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Session: State Capitol, Room 411 Juneau, AK 99801-1182 Phone: (907) 465-2689 Fax: (907) 465-3472 Send E-Mail Interim: 345 W Sterling Highway, Suite 102 Home, AK 99603 Phone: (907) 235-2921 Fax: (907) 235-4008 |
Opposing His Legislation to Lock Up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
April 26, 1999
The Honorable William Roth
U. S. Senate
104 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Roth:
The Alaska Legislature totally opposes the introduction of your bill to permanently lock up the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge of Alaska from development. Your enthusiasm for introducing this bill on Earth Day certainly was a black day for Alaska.
The undersigned members of the Alaska Legislature are both Republican and Democrat, represent both urban and rural areas of our state, are ardent environmentalists and avid developers -- and we are all united in support of developing the coastal plain of our northeast corner of Alaska, more commonly known as ANWR. Congress deliberately set aside this area in 1980 for its oil and gas potential. This potential was determined by the Department of Interior in 1998 to be in excess of 10 billion barrels of recoverable oil.
Not only has this legislative session wholeheartedly endorsed the opening of ANWR through the attached Alaska Joint Resolution 11, but our Legislature is on record supporting development for the past 20 years.
For many years, we Alaskans have worked hard to make certain the development occurring on our lands equally protects our environment AND benefits, not only the Alaskan people, but also the people of our nation. Since 1977, our Prudhoe Bay Oil Field has safely and steadily supplied America with a significant percentage of our nation's daily production. Developing ANWR will continue that stability and fend off the growing threat of foreign dependence.
Alaskans support the development of our resources. The Inupiat people who populate arctic Alaska are on record to the President with their support. We respectfully request that you, and the co-sponsors of this legislation, give careful consideration to dropping this ill-advised proposal. We hope you will accept our invitation to visit Alaska so that we can show you, first hand, how very carefully we have protected our environment, reduced the footprint of development, provided for a stable economy and helped to protect against America's growing dependency on a foreign source for our energy needs. We have done this, not only for Alaska, but also for thousands of American working families.
Respectfully,
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Representative Gail Phillips Representative Alan Austerman Representative Ramona Barnes Representative Ethan Berkowitz Representative Tom Brice Representative Con Bunde Representative John Coghill, Jr. Representative John Cowdery Representative Eric Croft Representative John Davies Representative Gary Davis Representative Fred Dyson Representative Richard Foster Representative Joe Green Representative Ben Grussendorf Representative Andrew Halcro Representative John Harris Representative Bill Hudson Representative Jeannette James Representative Reggie Joule Representative Mary Kapsner Representative Allen Kemplen Representative Vic Kohring Representative Albert Kookesh Representative Pete Kott Representative Beverly Masek Representative Lisa Murkowski |
Representative Carl Morgan Representative Eldon Mulder Representative Scott Ogan Representative Brian Porter Representative Norman Rokeberg Representative Jerry Sanders Representative Harold Smalley Representative Gene Therriault Representative Jim Whitaker Representative Bill Williams Senator Al Adams Senator Dave Donley Senator Lyda Green Senator Rick Halford Senator Lyman Hoffman Senator Pete Kelly Senator Tim Kelly Senator Loren Leman Senator Jerry Mackie Senator Mike Miller Senator Sean Parnell Senator Drue Pearce Senator Randy Phillips Senator Robin Taylor Senator John Torgerson Senator Jerry Ward Senator Gary Wilken |