OT re Arctic National Wildlife Refuge:
Message 15591879
Tim, coincidentally, there was an article in the Seattle Times on the ANWR, showing pics. First the AMAT poster's claim that the ANWR is not that beautiful is off or maybe in comparison to other parts of Alaska he's right. Nonetheless, ANWR has a stark, primitive beauty all its own....not unlike northern New Mexico.
Furthermore, the ANWR "is a unique conservation unit"; "it encompasses an entire mt. range cross-section,protecting more fully intact, functioning ecosystems than any other national park, refuge or forest in the United States." There is a wide range of animal groups including falcons, owls, moose, white sheep, musk ox, and arctic fox, and is the only protected place in the world that contains 3 bear species....polar, black and grizzly...within its borders. It has the highest density of p0lar bear dens in the US. Polar bears give birth in the winter and so "these animals are particularly vulnerable' to oil development since that's their [oil] season as well.
The most vulnerable of all the creatures on the North are the Porcupine Caribou....they are the link between many of the animal species as a food source. That includes the Gwich'in, a native peoples of this area.
Bush pilot Don Ross, a hard bitten practical type, says of the ANWR:
"That place is a sacred, spiritual place. The patterned ground and the pastel light, the hourly, daily and seasonal changes painting the mts. and valleys.....I simply feel blessed to see it at all."
I plan to post this to the AMAT poster.
ted |
