Protect Alaskan Wilderness from Oil and Gas Drilling!

To Whom It May Concern:

I am strongly opposed to oil and gas drilling in Teshekpuk Lake area of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A). One of the most important wetlands in the Arctic, the Teshekpuk Lake region provides habitat for tens of thousands of molting geese, threatened species like the Spectacled Eider, and the 45,000-head Teshekpuk Lake Caribou Herd.

The draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement issued by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) could lead to the opening of this ecologically important wetland habitat to lease sales. The North Slope's residents have expressed strong opposition to the plan. So have sportsmen's groups, scientists, conservationists and the public at large.

The area around Teshekpuk Lake should remain what it is today: an irreplaceable, unbroken, core wildlife habitat for caribou, molting geese and millions of other birds and mammals and a place where generations of Alaska residents have hunted, fished and pursued their subsistence ways of life.

I ask you to not open the Teshekpuk Lake area to drilling for oil and gas. I also ask that the BLM protect the full range of the area's values, from subsistence to recreation to the health of fish and wildlife populations. The BLM should ensure strict adherence to environmental standards during every phase of nearby oil and gas operations.

Such a decision is the only appropriate one for this globally important wetland habitat. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]