In the coming weeks, Interior Secretary Salazar will be making several very important decisions regarding oil and gas leasing off America's shores, including in areas of America's Arctic the Beaufort and Chukchi seas and Bristol Bay. These regions are home to highly productive waters that support hundreds of communities, an economically crucial fishery, and a host of marine mammals and migratory birds, including several endangered species.

Urge Secretary Salazar to protect America's Arctic by deferring oil and gas development in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas and providing permanent protection for Bristol Bay.

America's Arctic is home to highly productive waters which support hundreds of communities, an economically crucial fishery, and a host of marine mammals and migratory birds, including several endangered species. These areas are at risk of new oil and gas development as the result of a hasty plan put together by the Bush administration as it headed out the door.

Tell Secretary Salazar that America's Arctic is too important to marine life, our food supply, our economy and our Native peoples to further jeopardize through oil and gas development.

The plan also proposes expanding leasing farther south along the Alaska coast, in Bristol Bay. Bristol Bay provides critical habitat for endangered whales and marine life and is the heart of a $2 billion per year fishing industry that provides 40 percent of the annual U.S. fish catch. The administration should provide permanent protections for Bristol Bay.

Act now to protect one of the world's most important marine ecosystems and the many creatures that depend on it.

Appreciatively,
Margaret Williams
Managing Director
Bering Sea and Kamchatka
World Wildlife Fund