1611 Calhoun St. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 RE: Proposed oil drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge Dear Mr. Chairman and Members: I have recently returned from a month long (June, 1987) vacation during which Stephen Jones and I hiked and river floated in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge. Although I am an experienced hiker and backcountry traveler, I found this trip to be a profoundly moving experience; taken in its totality it was the most outstanding I have ever been on! The Brooks Range is sensational. In addition during our trip, we saw approximately 4000 caribou in migration, 300-400 Dall sheep, and 3 musk oxen often at close range 20-100 feet away. In fact, we had an intensely personal meeting at about 10 feet with a Dall ram we named "Curious George." He just wanted to check us out so we subsequently stared at one another from this distance for some 15 minutes. thought we could detect a twinkle of ammusement in his eye as he observed the "aliens." All in all we traveled about 150 miles on foot and by raft during our trip which covered the Leffingwell fork of the Aichilik River and the Kongakut River subsequently. Because of this I feel my observations may be of interest to you as congress engages in the debate to determine whether oil and gas exploration will be permitted in the refuge. We The lack of interference by man or other extraneous influences makes it possible to observe at first hand the complex ecology of the area. For example, the caribou migration routes are clearly marked by the bones of the young and the aged which have fallen prey to wolves and other predators. We often climbed peaks in the Brooks Range as day hikes. On one particularly memorable "midnight sun" hike near Caribou Pass on the Kongkut Tiver, we sat on a ridge at 2 am and saw many caribou as dots on the coastal plain. Another day we were able to observe a musk ox at close range on the edge of the coastal plain. It seems ironic to me that after being butchered to extinction by whalers in the 1860's, and nurtured back over 50 years by a breeding program with 30 seed animals from Greenland, that we are on the brink of extinguishing them again. As "Alaska Geographic" (vol. 8, #4, p12) stated in 1981, "The Alaska d-2 lands bill breaks new ground in a number of ways. A deliberate effort was made to include entire ecosystems in protected status." Entire I I believe that any proposals to drill for oil and gas in the coastal plain of the refuge strike at the heart of this concept. ecosystems cannot be preserved with oil and gas equipment in the middle of them. The coastal plain is the "production plant" for many of the species in the area. If you tamper with it, you will change and diminish those areas which have already been set aside. Oil drilling cannot be "good" for caribou calving. It cannot be good for the musk oxen who live there full time. Polar bears den on the coastal plain. cannot believe they will find oil drilling helpful in their day to day living. There are tens of thousands of birds who make the coastal plain home for a portion of the year. The issue is not one of raising domestic herds of caribou, musk oxen, and polar bears like so many commercial cattle. The folks in Lapland proved that commercial raising of caribou (Reindeer) was possible many hundreds of years ago, so I find little comfort in Donald (Whoops!) Hodel's statements that the numbers of caribou have risen in the Prudhoe area since that installation, as this misses the point. (Mr. Hodell's reputation for accuracy is not very high with most of us in Washington State anyway after his major role in the WPPS fiasco.) The point, I believe, is that this country, at least in one area, should be trying to preserve a large number of animal species in their intact and natural ecological surroundings. This is incompatible with oil drilling. I am not impressed with the arguments of the proponents of oil drilling. From the figures I've seen in the press there is only a 19% chance oil be found and, if found, a 50% chance that the find will be as large as 3.2 billion barrels. Is a 9.5% chance of finding enough oil to serve the United States' needs for 7 months sufficient reason to disrupt the ecological systems in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge? I believe not. According to the National Energy Policy plan of 1985, "energy efficiency has proven the most expeditious way to reduce the need for new or imported energy." It has been estimated that one mile per gallon improvement in the efficiency of U.S. automobiles saves 130 million barrels of oil per year. If this is true why is the United States relaxing requirements for energy efficiency of cars? Why was the speed limit raised to 65 MPH on many roads if our energy needs are so pressing as to require destruction of these north slope ecosystems? Disrupting the Arctic Refuge ecosystems, at best, is quite chancy, and it is a "quick fix" one shot proposition which will have a small time limited impact on our energy problems. What we need is an organized approach to the overall energy problems of the United States! I urge you to vote against any proposals to allow oil and gas exploration on the coastal plain of the Arctic Wildlife Refuge. Please save the "production center" of the refuge. The Alaska Wilderness Guides Association is an organization composed of more than 30 guiding businesses and over 60 independent guides that operate wilderness trips in Alaska's wildlands. Many of our members lead trips into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and particularly in the arctic coastal plain which is under consideration by your committee for oil exploration. We, as an association, are deeply concerned about the affect oil exploration will have on the ability of our members to continue to operate in this area. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the finest of all the wilderness preserves in America and possibly the world. It is here that people go to seek the ultimate in wilderness. Citizens from all over the nation, young and old, have visited this refuge Many of these people have gone with Association members. Guiding organizations such as ours have made it possible for people that may not otherwise be able to partake in such an endeavor to do so. Oll exploration on the coastal plain in the 1002 area would seriously affect the operations of many of our members. The developments at Prudhoe Bay have already eliminated a huge block of land and displaced our membership from offering wilderness journeys down the Sagavanirktok River and other rivers in this area. The Canning River which forms the western boundary of the Refuge has already been seriously impacted by oil exploration activity that took place in the early 60's Signs of past seismic activity, over 20 years old, are still distinctly visible along its western shore Is the same fate in store for the area east of the Canning River inside the boundary of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge? If oil exploration is allowed in the 1002 area, the Hulahula, Okpilak, Jago and Sadlerochit Rivers will be similarly affected. A number of our members offer rafting and kayaking trips down these rivers. The river sections that cross the coastal plain are a major part of the trips. It is here that guests see bands of muskoxen grazing on the tundra, tremendous aggregations of caribou sometimes numbering ir, the tens of thousands and the wolves, grizzlies and wolverine that follow the caribou. These trips end where the rivers run into the Arctic Ocean. From here trip participants look back across a vast expanse of wilderness plains, similar in may ways to the great plains east of the Rockies before Europeans came to North America. Signs of man's activities here are minimal. Views are yet unblimished to the snow-capped mountains and foothills that form the Brooks Range. In addition to river trips many of our Association members lead backpacking, basecamp and wildlife trips on the plains in the 1002 area. Hiking into the plains along the northern edge of the mountains from the Sadlerochit Range east to the Jago River offers unlimited opportunities for viewing wildlife. Oil exploration activity here will significantly impact these trips. Drilling rigs and other developments will be visible all the way to the coast. There is no way oil exploration activity will not significantly impact these trips. There is no other place in the Arctic that offers these opportunities. West of the Canning River the Brooks Range dips south and the coastal plain broadens from 40 miles wide to over 100 miles in width. The Prudhoe Bay complex has eliminated much of this adjoining area as wilderness. Farther west the coastal plain and the foothills provence are a patchwork of federal, state and native lands all open to oil exploration and development. The remainder of the north slope is within the Naval Petroleum Reserve. Oil exploration activity in the Arctic National Wildlife will effectively eliminate our members from offering trips into this area. In 1973, during the pre-construction phase of development, even before the pipeline was built one of our members ran a trip down the Sagavanirktok River. They ended the trip at a gravel bar at the base of the road at Happy Valley (a pipeline construction camp). The following morning they were awaken by squealing tires and gravel flying when the camp manager arrived in an Alyeska pickup. The first words that were spoken were "what are you doing on Alyeska property? What oil company are you working for?" When he found out these people didn't work for an oil company, that they had just floated down the Sagavanirktok River and that they were out here enjoying themselves, he was even more concerned. The group was told "you are not to set foot off this gravel bar Effectively this group was eliminated from using this federal land Is there any reason to think things would be different along the north slope in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge? It is imperative that this committee prohibit oil exploration in the 1002 area. This area should be designated wilderness. The north slope of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the only place left north of the Brooks Range protected from of development. This diant happen by accidenti The 1002 area that this committee is considering opening up to o exploration is the single most significant piece of wildi fe real estate in the United States. As others have said, it's comparable to Africas Serengeti plains it seems incomprehensible to this Assoc at or that Congress wou'd ever consider doing avthing but protect this hat orai treasure as cemess Please include this statement in the hearing record. Thanks you for this appertunity to comment Sincere ེ་ ོམ 300 actos President |