State Rep. Debra Lekanoff, D-Bow, grew up in the small town of
Yakutat, Alaska, where her entire family and most of her friends
hunted and fished, following Native American traditions passed down
from their ancestors.
Rep. Lekanoff carries with her that indelible perspective, as
she goes about the business of law-making. Like all of us, her
personal history has shaped the forces that drive her today. Now,
as sponsor of
House Bill 1578, she is pushing hard for a law to help protect
Puget Sound from a catastrophic oil spill.
KTVA, the CBS affiliate in
Anchorage, presented a program Sunday on the 30th anniversary of
the Exxon Valdez oil spill. // Video:
KTVA-TV
In 1989, Debra, a member of the Tlinget Tribe, was about to
graduate from high school when the Exxon Valdez ran aground in
Prince William Sound, some 220 miles northwest of her hometown. The
spill of 11 million gallons of crude oil ultimately killed an
estimated 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 250
bald eagles and up to 22 killer whales, along with untold numbers
of fish and crabs, according to the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (PDF 11.5 mb).
That was 30 years ago this past Sunday.
A 40-year tug of war between oil wells and caribou in Alaska’s
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge could soon end with active drilling
in one of the most fragile ecosystems in the world.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont,
argues that the focus should be on climate change, not more
oil.
Photo: Congressional video
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources endorsed
legislation yesterday that would require the federal government to
sell leases for at least 800,000 acres of land over the next
decade. The measure, which divided Republicans and Democrats in the
committee, could pass the full Senate with a 50-percent vote as
part of a budget bill.
The committee discussion, shown in the video on this page, was
quite revealing, as Democrats offered amendments to the Republican
legislation. The hearing begins 24:05 minutes into the video.
The committee chairwoman, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from
Alaska, said developing oil wells in the northern part of ANWR was
always the intent of the 1980 law that expanded the wildlife
refuge. The drilling could generate more than $1 billion in federal
revenues over the first 10 years, according to the Congressional
Budget Office.
Murkowski said oil development will create thousands of good
jobs, keep energy affordable, reduce foreign oil imports and ensure
national security. Drilling is supported by Alaskans of all
political persuasions, including most public officials, she
said.
Murkowski insisted again and again that the environment would be
protected during any future oil production. No environmental laws
would be waived, she said, and new oil-drilling technology will
allow a much smaller footprint of development than in previous
drilling projects in Alaska.
Democrats, led by Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, the ranking
Democrat on the committee, voiced indignation over the language in
the legislation as well as the idea of drilling in a wildlife
refuge.
Even though the legislation leaves the door open for
environmental reviews — including an assessment of harm to
endangered species — it clearly mandates drilling, regardless of
the damage to any species or their habitats, the Democrats
maintained. Attorneys for the committee concurred in that
assessment.
In fact, the new legislation would the alter the original law
that created the wildlife refuge by adding a new purpose: oil
production in the 1.5-million-acre northern region, known as the
1002 Area. Leased areas would essentially become a petroleum
preserve, governed by the National Petroleum Reserve Act.
“The purpose of the refuge was to protect the wildlife that live
there,” Cantwell said. “You are taking a wildlife refuge and
turning it on its ear.”
If approved, the legislation would remove lands to be developed
from the jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and put
them under the Bureau of Land Management.
Cantwell mentioned a
letter signed by 37 scientists familiar with ANWR who objected
to oil exploration and development in the refuge. They raised
concerns for the wildlife that occupy the coastal plain where
drilling is proposed.
“Decades of biological study and scientific research within the
Arctic Refuge have confirmed that the coastal plain specifically is
vital to the biological diversity of the entire refuge,” the letter
says. “In fact, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
the Arctic Refuge coastal plain contains the greatest wildlife
diversity of any protected area above the Arctic Circle.”
Included in that diversity, the letter says, are “polar bears,
grizzly bears, wolves, wolverines, caribou, muskoxen, Dolly Varden
char, Arctic grayling, and many species of migratory birds.”
Cantwell also discussed a
letter written by primate expert Jane Goodall that was sent to
every U.S senator. The letter begs the senators to “demonstrate
your commitment to the natural world and to future generations and
stand with me to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.”
Other Democratic and Independent senators on the committee also
spoke out forcefully against the measure.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, raised the issue of climate
change and the hundreds of billions of dollars that the U.S. must
spend because of more intense storms and hurricanes. In that
context, the $1 billion to be raised from ANWR is insignificant, he
said.
“I think that our children and our grandchildren are going to
look back on meetings and markups like this, and they are really
going to be shaking their heads and asking, ‘What world was the
United States Senate living in when … responsible people were
talking about more exploration for fossil fuels and not addressing
the planetary crisis of climate change?’
“What this committee should be doing, working with people all
over the world, is saying, ‘How do we transform our energy system
away from fossil fuels, away from coal, oil and gas to sustainable
energy?’” he added.
Sanders’ comments come at 2:02:38 in the video.
“This isn’t BLM land,” said Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico,
offering an amendment to protect wildlife. “This is a national
wildlife refuge. … Does wildlife come first? You would think so
from the name. But if we don’t make this change to the legislation,
what we are saying is that oil and gas development comes first.
That is a very, very dangerous precedent to make.”
Brown bears are still actively fishing at Brooks Falls in
Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve. I wish I had more time
to sit and watch them, as there is almost always something going on
at this time of year — although the salmon run is expected to
decline soon. See live video from three cameras on
Explore.com.
The looping video on this page was captured from one of the live
cameras by national park staff, who posted the action with this
note: “Wow, fishing gets intense! Bear brawl!”
For this and other live wildlife cams from across the country,
check out my “Amusing Monday” blog post in
Water Ways from June 29.
The beautiful and powerful brown bears have arrived at Brooks
Falls in Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska, and everyone
in the world can enjoy the convenience of watching these giant
bears and other amazing wildlife live from the comfort and safety
of their home.
Lots of people have been going out to falls this year to watch
the bears from nearby viewing platforms, but I get the feeling that
far more people have been watching them from home via the
live webcams. I say that because of the number of
comments generated on the website. More than a few commenters
seem to know the area well and even call the bears by their
nicknames. (Park biologists use a numbering system, identifying
each bear by coat and claw colors, scars, body size and shape, ear
size and shape, sex, facial features and disposition.)
Brooks Falls is one of the first streams in the region where the
bears have easy access to bright salmon soon after they leave the
saltwater and before spawning. The falls provide a partial barrier
to their travels, making fishing easier for the bears. By sometime
in August, the fish runs will dwindle and the bears will be
gone.
Operators of the multiple live webcams do a good job of zooming
in when something interesting happens. Occasionally, so much is
going on that they don’t know what to show. Other times, we wait
and watch the beautiful scenery, which is especially dramatic at
sunrise and sunset.
When the bears are actively fishing for salmon, I find it hard
to break away and get back to daily life. One video trick I’ve
learned: If you don’t see anything interesting in the live view,
you can use your cursor to scan across the timeline to see what has
happened for the past few hours and watch that instead.
Park officials have identified the various fishing methods used
by the bears in an interesting
Q&A section on the national park’s website.
Birds and marine mammal cams
Besides watching bears, it’s a good time of year to watch other
wildlife as well via live webcam. Birds are typically active on
their nests, raising their young.
Chesapeake Conservancy is featuring the osprey couple,
Tom and Audrey, who perennially nest on Kent Island in
Maryland. Audrey has taken up with a new “Tom” this year and
produced three babies. They also received two foster chicks from
nearby Poplar Island, according to information on the website.
Another good osprey cam was installed this year in Belwood Lake
Conservation Area near the Great Lakes in Ontario, Canada. Three
eggs reportedly hatched, but I see only two chicks in the nest.
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife also has an osprey
cam that updates still photos every 12 seconds.
A puffin
cam at Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge in Maine shows a
fuzzy chick tucked into a burrow where its mother comes and goes to
feed her baby. Other views shows puffins on a ledge where they
often hang out. Wildlife biologists are trying to establish a new
colony at this location after hunters wiped out the puffins in the
1800s.
If you would like to see a colony
of walruses, (also in video player below) check out the live
camera installed on Round Island, Alaska. Sometimes only a few of
the large mammals can be seen. Other times, like this morning,
large numbers were pushing and shoving each other for space. The
comments are often entertaining.
I’m on vacation this week, but I wanted to revisit a video I
first presented in June of last year. We see fishermen playing a
fish while a killer whale plays the fishermen. I interviewed the
excited man in this video soon after the fishing trip to explain
some of his comments. The video has now been viewed more than 1.2
million times.
Frank Sanders is an experienced hunting and fishing guide, yet
he screamed with excitement when he reeled in his fishing line to
find a killer whale at the other end.
The video, posted two weeks ago by Frank’s deckhand Charlie
Barberini, has been viewed more than 800,000 times on YouTube. That
doesn’t count the number of times people watched the original
Facebook
post and videos copied from the original.
The video has raised numerous questions, such as why Frank is
showing his ring to the camera and looking for someone named Jason.
I was able to reach Frank in Hawaii, where he was on a fishing
trip, and he filled in some of the blanks.
Frank, Charlie and others were fishing for halibut near
Ninilchik in Cook Inlet in Southern Alaska. They had seen a couple
killer whales go by a few times but not close to the boat. I think
Frank told me the orcas were eating sockeye salmon that were in the
area. Suddenly, out of the depths, a killer whale appeared
following the fish on his line.
You need only to see and hear the video to know how much
excitement that generated.
Frank told me the orca did not appear to want the fish. It was
playing with the fishermen in the boat, grabbing the fish, pulling
the line out about 200 yards, then bringing it back. The whale
circled the boat a few times, he said, tangling fishing lines
played out from other poles. This went on for at least 10 minutes
before the whale went on his way.
The whale, of course, had the strength to bite the fish through
and take it away or snap the line any time he chose, Frank said.
But it didn’t.
About his ring, Frank explained that he travels a lot for his
business, Alaska Trophy Hunters. In fact, he is away from his wife
about as much as he is with her, so he sends her hunting and
fishing pictures from all over Alaska and displays his ring for
her.
As for Jason, I didn’t get the full story, but I heard enough to
understand that this, too, was an inside message. Jason is Frank’s
best friend and the best man at his wedding. Jason was in a
four-wheeler accident and suffered a severe brain injury. He was in
a coma for a month but then was getting better. Jason set up a
personal website on “Caring Bridge” to share information back and
forth with his friends and family. Frank wanted Jason to understand
that he was thinking about him during this adventure and was
showing him a special bracelet they shared. Unfortunately, Jason
suffered a stroke and may not pull through. (Update, June 24,
11 a.m.: I just received word from Frank this morning that Jason
passed away yesterday.)
After the video was posted, Frank reportedly told reporter Lydia
Warren of London’s
Daily Mail:
“Fishing gets kind of repetitive after 18 years, but this is one
of the most exciting things that has happened to me.”
A salmon cam in Alaska’s Steep Creek is showing fair numbers of
sockeye swimming upstream near the Mendenhall Glacier near
Juneau.
The U.S. Forest Service, which placed the camera (at right),
says the sockeye are likely to be visible from mid-July through
August. If you’re lucky, you may see the sockeye pairing up and
possibly even digging redds for their eggs.
Adult sockeye tend to average 24 inches long in Steep Creek.
Besides sockeye, you may see cutthroat and Dolly Varden trout in
the creek. You may also see young coho salmon swimming by. The
camera is managed by Forest Service officials in Tongass National
Forest.
If you recall, I listed several wildlife cams in a
June 17 entry in Water Ways. At the time, a pair of ospreys was
raising three young chicks. Take a look now at the ospreycam;
the babies are almost as big as their parents.
As for the Mendenhahl sockeye, additional information was
provided in a news release issued by the Forest Service:
President Bush has lifted the executive moratorium on offshore
oil development. Now it is up to Congress to decide whether to
shift the decision on offshore drilling to state governments for
state-by-state decisions. See Ben Feller’s story for the Associated
Press.
Meanwhile, there is a lot of political heat generated over the
“use-it-or-lose-it” bill proposed by the Democrats in Congress, who
argue that offshore drilling shouldn’t be approved until known
onshore reserve areas are explored. The bill won’t go anywhere,
because Democrats don’t have enough votes to override a
presidential veto. See Andrew Taylor’s story today for the Association
Press.
So what about offshore versus onshore drilling?
President Bush’s Department of Interior released a report in May
that says onshore public lands are estimated to contain 31 billion
barrels of oil and 231 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. I can’t
seem to find where the report spells out how many acres are in
roadless areas or contain endangered species and so on, but it does
say this:
Approximately 60 percent (165.9 million acres) of the federal
land is inaccessible. Based on resource estimates, these lands
contain about 62 percent of the oil (19.0 billion barrels) and 41
percent of the natural gas (94.5 trillion cubic feet).
Approximately 23 percent (65.2 million acres) of the federal
land is accessible with restrictions on oil and gas operations
beyond standard stipulations. Based on resource estimates, these
lands contain 30 percent of the oil (9.3 billion barrels) and 49
percent of the gas (112.9 trillion cubic feet).
Approximately 17 percent of the federal land (48.0 million
acres) is accessible under standard lease terms. Based on resource
estimates, these lands contain 8 percent of the oil (2.3 billion
barrels) and 10 percent of the gas (23.6 trillion cubic feet).
Meanwhile, the BLM yesterday
announced its decision to open for exploration and development
about 2.6 million acres of potential oil lands in northern Alaska.
The “record of decision” puts off final conclusions about another
600,000 acres north of Teshekpuk Lake, which includes habitat for
caribou and migrating birds.
Tom Lonnie, Alaska state director for the Bureau of Land
Management, was quoted by Felicity Barringer of the
New York Times as saying the decision will allow drilling in an
areas that holds some 3.7 billion barrels of oil.
For a reference on the amount of oil these figures represent,
the United States goes through about a billion barrels of oil in 50
days. See the Energy Information
Administration.
