National Wildlife Refuge Week, Anniversary & Oil

[Guest guest]

See the House hearing (mentioned below) on whether we've fufilled the

effort to better preserve wildlife. I doubt it's truly honored when

you have an administration that caters to oil drilling that is

projected to expand and entice many with billions in profit.

Check it out. Speak the challenging truth to powers that be.

 

1) http://www.nrdc.org/bushrecord/wildlife.asp

http://www.sierraclub.org/tv/episode-storm.asp

 

2) Tell the NPS that new oil and gas drilling on Padre Island

National Seashore is unacceptable

lonestar.sierraclubaction.org Tuesday, October 09, 2007

http://lonestar.sierraclubaction.org/showalert.asp?aaid=53

http://www.hubis.com/blog/2007/02/padre-island-national-seashore.html

One permit for oil and gas drilling on Padre Island National Seashore

has already been granted. Now a second permit is up for consideration

and the public has until May 6 to tell the Park Service that it

opposes drilling on our national seashore.

 

3) Bush Expands Oil Drilling In Alaska and to Virginia

http://priceofoil.org/2007/04/30/bush-expands-oil-drilling-in-alaska-

and-virginia/

 

4) Bush administration nod for oil drilling off Virginia coast

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/57920.html

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration looks all set to permit oil

drilling in the Virginia coast angering environmentalists who feel

the step could be the first in allowing drilling over other

prohibited areas off the US coast.

 

5) Bush Seeks Oil Drilling in Rockies

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-

dyn/content/article/2007/09/15/AR2007091500893.html?nav=rss_politics

The Bush administration's aggressive drive to promote oil and gas

drilling on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains has sparked

growing anger here among traditional Republican constituents who say

that the stepped-up push for energy development is sullying some of

the country's most majestic landscape

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Rahall Celebrates National Wildlife Refuge Week

October 5, 2007

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Nick J. Rahall (D-WV), Chairman of the

House Natural Resources Committee, released the following statement

in advance of National Wildlife Refuge Week to be observed October 7-

13, 2007:

" Spanning 97 million acres and visited by more than 39 million

Americans annually, our nation's 548 national wildlife refuges

comprise an irreplaceable system of federal lands devoted exclusively

to wildlife conservation. National Wildlife Refuge Week, celebrated

yearly, reminds Americans across the country of our duty to preserve

unique wildlife and ecosystems for future generations to experience.

" It is my hope that citizens across the country will take advantage

of this weeklong celebration to experience wildlife in their natural

habitats and play a firsthand role in conservation by participating

in special events and programs, or simply observing and enjoying

magnificent plants and animals.

" This year's celebration coincides with the 10th anniversary of the

National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act, which serves to

remind us both of the Act's advances and of the work that remains to

fulfill its goals. To ensure the Act's success, we must remedy the

severe funding shortages that have crippled the Refuge System under

the current Administration and have caused a stifling backlog of

unmet needs. We cannot let our nation's only system of federal lands

devoted exclusively to fish and wildlife crumble before our very

eyes, but rather, we must work to provide the necessary financial

resources to maintain this vital part of our natural heritage. "

During National Wildlife Refuge Week, citizens are encouraged to

reconnect with wildlife and the outdoors by hiking, biking, hunting,

fishing, observing wildlife, and participating in special programs

and events at national wildlife refuges across the country. The

celebration also commemorates the 100th anniversary of the birth of

writer, scientist, and ecologist Rachel Carson. A list of national

wildlife refuges is available on the Fish and Wildlife Service's

National Wildlife Refuge System Web site at http://refuges.fws.gov/.

In conjunction with National Wildlife Refuge Week and the anniversary

of the Act, the House Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans,

led by Chairwoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-GU), will conduct an

oversight hearing, " Implementation of the National Wildlife Refuge

Improvement Act: Has the Promise Been Fulfilled? " The hearing, which

will be chaired by Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI), co-chair of the House

National Wildlife Refuge Caucus, is scheduled for Tuesday, October 9,

2007, at 2:00 p.m. in room 1324 of the Longworth House Office

Building in Washington, D.C. Former Secretary of the Interior Bruce

Babbitt, who played a key role in passage of the law, is the lead

witness. The Subcommittee will also hear testimony from former

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, Carol Browner,

who is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors at the

National Audubon Society.

The hearing will be webcast live on the Committee's Web site at

http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/.