From the Alaska Wilderness League (http://www.alaskawild.org):
Imagine a place about the size of Maine, with a breathtaking expanse of open tundra, countless lakes and sparkling ponds, meandering rivers and coastal lagoons, and the majestic Brooks Range rising in the distance.
The western Arctic is a boundless wilderness that stretches our imagination to a time when buffalo freely roamed across the Great Plains. Its abundant wildlife has sustained Indigenous communities for thousands of years.
But ConocoPhillips is pushing for a massive oil development project in this area that is so aggressive and expansive, it alone could prevent President Biden from meeting his climate goals for our nation.
A comment period has just opened that will allow the public to stop this project. In light of these extraordinary natural values and climate change concerns, we hope you will raise your voice and submit a comment today at https://secure.alaskawild.org/a/willowjulycomment.
The Washington Post reported resident concerns about that proposed plan: “[W]e continue to believe that the version of the Project that was approved in 2020 will cause unreasonable and avoidable impacts on subsistence resources that are vital to Nuiqsut and other communities on the North Slope.”
But it’s not just the residents at risk. Oil activities could push caribou from the Teshekpuk Lake and Western Arctic caribou herds to less favorable landscapes, and biologists predict that endangered species such as threatened polar bears and spectacled eiders will also be adversely affected by the Willow project.
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