Oil Drilling Eyed For Another Alaskan Wilderness - protest over proposed oil drilling in Alaska's Copper River Delta - Brief Article

National Wildlife, June-July, 2001

While the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is getting most of the publicity, the largest wetland on North America's Pacific coast also is threatened by energy exploration.

NWF is strongly opposed to a U.S. Forest Service decision to allow test drilling for oil under Forest Service lands in Alaska's Copper River Delta, a haven for 16 million shorebirds and waterfowl, and home to the prized Copper River salmon.

"This is a dangerous first step toward seeing this wild and pristine area overrun by oil rigs, pipelines and roads," says Scott Anaya, Copper River Delta coordinator in NWF's Alaska office.

Last year, the agency granted a Native corporation the right to build a road through prime salmon spawning habitat in order to log 8,000 acres. Also pending is a proposal for a coal strip-mine operation and power plant in the delta.

NWF is working hard to convince the government to designate the delta a federal wilderness area and has helped generate tens of thousands of comments from the public calling for permanent protection.