Caribou of ANWR (by William Lynn)
If you would like to see live and highlight footage of calving Caribou in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), please follow this link, www.drexel.edu/seemore. ANWR is one of the few intact ecosystems in North America, often called the ‘Serengeti of the North’, and the footage is spectacular.
As many of you know, the current administration in Washington DC has targeted for development the calving grounds of the largest Caribou herd in North America. Situated along the northern coastline of Alaska near the Canadian border, this critical breeding area is located within the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Development of this area will negatively impact the herd (the severity of which remains to be seen), and have cascading impacts on other animals, particularly wolves and bears. The caribou and ANWR intersect with other controversies having to do with national energy policy as well as the endangered species act. We need a sustainable and sane energy policy for the nation, as well as a strong and vibrant endangered species act. Unfortunately, contemporary proposals to develop in ANWR and gut the endangered species act have the support of the current administration, its allies in Congress, and private interests in the energy industry.
The Sierra Club has a good introduction to ANWAR, the Caribou herds, and the issues surrounding development. Go to www.sierraclub.org/wildlands/arctic. To learn more about the ESA, check in with the Endangered Species Coalition at www.stopextinction.org. While perusing a google search on the web, I also found this interesting website– www.anwr.org — a ‘grassroots organization working to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration. The website and accompanying blog has a very pleasing and sophisticated PR feel, both of which are brought to us by Arctic Power. I don’t know if Arctic Power is an industry front group, or a politically savvy set of locals. Whether you agree with them or not, it is still worth a look. I think this is especially true because many objections to environmental and wildlife concerns, while specious in themselves, are rooted in other valid concerns about culture and livelihood. We must care about wolves and caribou (obviously), but we must also care about the well-being of the people who live alongside them.
Cheers, Bill
William Lynn :: Jun.12.2005 :: Environmental Studies, Human-Animal Studies :: No Comments »