Alaska Wilderness League

PROTECT ALASKA'S WILD LANDS AND WATERS BY INSPIRING BROAD SUPPORT FOR FEDERAL POLICY ACTION.

NPRA - ALASKA'S WESTERN ARCTIC IS HOME TO INCREDIBLE BIODIVERSITY, FEATURING SOME OF THE LONGEST MIGRATIONS LEFT ON EARTH. AT THE SAME TIME, THE NPRA IS INCREASINGLY THE FOCUS OF OIL AND GAS COMPANIES WHO SEEK TO EXTRACT BILLIONS OF BARRELS OF OIL IN THE DECADES TO COME. TO HELP PROTECT THE CLIMATE, WILD PLACES, AND SUSTAINABLE HUMAN USES OF THE NPRA, AWL IS PUSHING THE ADMINISTRATION TO SHIFT THE MANAGEMENT DIRECTION OF THIS LANDSCAPE IN FAVOR OF CONSERVATION AND CLIMATE SMART POLICY. ON TOP OF DEPLOYING AWL'S NETWORKS OF SUPPORTERS, AWL IS ALSO HELPING TO CREATE AND LEAD ELEVATION STRATEGIES THAT INCREASE PUBLIC AWARENESS ABOUT THIS RELATIVELY UNKNOWN AREA OF ALASKA'S ARCTIC, WHILE OPPOSING OIL AND GAS PROJECTS THAT WOULD LOCK THE REGION INTO OIL PRODUCTION THROUGH THE 2050S AND BEYOND.

TONGASS. IN SOUTHEAST ALASKA, THE TONGASS NATIONAL FOREST HAS ALREADY TRANSITIONED TO A POST-CLEAR CUT LOGGING ECONOMY, BUT FOR THE PAST DECADE POLICIES OF THE GOVERNMENT HAVE LAGGED BEHIND. AWL WORKED HARD TO SECURE, AND ARE HEARTENED, BY PRESIDENT BIDEN'S "SOUTHEAST ALASKA SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY" ANNOUNCED DURING 2021, AND TODAY AWL IS WORKING TO SECURE FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF IT, INCLUDING THE FULL RESTORATION OF THE ROADLESS RULE AND THE END OF INDUSTRIAL SCALE OLD GROWTH CLEAR CUT LOGGING. AT THE SAME TIME, AWL WORKS CLOSELY WITH PARTNERS - BOTH NATIONALLY AND IN-ALASKA - TO PUSH BACK AGAINST ANY LEGISLATION THAT WOULD PRIVATIZE CURRENTLY PUBLIC LANDS IN THIS FOREST.30X30. TODAY, IT'S A GLOBAL IMPERATIVE TO SECURE AT LEAST 30% OF LANDS AND WATERS FROM DESTRUCTION BY 2030, AND THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION HAS STATED AN INTENTION TO MAKE THIS A REALITY IN THE UNITED STATES. AS THE LEAGUE HAS BOTH NATIONAL AND IN-ALASKA PARTNERS, AWL WORKS TO HIGHLIGHT CRITICAL OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE ALASKA-CENTRIC TO HELP ACHIEVE THIS POLICY GOAL, WITH AN EYE TOWARDS SECURING CONSERVATION WINS FOR THE CAMPAIGNS LISTED ABOVE, ALONG WITH OTHER PRO-PUBLIC LAND POLICIES AND DECISIONS ACROSS THE STATE.RAPID DEFENSE. DEFENDING ALASKA'S PUBLIC LANDS REQUIRES CONSTANT ATTENTION. SOME THREATS - LIKE DRILLING THE ARCTIC REFUGE - ARE HIGH PROFILE, AND GARNER PUBLIC SCRUTINY THAT AWL WILL HELP TO SUPPORT THROUGH OUR LONG RUNNING ADVOCACY EFFORTS DESCRIBED ABOVE. HOWEVER, OTHER THREATS TO THE INTEGRITY OF ALASKA'S PUBLIC LANDS AREN'T AS OBVIOUS, THROUGH THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS OR VIA ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION. WITH AWL'S POLICY EXPERTISE AND OFFICE IN ALASKA, AWL IS WELL EQUIPPED TO ANALYZE PUBLIC LAND THREATS STATEWIDE, WHILE AWL SIMULTANEOUSLY WORKS TO INFLUENCE FEDERAL DECISIONS IN WASHINGTON DC.

REFUGE - THE ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE HAS BEEN A PRIMARY FOCUS OF AWL SINCE ITS FOUNDING. EVER SINCE CONGRESS VOTED TO OPEN THE ARCTIC REFUGE COASTAL PLAIN UP FOR OIL AND GAS EXTRACTION IN 2017, AWL'S PRIMARY GOAL HAS BEEN RESTORING PROTECTIONS WHILE STOPPING AND LIMITING DAMAGE FROM ANY AND ALL INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY ASSOCIATED WITH RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT. TO SECURE THIS GOAL, AWL WORKS WITH MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND THE ADMINISTRATION ALIKE TO SECURE A WILDERNESS DESIGNATION AND MINIMIZE IMPACTS FROM THE 2017 TAX ACT, ALONG WITH OTHER POLICIES THAT PROTECT REFUGE LANDS FOR LONG TERM SUSTAINABLE USES. AWL'S WORK ALSO INCLUDES EDUCATING AND MOBILIZING AMERICANS - INCLUDING ALASKANS - IN OUR 100,000+ MEMBER AND SUPPORTER NETWORK, WHILE AWL ALSO LEAD LIKEMINDED ORGANIZATIONS AND ENTITIES WHO ARE ALSO SEEKING LONG TERM PROTECTIONS FOR THIS ICONIC LANDSCAPE.

ARCTIC REFUGE DEFENSE CAMPAIGN - ARTIC REFUGE DEFENSE CAMPAIGN - AWL HOUSES THE CENTRAL STAFF AND SERVES AS THE FISCAL SPONSOR FOR THIS COLLABORATIVE CAMPAIGN EFFORT INVOLVING NATIONAL AND STATE-BASED CONSERVATION GROUPS AS WELL AS THE GWICH'IN STEERING COMMITTEE. THIS COLLABORATIVE EFFORT IS AIMED AT PREVENTING OIL AND GAS LEASING AND DRILLING IN AND RESTORING PROTECTIONS FOR THE ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE.