Help protect Glacier National Park

Two proposed mining schemes could despoil the Canadian
headwaters of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park -- one
of the wildest places in North America and part of our Greater
Rockies BioGem.

We need your urgent action to block these disastrous proposals,
which would pollute the pristine Flathead River with
contaminated waste and threaten the outstanding fish and
wildlife of Montana's Glacier National Park.

Please go to http://www.savebiogems.org/yellowstone/takeaction
and urge the Canadian government to prohibit industrial mining
activities and coalfield developments in the headwaters of
Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.

Cline Mining Corporation is proposing to put an open-pit
coalmine just 25 miles upstream of Glacier National Park. The
mine would remove a mountaintop to create an open pit mine,
settling ponds and waste dumps in a pristine valley.

Meanwhile, BP Energy Corporation has proposed a massive coalbed
methane project (over 125,000 acres) that would require miles of
pipelines and wells producing hundreds of millions of gallons of
toxic wastewater. A dense network of roads would destroy prime
habitat for grizzly bears and other wildlife.

The Flathead River, which originates in British Columbia and
flows south into Montana where it forms the western boundary of
Glacier National Park, is one of the most wild, biologically
rich places in the world.

The Flathead valley and river form the heart of the Crown of the
Continent ecosystem, which is home to wolves, grizzly bears,
wolverines and lynx.

Go to http://www.savebiogems.org/yellowstone/takeaction
and tell the Canadian government to protect Waterton-Glacier
International Peace Park from damaging industrialization.

Thank you for helping to save one of North America's most
valuable wildlife habitats.

Sincerely,

Frances Beinecke
President
Natural Resources Defense Council

New Report Spotlights Ten Wild Places at Risk

Wild...For How Long? Ten Treasures in Trouble, looks at ten special wild areas from coast to coast, vulnerable today to mining, drilling, roadbuilding, logging, development and off-road vehicle abuse.

The report, issued by the Campaign for America's Wilderness, spotlights wild land at risk, but also those that are poised for wilderness designation, in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The report also celebrates some of the local heroes working to protect these places they love. View the report [1] (5.8 MB).

WILDALERT: Stop ORV Damage to Utah's Wild Lands

Located in central Utah, the Richfield BLM Resource Area encompasses spectacular redrock canyons, rugged and unique badlands, peaks over 10,000 feet, and portions of western Utah's Basin and Range region. Much of the region's public lands are wilderness quality - among many others, areas such as Rocky Ford, Kingston Ridge, Limestone Cliffs, Wild Horse Mesa, Flat Tops, and Bull Mountain should all be afforded the highest level of protection to ensure their enduring beauty.

While oil and gas development presents an increasing threat to these wild landscapes, off-road vehicle (ORV) use remains the biggest concern. Encouragingly, the BLM took a big step toward reducing this problem in 2006 when it implemented emergency motorized travel restrictions on the delicate Mancos shale badlands surrounding Utah's famous Factory Butte. However, BLM is now considering a management plan that would afford minimum protections to the majority of this fragile landscape.

The BLM is now taking comments from the public on its proposed management plan. Please tell the BLM it must revise its proposed plans in order to reduce the destructive and redundant web of ORV routes and the resulting noise, fumes, and scars to the land. There's a limited time to act. Click here to take quick, effective action.

Please take action today and tell the BLM to include wilderness preservation in the Richfield resource management plan.

Sincerely,
Kathy Kilmer
The Wilderness Society

Say NO to coal mining in grizzly habitat

The Cline Mining Corporation wants to gouge a heavily polluting coal mine out of the Flathead River Valley, a thriving RockyMountain habitat for grizzly bears that straddles the border ofMontana and British Columbia.

We need your immediate action to block this dangerous open-pit mining scheme, which would poison the headwaters of the FlatheadRiver and jeopardize the survival of downstream populations of imperiled grizzly bears, wolves, cut throat trout and otherwildlife.

Please go to http://www.savebiogems.org/bears/takeaction and urge the British Columbia government to protect the spectacular wildlands and wildlife of the Flathead basin by rejecting the Cline Mining Corporation's reckless plan.

Cline's mining proposal calls for removing mountain tops and building waste dumps and settling ponds right on top of the headwaters of the Flathead River in British Columbia.

Hazardous pollution from the mine would travel down river into Montana, putting the endangered grizzlies and other wildlife of Glacier National Park at even greater risk.

Please go to http://www.savebiogems.org/bears/takeaction and join Governor Brian Schweitzer and Senator Max Bauchus of Montana in speaking out against this scheme.

Thank you for helping to protect grizzly bears and other imperiled Rocky Mountain wildlife.

Sincerely,
Frances Beinecke
President
Natural Resources Defense Council

President Bush May Open Alaska's Bristol Bay to Offshore Drilling

Fishing groups, Native interests and Conservation groups send open letter urging the President to maintain protection for Bristol Bay.

The Wilderness Society

Anchorage (November 29, 2006) – A number of separate sources are confirming that President Bush plans to rescind the “Executive OCS Leasing Withdrawal” for Alaska’s Bristol Bay within the next few days. For years, the presidential withdrawal has prohibited offshore oil and gas development in this highly sensitive region of the nation’s Outer Continental Shelf.

In response, diverse organizations including fishing groups, conservation organizations and Native interests sent an open letter to the President today urging him to maintain protection for Bristol Bay. These groups are reflective of the many organizations representing millions of U.S. citizens that have recently voiced opposition to offshore oil and gas development in Bristol Bay via public comments to the federal Minerals Management Service.

As the letter states, “The presidential withdrawal, currently in effect until 2012, serves a vital role in protecting the world-class marine resources, sea life, fishing livelihoods, and resource-dependent coastal communities of the region from the potentially devastating ecological, economic, social, and cultural impacts of offshore oil and gas development.” (Copy of the letter pasted below end of release.)

The offshore area targeted for oil and gas development supports unparalleled fisheries including the world’s largest wild run of sockeye salmon. The area being considered also overlaps with critical habitat for the highly endangered North Pacific right whale. The region’s coastal wetlands, lagoons and sheltered bays serve as migratory hubs, staging areas and wintering grounds for huge numbers of waterfowl and shorebirds.

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