 For Immediate Release
Arctic Refuge Coalition Announces Citizen Action Day, September 20 Thousands to Converge on Washington, D.C. Washington, DC - August 29, 2005 The coalition of groups working to save the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge announced today that it is sponsoring a citizen action day on Tuesday, September 20, 2005, in Washington, D.C. On Arctic Refuge Action Day, thousands of Americans from across the country will come to the U.S. Capitol to urge lawmakers to protect America's Arctic Refuge from oil drilling. "It's not too late to save the Arctic Refuge from devastating oil drilling. We have to make our voices heard now," said Bill Meadows, president of The Wilderness Society. "The big oil companies have the money and the high-powered lobbyists, but we are confident that when it comes time to vote on the fate of the Arctic Refuge, Congress will listen to the American people." Participants, arriving in Washington from as far away as Oregon and Alaska, will assemble at 11 A.M. on the Capitol's West Lawn for a gathering led by speakers and musicians. Action Day participants will then visit House and Senate offices to speak to their congressional representatives face-to-face about the upcoming vote on Arctic Refuge drilling. Later this fall, both the House and Senate are expected to vote on a budget reconciliation bill that would open the Arctic Refuge to oil drilling. Although the energy bill passed by Congress in July does not include Arctic Refuge drilling, proponents of the plan are expected to use budget reconciliation legislation to ramrod the controversial proposal through Congress. "Citizens have sent millions of messages to Congress making it clear that they want to protect, not drill, the Arctic Wildlife Refuge. But now it's time to take our message directly to Congress' front door," says Robin Butler, a volunteer bus coordinator from Harrisburg, PA. Although sign-ups for Arctic Refuge Action Day are being directed through a central website (www.ArcticRefugeAction.org), the citizen action day is a coordinated effort by grassroots organizers and volunteer "bus captains" across the country. Bus captains have already started working with a vast network of on-the-ground activists to organize busloads of citizen volunteers to make the trip to Washington, D.C. "Without volunteer bus captains, we wouldn't be able to pull this off. They really will be the heroes of Arctic Refuge Action Day," said Julia Shaw, an Alaska Coalition organizer in New Jersey. Updated information on Arctic Refuge Action Day and an online sign-up form can be found at http://www.arcticrefugeaction.org/takeaction/ARADay.html he Arctic Refuge Action coalition is composed of the following member groups, and additional partner groups are being added daily: Alaska Coalition; Alaska Wilderness League; Defenders of Wildlife; Earthjustice; Episcopal Church, USA; Gwich'in Steering Committee; League of Conservation Voters; National Audubon Society; Natural Resources Defense Council; National Wildlife Federation; National Wildlife Refuge Association; Northern Alaskan Environmental Center; R.E.P. America; Trustees for Alaska; Sierra Club; U.S. PIRG; Washington Association of Churches; The Wilderness Society; and World Wildlife Fund. Contact:
Shoren Brown, Alaska Coalition, (202) 266-0484
Erik Dumont, Alaska Wilderness League, (202) 544-5205
Pete Rafle, The Wilderness Society, (202) 429-2642
Brad Devries, Defenders of Wildlife, (202) 772-0237
Elliott Negin, Natural Resources Defense Council, (202) 289-2405
Vinay Jain, National Wildlife Federation, (202) 797-6894
Annie Strickler, Sierra Club, (202) 675-2384 | 
