"This year is the 50th anniversary of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and today the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is asking the people of Anchorage about a new management plan for the refuge. I hope you will join me in calling for permanent protection of the refuge's coastal plain from oil development. Here's why I need your help.

The Gwich'in are caribou people. Caribou has provided for us since the beginning of time. Caribou is in our tools, clothing, songs and stories. If you marked on a map where the Gwich'in have always lived and also where the Porcupine Caribou Herd migrates, you would see how we live together. If you came to visit me at my village you would find caribou in every house and freezer in town.

Just as we rely on caribou, the caribou depend on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Coastal Plain. This is the birthplace and nursery grounds, where every Porcupine caribou calf gets its start in life. Even when deep snows mean the calves are born on Canada side, the mothers will bring their calves to the coastal plain as soon as they can. We call it "Izhik Gwats'an Gwandaii Goodlit" -- the Sacred Place Where Life Begins."

Get the Story:
Sarah James: Caribou protection vital to a way of life (The Anchorage Daily News 9/21)

Also Today:
Public weighs in on ANWR coastal plain (The Anchorage Daily News 9/22)