Testimony of Adrian Herrera, Arctic Power
May 4, 2010
Washington, D.C.

Good afternoon my name is Adrian Herrera. I am working with Arctic Power a non-profit grass roots organization from the State of Alaska that promotes environmentally responsible oil and gas exploration of the 10-02 Area of ANWR. Arctic Power has been in existence since 1992 and works closely with the government of Alaska and the Alaskan Congressional delegation in the promotion of its views on the use of the 10-02 Area of ANWR.

We appreciate this opportunity to be heard by you in your reporting of the ANWR CCP. We at Arctic Power are concerned first and foremost with the consideration for recommendation of wilderness status as defined by the National Wilderness Act on the 10-02 Area. The USFWS in its promotion of the ANWR CCP states very clearly that under ANILCA it is up to Congress to decide the fate of the 10-02 Area and we at Arctic Power appreciate this clarity. As you all know the Dept. of Interior, of which you are a part, made a recommendation to Congress in 1987 to open ANWR’s 10-02 to oil and gas exploration, and in 1995 Congress indeed voted to open the 10-02 Area for that purpose. We hope that the USFWS in its CCP report gives strong weight to these two facts. As ANILCA mandates Congress to decide ANWR’s fate indeed Congress has spoken on this issue many many times. In over 12 roll call votes in the House, and 3 votes in the Senate oil exploration in the 10-02 has been approved by the leaders of our nation. There are very few issues of any kind that have achieved such a legislative record and the number and consistency of these democratic decisions needs to be noted.

The views of the people and government of the State of Alaska have been even more consistent on the ANWR issue. Since 1980 when the debate began every single governor of Alaska, every single standing state legislature, every single North Slope Borough Mayor whose jurisdiction incorporates approximately 2/3rds of ANWR, every single Mayor of the Village of Kaktovik, ANWR’s only settlement, and every single Alaskan member of Congress has supported development within the 10-02 and not supported increasing wilderness lands in ANWR. To add to this the Alaska Federation of Natives, Alaska’s native governing body representing all Alaskan native people, regularly passes formal resolutions to this effect as well. I challenge anyone to find another issue that has achieved such overwhelming support across such a broad spectrum as the ANWR issue has with Alaska’s leaders. Please note this support has been true regardless of political party, something that in this day and age can be viewed as an incredible political result.

Why then, must we ask, do such diverse groups within our state so overwhelming support exploration in the 10-02 and not support wilderness status on our lands? The reason to Alaskans is simple. We believe and live a life the philosophy of which incorporates the notion that man and nature can co-exist successfully. For Alaskans, from the beginning this is not an “either/or” question. This is not a use or lock up situation. Let me remind you that Alaskans live in Alaska and suffer through the cold and dark winters because we truly love our land. We love the wilderness and mountains and wildlife. The last thing Alaskans want to do is destroy the very thing that draws us to live there. Alaskan firmly believe that it is possible to fish, hunt, harvest, drill, mine and use the land without destroying it. For us the rather foreign idea that you should lock up land (which for us is what wilderness designation does), to anthropomorphically protect it from ourselves is completely wrong and ignores human existence outright. The official position of the Alaskan government on wilderness designation in the 10-02 says one thing and one thing only, that wilderness status is a black or white, either /or, man or nature attitude that does nothing for the land, the people, nor the future of the state.

As Alaskans will be the most affected by the CCP recommendation we hope you give our views extra weight in this regard. What Alaskans require is for the USFWS to do its job to MITIGATE the relationship with man and nature, not lock it up and throw away the key. Mitigate means bringing all players to the table and addressing all concerns and desires, and coming to a consensus use agreement, not a you can and you over there cannot situation.

For Alaskans this ANWR issue is rather déjà vu. Way back in the 1970s Alaska battled in Congress to allow the construction of the Trans Alaska Pipeline. That battle included numerous hearings like this one where some voiced predictions of destruction of the land, and Armageddon for the caribou. Alaskans took this to heart and rather than move to lock up certain portions of land or forbid construction or oil development they sat down with the native communities, with the USFWS biologists, with EPA, and BLM and worked hard to mitigate all views at the table. The result was perhaps the world’s best environmental management situation and the track record of success for the caribou and other fauna has been unprecedented. To my knowledge on this issue in over 30 years of history operating the largest oil field in North America not one caribou has been killed or harmed. Indeed 66,000 caribou now thrive in and around Prudhoe Bay field where 5000 once did. This is true meaning of good stewardship and ecological and legislative success. The Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game in its 2006 Report on Central Caribou Herd state - “We met our first goal - to minimize adverse affects of development on caribou”. I hope these words from fellow biologist resonate with you. These words, these census numbers, prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that wilderness is not necessary for ecological success. That wilderness is merely a political land lock up tool that can achieve no more than what has been achieved at Prudhoe Bay not 60 miles away with careful management. The key to this whole equation is mitigation. Do you at the USFWS go down the path of yes or no, black or white either or, or do you look at this responsibly and logically and rationally and work with all interested parties and note all view points weather they be environmental, the States’, the native views or the national view. Rather than say no to one or the other, why not say yes to all.

The ANWR issue on Capitol Hill currently has 15 active bills on Congressional books. In the last congress there were 19 bills. ANWR is easily the single most legislated energy issue in our nation’s history and the overwhelming majority, well over 90% of all ANWR bills introduced, are in favor of opening the 10-02. No other energy issue comes close. People of America care about ANWR. The leaders of America care about ANWR. The people of Alaska shout very loudly every single day on ANWR. The 2010 CCP should reflect those views and that voting history. The CCP should do nothing to promote locking up the 10-02 with an artificial wilderness status.

I thank you for your time and will answer questions if you have them now or in the future.