10/23: Paula Easley's ANWR commentary and Andrew Lundquist's Alliance appearance.

7/26:  To:  Northern Gas Pipelines:  The attached letter was written by James McElligot, a freshman at Harvard, who's father, Mike, is a broker at my office. James was so upset by an editorial in the Crimson Tide against opening ANWR that he wrote the attached and sent it to the Crimson Tide. After reading the Crimson Tide's editorial I wrote them saying that I am a journalist and would be fired if I had written what they wrote because the first rule of journalism is to have accurate facts.  I challenged them to publish James' letter, and to their credit they did (Click above).  Chris Stephens, CCIM, Bond, Stephens & Johnson, Inc.

7/6: ANWR reality lies far north of Gwich'in, FAIRBANKS DAILY NEWS-MINER, By GEORGE TAGAROOK--Here in Kaktovik, home of the only people native to the lands in question, the Arctic Coastal Plain of the so-called Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, we read with both amusement and horror the series of articles in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner about recent eco-ethnic parties over in the Yukon Basin. It is marvelous rhetoric, a stunning incursion of alien perspectives and language into a world never before visited by such seemingly noble sentiments.   ...    When Sarah James, one of the persons using that alien language now, signed the lease agreement years ago for oil and gas exploration within the Gwich'in homelands, we did not think to question the wisdom of her decision. It was their homelands to do with as they pleased. When they speak of their sacred lands, the calving grounds of the Porcupine Caribou Herd, which just happen to be our homelands and far removed from theirs, we know we are hearing alien words spoken for somebody else. For no Gwich'in would ever make that incredible mistake.  The ANWR issue has nothing to do with environmental protection nor with caribou....

7/11:  WASHINGTON, D.C. – Several Alaskans appeared today (7/11) before the full Committee on Resources to testify on behalf of H.R. 2436 – The Energy Security Act.  The bill was formally introduced yesterday and has been referred to the Resources Committee.  Roger C. Herrera of Arctic Power joined Richard Glenn, Vice President of Arctic Slope Regional Corporation and Jerry Hood of Alaska’s Teamsters on the witness stand.  Interior Secretary Gale Norton was the panel’s lead witness. (Balance of story here.)

6/29, Weekend.  ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS by Ben Spiess--A high profile environmental group has staked its opposition to an offshore natural gas pipeline route from Alaska's North Slope to Canada and the Lower 48. ...  The group opposes the offshore route through the Beaufort Sea because of its proximity to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and because it would travel through the largely undeveloped waters east of Prudhoe Bay.   (Note: Northern Gas Pipelines earlier cautioned that the passage of SB 164 in Alaska could indirectly support anti-ANWR efforts.  -dh)          *       "Environmental Organizations Living Off Fat of the Land", ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS reprint--7-1-01, 1st of 4 parts-- of Pulitzer Prize-winning Tom Knudson's SACRAMENTO BEE articles (Not yet uploaded on ADN website).  ADN "Editor's note: Thirty-one years after the first Earth Day, the environmental movement has blossomed into a fund-raising, public-relations machine...."       *  

6/13.  Regarding an unfactual, extremist article in the otherwise respected, Field & Stream:  June 13, 2001 (Photo: Tadd Owens with former RDC Executive Director, Becky Gay, at RDC meeting, Spring 2001)

Dear Editor:

Wow!  I just read your latest piece on ANWR by George Reiger and it left me speechless.  As a life-long Alaskan, avid outdoorsman and someone who has enjoyed Field & Stream for many years, I am shocked that such an extremely misinformed editorial would appear in your magazine.

Your readers, especially those in the Lower-48, deserve so much more regarding this important public policy issue.  All of Mr. Reiger's assertions about the oil and gas industry in Alaska - number of spills on the North Slope annually, wolves and grizzlies killed by off-duty workers, a still-devastated Prince William Sound, tankers delivering oil to Japan and China - are at best misleading and more often blatantly false.

Even the most rudimentary research would have brought some balance to the piece.  Unfortunately, this is yet another example of the press distorting the facts of the ANWR issue in the name of conservation.  Alaskans, even those involved in the oil and gas industry, care deeply about their state and its natural environment.  It is beyond frustrating to be continually bombarded with misinformation from the national conservation movement.

People of good faith can and will disagree about whether to open the 1002 area of ANWR to oil and gas exploration.  However, at the very least, they should be given the facts in order to make an informed decision.

I would be happy to submit a counter argument to Mr. Reiger's editorial at your request.

Sincerely,

Tadd Owens
Executive Director
Resource Development Council
for Alaska, Inc.
    

5/10.   (Photo, Jerry Hood-right, visits after speech with Arctic Power's D.C. Coordinator, Roger Herrera, 5-10-01)  Alaska Teamster Local 959 Secretary-Treasurer, Jerry Hood, told the Resource Development Council for Alaska this morning that, "Some of our ANWR opposition in Washington D.C. uses the gas pipeline as a defense against responsible Coastal Plain exploration.  They say, 'develop the gas pipeline, not ANWR'.  We tell them it's not an 'either-or' situation.  America needs the natural gas and the oil."  In addition to his volunteer work supporting Arctic Power’s Washington lobbying effort, Hood serves on Governor Tony Knowles Alaska Highway Natural Gas Policy Council.

(Photo-Arctic Power Co-chairman, Mano Frey-left and Executive Director, Cam Toohey, following Hood's speech, 5-10-01)  During his presentation, Hood referred to a massive amount of misinformation that the environmental industry has spread in expensive television commercials to a well-intentioned public.  “The public’s been told oil tankers would pull right up to the Coastal Plain and load up,” he said.  “They’ve been told that ANWR is the ‘Serengeti of the North’.”

5/4.  YELLOWKNIFE, N.W.T.--Canadian report says today that UAF Professor opposes Vice President Cheney's ANWR rationale.

5/2.   National Post news tip from J.L. in Y.T.: "The Bush Administration's most controversial proposal has been to open Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR) to oil exploration. 'The notion that somehow developing the resources in ANWR requires a vast despoiling of the environment is provably false,' said Mr. Cheney." 

5/2.   Energy website promotes Arctic Power.

4/30.  Weekend Peninsula Clarion on ANWR's labor support letter:  ''Not only is today's technology more environmentally sound, but labor has for decades worked with employers in the oil and gas industry to promote safety, efficiency, and ecologically safe operations....''

4/15.  Anchorage Daily News Publishes Major Feature on North Slope Development, pro-con.

4/10 News:  See MSNBC story on North Slope and ANWR poll results: 49% for 48% against. 

4/6 News:  Natural Resources Defense Council Reports ANWR Setback.

3/12 News: NWT Legislative Assembly passes motion against ANWR development.