Alaska Wilderness League
Encyclopedia
The Alaska Wilderness League (AWL) is a nonprofit organization that works to protect Alaska’s most significant wild lands from oil and gas drilling and from other industrial threats. Founded in 1993, AWL has its main office in Washington, DC, with additional offices in Anchorage and Juneau, Alaska.
For the past ten years, AWL has taken the lead in the fight to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
from being opened to oil and gas development, and its leadership has made a significant impact in this area. The organization has rallied public support and successfully stopped numerous attempts by Congress to open the refuge to development.
In 2001, AWL and its supporters helped fund photographer Subhankar Banerjee
’s ground-breaking winter field photography in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The photos he took were published in the book Seasons of Life and Land . Banerjee’s photographs of the Refuge were exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution
’s National Museum of Natural History
, and controversy erupted when his captions for the photos were altered and the exhibit was moved to a far corner of the museum. Some charged that Alaska Senator Ted Stevens
had used political pressure to remove the exhibit from the spotlight because Senator Barbara Boxer
had held up Banerjee’s book during a Senate floor debate over oil drilling in the Refuge, but the museum maintained the changes were made “for artistic reasons”.
Starting in 2004, AWL expanded its work to include ecologically significant areas of Alaska’s vast National Petroleum Reserve, the Tongass National Forest
, and the outer continental shelf
areas of the Beaufort
and Chukchi
Seas.
AWL's work has had long-standing support from President Jimmy Carter
, who remains the Honorary Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Grist: Gingrich’s ‘grassroots’ drilling campaign is funded by Big Oil, reports says
For the past ten years, AWL has taken the lead in the fight to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska, United States. It consists of in the Alaska North Slope region. It is the largest National Wildlife Refuge in the country, slightly larger than the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge...
from being opened to oil and gas development, and its leadership has made a significant impact in this area. The organization has rallied public support and successfully stopped numerous attempts by Congress to open the refuge to development.
In 2001, AWL and its supporters helped fund photographer Subhankar Banerjee
Subhankar Banerjee
Subhankar Banerjee is an artist, educator and activist whose images of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other Alaskan wild lands have captured international attention....
’s ground-breaking winter field photography in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The photos he took were published in the book Seasons of Life and Land . Banerjee’s photographs of the Refuge were exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
’s National Museum of Natural History
National Museum of Natural History
The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. Admission is free and the museum is open 364 days a year....
, and controversy erupted when his captions for the photos were altered and the exhibit was moved to a far corner of the museum. Some charged that Alaska Senator Ted Stevens
Ted Stevens
Theodore Fulton "Ted" Stevens, Sr. was a United States Senator from Alaska, serving from December 24, 1968, until January 3, 2009, and thus the longest-serving Republican senator in history...
had used political pressure to remove the exhibit from the spotlight because Senator Barbara Boxer
Barbara Boxer
Barbara Levy Boxer is the junior United States Senator from California . A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives ....
had held up Banerjee’s book during a Senate floor debate over oil drilling in the Refuge, but the museum maintained the changes were made “for artistic reasons”.
Starting in 2004, AWL expanded its work to include ecologically significant areas of Alaska’s vast National Petroleum Reserve, the Tongass National Forest
Tongass National Forest
The Tongass National Forest in southeastern Alaska is the largest national forest in the United States at 17 million acres . Most of its area is part of the temperate rain forest WWF ecoregion, itself part of the larger Pacific temperate rain forest WWF ecoregion, and is remote enough to be home...
, and the outer continental shelf
Outer Continental Shelf
The Outer Continental Shelf is a peculiarity of the political geography of the United States and is the part of the internationally recognized continental shelf of the United States which does not fall under the jurisdictions of the individual U.S...
areas of the Beaufort
Beaufort Sea
The Beaufort Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of the Northwest Territories, the Yukon, and Alaska, west of Canada's Arctic islands. The sea is named after hydrographer Sir Francis Beaufort...
and Chukchi
Chukchi Sea
Chukchi Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is bounded on the west by the De Long Strait, off Wrangel Island, and in the east by Point Barrow, Alaska, beyond which lies the Beaufort Sea. The Bering Strait forms its southernmost limit and connects it to the Bering Sea and the Pacific...
Seas.
AWL's work has had long-standing support from President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, who remains the Honorary Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Press
Andrew Revkin: Who’s Backing Gingrich’s ‘Drill Here’ Push? (NY Times)Grist: Gingrich’s ‘grassroots’ drilling campaign is funded by Big Oil, reports says