PrimalNature.org:
Big Wilderness: Alerts
Oil and Gas Leasing
Two bills relating to oil and gas leases in the Chukchi Sea need support: S. 2568, filed by Senator John Kerry in January and H.R. 5588 filed by Representative Ed Markey in March. The Senate bill would amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to prohibit oil and gas activities in the Chukchi Sea and the adjacent Beaufort Sea until 1) the Secretary of the Interior receives a report from the Natural Research Council analyzing the status of research on wildlife in these bodies of water and making recommendations for filling any inadequacies in current knowledge on this subject; 2) the Secretary of the Interior declares the polar bear to be endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act or determines that it is not so endangered or threatened; and 3) the Secretary of the Interior determines that means for recovering at least 85% of any oil spilled in these bodies of water exist. The House bill would prevent leasing in Lease Sale 193 Area of the Alaska Outercontinental Shelf until the Secretary of the Interior determines the status of the polar bear in relation to the Endangered Species Act. The Senate bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The House bill is in)the House Committee on Natural Resources. Please ask your representatives to support this legislation. (The Congressional Switchboard is 202-224-3121.)