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Help Defend Bristol Bay from Destructive Drilling

Urge Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar to protect this amazing fish and wildlife habitat from offshore oil and gas drilling

Sponsored by: Defenders of Wildlife

Home to imperiled sea otters, whales and sea lions and the world's largest run of sockeye salmon, Alaska's Bristol Bay is a national treasure. But this ecological and economic powerhouse could soon be open to oil and gas drilling, and a potentially disastrous oil spill -- if the federal government doesn't step in to stop it.

Help protect this special place and the amazing wildlife that call it home. Sign the petition below and tell a friend.

In addition to being home to the largest sockeye salmon run in the world, Bristol Bay provides vital habitat for hundreds of fish species, dozens of marine mammal species -- including threatened northern sea otters, walruses and several species of imperiled whales -- and is home to one of the world's largest concentrations of seabird colonies. Bristol Bay and the northern Bering Sea also supply more than 40% of all U.S. fish catch and bring in more than $2 billion a year.

The federal Minerals Management Service estimates that this region holds less than 1% of all oil and 2% of all gas resources that are technically recoverable in the entire Outer Continental Shelf. The National Marine Fisheries Service recommends removing Bristol Bay from the offshore leasing program, calling plans to drill there "unrealistically ambitious" and experts point to an alarming lack of credible scientific research to gauge potential impacts of oil and gas drilling in this sensitive and volatile area.

Federal studies predict at least one major spill as well as a number of smaller spills if drilling occurs in Bristol Bay. The sea ice, high tides and strong currents that occur in this area would make any spill -- whether small or large -- difficult, if not impossible to contain and clean up.

 Take action today! Sign the petition below and urge Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar to protect this amazing fish and wildlife habitat from offshore oil and gas drilling.

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/campaign.faces?siteId=1&campaign=BristolBay