small pieces by roads and pipelines, it will also be transformed into a major industrial development zone, no longer resembling a National Wildlife Refuge. There are also far-reaching deficiencies in the DEIS. These include that the appraisal and land values information regarding the exchange lands is not included in the DEIS, which makes it virtually impossible for the public to be able to comment on whether or not this exchange is of equal-value and/or in the public's best interest. Also, there is insufficient information regarding the current and future effects of climate change on the Yukon Flats Refuge and how oil and gas development will alter and accelerate these effects. Finally, the impacts analysis in the DEIS is deficient as it does not fully reveal all of the impacts of this very significant proposed industrial development on the Refuge or to the people and cultures existing within and near the Refuge. I strongly oppose the proposed land exchange because it will facilitate sprawling oil and gas development on vital habitat that has been set aside for protection in the Yukon Flats Refuge. Oil and gas development will bring roads, pipelines, air and vehicle traffic, air and water quality problems, harm to subsistence cultures that have existed in this region for thousands of years, and threats to the entire Yukon river watershed, including the designated Wild Beaver Creek and White-Crazy Mountain Recommended Wilderness area. Oil and gas development is not compatible with the purposes for which the refuge was established. Indeed, the Service currently does not allow oil and gas development on refuge lands. I urge you to fulfill your agency's legal obligations to conserve and protect the lands within the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge, including the Wild Beaver Creek drainage, by choosing the No Action alternative. [Your comment] Thank you very much for considering my comments. Sincerely, [Your name] [Your address]

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Stop Oil Drilling in Alaska Wildlife Refuge!