Don't Allow Oil Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Coastal Plain

April 4, 2000

Dear Senator,

We are writing as members of the religious community to urge you to oppose legislation introduced by Senator Frank Murkowski (S.2214) that would mandate oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain. We also urge you to oppose any other attempts, including assumptions of Arctic drilling revenues in the 2001 Budget Resolution, to open the refuge to oil development. Instead, we encourage you to cosponsor legislation introduced by Senator William Roth (S.867) that would protect this national treasure for future generations.

Ninety-five percent of Alaska's vast North Slope is already open to oil exploration and drilling. The last 5 percent the Arctic Refuge coastal plain -- is often called "America's Serengeti" because of its aggregations of caribou and other wildlife. The Gwich'in n people, whose subsistence lifestyle depends on the 130,000 caribou that migrate to calf on the coastal plain call it "the sacred place where life begins.". They depend on the caribou for food, clothing, handicrafts and tools. They sing songs about caribou and dance the caribou dance. The caribou are a way of life for the Gwich'in, binding their generations. The disturbance of the caribou could lead to an extinction of traditional Gwich'in life. The Gwich'in ask why their way of life should be disturbed in order to supply the US economy with a few months worth of oil.

Protection of this incomparable landscape has long enjoyed bipartisan support. President Dwight Eisenhower first protected the coastal plain in his Arctic National Wildlife Range in 1960. Writing about his experiences there, Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas said, "Never, I believe, had God worked more wondrously than in the creation of this beautiful [place]."

The Murkowski bill would destroy this last vestige of protected Arctic wilderness . Regardless of how much oil may lie beneath this fragile strip of tundra, drilling there would not improve our energy security or lower prices at the pump. Estimated economically recoverable oil from the coastal plain would never meet more than 2 percent of our oil demands at any given time.

We must take steps to ensure the survival of the Gwich'in people, not sacrifice one of the last subsistence cultures for a questionable, short-term supply of oil. We believe that our nation's energy needs can be better met by developing more efficient ways of using energy, and by developing alternative energy sources.

Please oppose the Murkowski drilling bill and any other short-sighted attempts to plunder America's Arctic Refuge and support the Roth bill (S. 867) to protect this pristine wild place for future generations. We ask that you take into consideration the cultural and spiritual values of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge that go far beyond the possible monetary value of any oil development.

Sincerely,

Tena Willemsma & Father Christopher Bender

Co-Chairs, National Council of Churches of Christ, Eco-Justice Working Group

Dr. Thom White Wolf Fassett

General Secretary, United Methodist General Board of Church and Society.

Edward W. Stowe

Legislative Secretary

Friends Committee for National Legislation

Thomas H. Hart

Director, Government Relations, The Episcopal Church

Rev. John Paarlberg

Minister for Social Witness Reformed Church in America

Rev. Charles McCollough,

Staff Associate, Office for Church in Society/United Church of Christ.

Rev. Owen D. Owens

Ecology and Racial Justice Program, American Baptist National Ministries

Rev. Russ Siler

Director, Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Rev. David Radcliff

Director, Brethren Witness, Church of the Brethren General Board

Rev. Meg A. Riley

Director, Washington Office for Faith in Action, Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations

Please address all inquiries to United Methodist General Board of Church and Society , 100 Maryland Ave, NE Washington DC, 20002. (202-488-5649)