EXTRA! PRINTED SIGNATURE BOOK DELIVERED TO SENATORS

Dear Supporters, Yesterday as promised we delivered 80,000 printed signatures to our leading supporter in the Senate, Washington, Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell. The cover letter draft to the signatures is below, and was distributed to all other senators. We add a link to a story that may provide a way out for ANWR temporarily, but we SHOULD NOT count on this to be a potential victory and become complacent in this effort. Please continue to generate signature support as we will update Senator Cantwell with the increasing signature count. We would like to thank Michael Cianos for his vision in starting the original petition and his generosity in allowing us to join with him in this most important effort. Michael's spirit of inclusivity is a standard to be held up in all environmental protection efforts. The Earth is on loan to us for a short while, we owe it to future generations to leave it a cleaner, and a more protected place than we found it. ******************************************************************************** Honorable Senators of the United Sates Senate, We respectfully address ourselves to you as a group of 80,000 plus concerned citizens who attach our signatures to this petition. We ask that you carefully consider your vote for the Tax Reform Bill in its current state. We are deeply troubled by the inclusion of oil drilling lease tenders in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the language of the Tax Reform Bill. These leases pose a grave threat to one of our last unspoiled ecosystems and do not solve the problems that arise out of the Tax Reform Bill.  We would ask that you consider this assault on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as one of the many reasons that your vote against this legislation is critical. A stand-alone bill to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for fossil fuel exploitation would NEVER pass the houses of congress. These 80,000 plus signatures, gathered during the short time allowed us to inform your constituents, are a powerful message showing the concern that US Citizens have over hidden agendas in the Tax Reform Bill. We urge you to consider a NO vote on the Tax Reform Bill and to write a new proposal on tax reform that excludes exploitation of our wilderness that has been set aside as a safeguard for future generations. One of our greatest Republican Presidents created the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, being as fully aware of strategic energy needs as a Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in WWII could be. Yet he saw the importance of protection for this irreplaceable ecosystem. It would be a travesty to undo this Eisenhower legacy. Respectfully, 80,000 + concerned voters Printed Petition Signature Book Was Delivered to Senator Maria Cantwell *********************************************************************************