ADVOCACY ACHIEVEMENTS
With the support of our members, Alaska Wilderness League made great strides on its 2019 legislative goals. Our focus: garner wide support on Capitol Hill to ensure future proactive campaign wins, while engaging congressional champions in the effort to hold back current attacks on Alaska’s public lands and waters.
Across our campaigns, Alaska Wilderness League has remained diligent in striving to secure protections for wild Alaska.
We are deeply grateful for the generosity of our members that made this work possible. Read on for details related to each of our specific campaigns.
Photo Credit: Florian Schulz
Opposed the Trump administration’s draft environmental review for leasing in the Arctic Refuge. The League supported the submission of more than one million comments from constituents and helped facilitate the attendance of hundreds at public meetings in Alaska and Washington, D.C.
Supported legislative hearings including an all-Indigenous panel and a diverse constituency panel that both spoke in support of the passage of H.R. 1146;
Facilitated the inclusion of pro-Arctic Refuge language in the annual funding bill in the U.S. House of Representatives;
Successfully pressured more than a dozen major U.S. and international banks to refuse financing of Arctic Refuge development;
Partnered with and supported our Gwich’in, veteran, faith and outdoor adventurer allies by flying them to Washington, D.C., to speak directly with congressional offices and testify before congressional committees on protecting the Arctic Refuge.
Alaska Wilderness League supports the Arctic Refuge Defense Campaign (ARDC), a coalition effort led by a Steering Committee of twelve different state-based, Indigenous and national organizations that have come together to fundraise and deploy resources to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. ARDC was established in 2018 following the passage of the 2017 Tax Act that mandated oil and gas leasing in the Arctic Refuge. Alaska Wilderness League serves as a fiscal sponsor to ARDC and a co-chair of its Steering Committee.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM OTHER UNIQUE PLACES WE PROTECT
2019 saw the continued successful blocking of the Trump administration in its many attempts to open the Arctic Ocean to oil and gas development. In early 2019, the U.S. District Court in Alaska ruled in our favor and restored protections for 98% of the America’s Arctic Ocean waters that were put in place by President Obama in 2015 and 2016. The Trump administration has appealed the decision, and we continue the fight on all fronts to defend those Arctic Ocean protections.
- Won, alongside our partners, in the first round of our legal case against the Trump administration’s illegal executive order rescinding Arctic Ocean protections;
- Continued to delay the Trump administration’s proposed new five-year oil and gas leasing plan, which as initially put forth, included 19 lease sales in Alaska’s federal coastal waters; and
- Facilitated the introduction of the bicameral Stop Arctic Ocean Drilling Act in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, increasing congressional support to 80 cosponsors across both chambers.
Alaska Wilderness League contributed to a number of successful efforts throughout 2019 to elevate the strong local and national opposition to the Trump administration’s controversial attempt to increase logging in the Tongass National Forest by removing federal Roadless Rule protections. The Roadless Rule protects more than 58 million acres of roadless forests across America, including large areas of the Chugach National Forest in Southcentral Alaska and the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska. The U.S. Forest Service launched a new rulemaking process to exempt Alaska from this rule in 2018 and, together with the help of our partners, we’ve worked on the ground in both Alaska and Washington, D.C., to build widespread support for keeping Alaska’s national forests intact.
- Confronted the Trump administration’s attempt to remove Roadless Rule protections for the Tongass by supporting the submission of a quarter of a million comments in response to its proposal to gut the rule;
- Facilitated the holding of a congressional oversight hearing featuring diverse witnesses in the U.S. House of Representatives that highlighted the importance of Roadless Rule protections;
- Increased congressional support for the bicameral Roadless Area Conservation Act, which to date, has more than 100 cosponsors across the U.S. House of Representative and U.S. Senate;
- Facilitated the passage of a funding amendment in the U.S. House of Representatives that would end taxpayer subsidies for large-scale old-growth logging in the Tongass, with 13 Republicans voting in favor; and
- Filed litigation that ultimately succeeded in stopping what would have been the largest old-growth sale in the United States in decades on Prince of Wales Island.
The League worked with coalition partners to generate strong opposition in 2019 for the Trump administration’s environmental review process for a new management plan in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska in America’s Western Arctic. This plan, aimed at opening protected Special Areas to oil and gas development, saw broad opposition throughout the review process. As ConocoPhillips moves forward with new development in the Reserve, the League continues to monitor how these new projects will impact the unique ecosystems of the Western Arctic while fighting to keep the current management plan in place.
- Opposed removal of Special Area protections, along with hundreds of thousands of others submitting comments to the new management plans; and
- Increased support from members in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate for protecting Special Areas in the Reserve.
The past year also focused on strengthening partnerships with athletes and adventurers from throughout the U.S., many of whom traveled to D.C. in May for a lobby week co-hosted with the American Packrafting Association and Protect Our Winters. That advocacy effort focused on Arctic Refuge protections and culminated in a solidarity float on D.C.’s Potomac River featuring two rafts — christened Olaus and Ms. Mardy — that have traveled across the Arctic Refuge six times, collecting stories and signatures from those passionate about conserving this invaluable landscape.
Within Alaska, we held several events in Anchorage focused on raising awareness of the Indigenous rights and climate impacts that would result from developing the Arctic Refuge. More than 100 attendees from Anchorage’s outdoor recreation community gathered for a night of conversation around Arctic Refuge activism and adventure, listening to advocates and renowned explorers including Luc Mehl and Roman Dial.
In order to ensure that pro-conservation Alaskan voices were represented in D.C. to the fullest extent, we made efforts to collect feedback and help deliver messages advocating for public land protections to members of Congress. We hosted a variety of informal “living room” conversations with influential Alaskans, seeking their insight to aid in our framing and discussion of conservation issues in Alaska and Washington, D.C., alike. And we helped thousands of Alaskans raise their voice to Congress, including 972 Alaskans who signed a single letter asking Congress to restore Arctic Refuge protections.
Collected more than a million comments calling for protection of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In February, the League organized the conservation community to turn out at the one formal Bureau of Land Management hearing in Washington, D.C., and hosted two additional community hearings in Albuquerque, NM, and Denver, CO, allowing Gwich’in representatives, hundreds more citizens and partners to oppose opening the coastal plain for oil and gas development.
Worked with our partners at Protect Our Winters and the American Packrafting Association to bring professional athletes, packrafting enthusiasts and Alaskan adventurers to Washington, D.C., to advocate for Arctic Refuge protections in May 2019.
Supported The North Face with planning and logistics for a delegation of young artists and influencers to visit the Arctic Refuge coastal plain in June 2019, leading to a prominent feature in Teen Vogue, a video on YouTube with more than 73K views, a photo exhibit and additional email and social media content that garnered 20 million impressions, a reach of 60 million and 340K email opens. These young leaders also drove 5K actions in opposition of Arctic Refuge drilling, with most activists <30 years old.
The week of the successful vote on H.R. 1146, the Alaska Wilderness League office was busy with a variety of constituencies all coming together to advocate for the Arctic Refuge. Among these groups were veterans and youth, representatives of the Gwich’in Nation, a group of young explorers and a collection of athletes, all of whom shared their personal experiences to congressional lawmakers in a collective effort to garner support for the bill.
Furthermore, we channeled your actions, donations and support on the darkest day of the year in December — the Winter Solstice — and projected a massive video onto the side of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) building in Washington, D.C., to show officials they can’t hide their destructive plans to get more dirty oil in the shadows, pictured above.
DIGITAL & MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
Our communications work serves to build the profile and brand of the organization through educating and inspiring people to protect wild Alaska, while also supporting and elevating the voices of our national and Alaska-based partners. In 2019, this effort focused on regular outreach to national and local media, results-oriented communications to our membership, showing strong leadership within our coalitions, and focusing on efficient but powerful use of social media. In all our digital outreach and communications, we aim to illustrate the value of our public lands and waters in Alaska and highlight how leaders, members like you and the broader American public can help keep them wild.
This goal led to Alaska-focused media stories and our voices being found in national outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, The National Journal, The Guardian, nationwide wire services The Associated Press and Reuters, as well as news publications throughout Alaska.
ONLINE ADVOCACY TOOLKIT
In addition to the above achievements, the League made significant website upgrades in 2019, including wide-ranging improvements such as the addition of an enhanced digital annual report, and elevation of the League’s Wild Alaska Blog throughout the site. To increase our capacity to support our members and activists like you, we also launched an online Activist Resources Toolkit (AlaskaWild.org/Grassroots-Toolkit), bringing all the tools and information you need to amplify your voice and build support in your own community. With this new toolkit, you can further help our work by contacting your representatives and elected officials, signing petitions, educating communities and engaging with us online. We hope you will use these new tools and make a change in your community today!
Photo credit: Ken Madsen
ORGANIZATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
NEW BOARD MEMBERS AND STAFF
In 2019, we welcomed Kaden McArthur, Legislative Coordinator and Anna Robinson, Development Coordinator to our team in Washington, D.C.
The League also added an important group of new and diverse voices to help guide the organization, welcoming to its board: world-class skier and The North Face athlete Kit DesLauriers; former Obama administration official Pat Pourchot; Associate Campaign Director with the Sierra Club Chris Hill; and, seasoned communications professional with Spitfire Strategies Midy Aponte.
Learn more about the talented and passionate staff working at Alaska Wilderness League here and read about the dedicated and supportive volunteers on our board here.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Program Expenses
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: $933,545
Tongass National Forest: $137,997
National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska: $47,907
Arctic Ocean and Seas: $52,913
Arctic Refuge Defense Campaign: $390,244
Total Program Expenses: $1,562,606
Fundraising Expenses: $320,145
General and Administrative: $184,213
Total Expenses $2,066,964
Revenue
Foundations: $1,798,699
Individual and Corporate Contributions: $580,537
Other Revenue: $79,536
Total Revenue: $2,458,772
2019 FOUNDATION SUPPORT
Anonymous • 444S Foundation • Alaska Conservation Foundation • Andrew Sabin Family Foundation • Hugh & Jane Ferguson Foundation • Ira and Edgra Ringler Family Foundation • Cameron Foundation • Martin-Fabert Foundation • Northlight Foundation • Overbrook Foundation • The Campion Foundation • The Conservation Alliance • Tortuga Foundation • True North Foundation • Wilburforce Foundation • The Volgenau Foundation
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2019 CORPORATE SUPPORT
Alaska Guide Collective • Avocado Mattress • DSquared Hospitality Company • Oars Companies, Inc. • Osprey Packs, Inc. • Patagonia, Inc • The North Face
WILD GIVING SOCIETY: 2019
The Wild Giving Society is a group of donors who lead the effort to preserve the Alaska wilderness. The support from this group of incredible allies in 2019 allowed the League to be courageous and constant in our endeavor to protect Alaska’s wildest places. To join this group of our most dedicated partners, call our development department at 202-544-5205 or visit this page.
* Indicates that the attached Wild Giving Society member is also a monthly donor.
Anonymous (3)
Cynthia Adams
Louise Adler*
Ms. Rachel Anderson and Ms. Sally G. McCoy
Valerie M. Anton
Midy Aponte
Dwight and Tammy Baker
Paul and Susan Ballinger
Steve and Nona Barker
Thomas A. Barron
Paul Beaudet
Dr. Gloria M. Bertucci
Steve Black
Loren Blackford and Michael Dubno
Betty Blumenkamp
David Bock
Richard and Ann Boelter
Erika Boka*
Teddi Bozych*
Peter P. Bradley*
Sandra L. Bragg
Barbara Brock
Deborah Brower*
Jim Campbell and Carol Kasza
Amy Campion
Kevin Campion
Tom and Sonya Campion
Mrs. and Mr. Meta Carr
Sidney Cathey
Douglas and Sherry Caves
John and Theresa Cederholm
Marta Chase and Kicab Castaneda-Mendez
Helen and Arnold Cherullo*
Dorothy and Bob Childers
Jeffrey Christianson
Jane Clark
Susan N. Clark
Andrew Conru
Shirley W. Cooper
Lynne Corn
David and Linda Cornfield
Keith Cowan
Marc and Maud Daudon
Kit DesLauriers*
Daniel Dietrich
William Donnelly
The Douglass Foundation
Kenny Down
H. Clifton Eames, Jr.
Andrew Eberhard
Ms. Ann Eggebrecht
Thomas Ely
Patrick Endres
Mark and Karen Endresen
Jacob and Margo Engelstein
Ms. Dianne Engleke
Becky Erickson*
Roy Farrell
Ellen Ferguson
Scott Ferguson
Richard and Marjorie Fiddler
Louisa Fleischmann
Mark and Willow Follett
Anne and Jonathan Fox
Anissa Berry-Frick
Justine Frischmann
Laura And Ron Fritz
Andrew and Diana Frost
Kristi Meyers Gallup
Catherine Garner
Bruce Gitlin
Kristen Grimm and David Dreher
Amy and Chris Gulick
Jocelyn Guyer and Joshua Seidman
Maureen Hackett
Judith Hance
Jim Hanig
Rebecca Hanrahan
Marilyn Harlan
Steven Harmer
Jessie M. Harris
Peter and Sheri Harris
Ms. Sally Harris
Karyn and Jonathan Hartland
Lauren Heinz
Brian Henning
Kay Henry and Rob Center
Kirk Hoessle
Melissa Hoffer and Robert Plotkin
Bob Hoffman
Thomas and Kathryn Hornbein
Loren and Isobel Hostek
Meredith James
Don Janes
Christine and Steve Janney
Erik Jansen
Ms. Lauris Jensen
Darcy and Daniel Johnson*
Cory Jones and Robert Coon*
Bob and Judy Jung
Daniel Katz
Victor Katz
Betsy Keithley and John Olson
Jeffrey Kenner
Kulwant and Soram Khalsa
Lynn Kilbourne
Ana C. Kimball
Tom and Kate Klein
Adam and Laura Kolton
Carol and Chet Kolton
David Komm and Sandra Bahr
Kongsgaard - Goldman Foundation
Frank Kroger
Robert C. Kuehn and Julie Kuehn
Shirley Langlois
Diane Lapham*
Hank Lentfer and Anya Maier
Rose Letwin and Jim Orr
David Levine
Peter Lipman
Betsy Loyless
Susan Lubetkin
Tim Mahoney and Sharon Newsome
Joyce Malacina*
Albert Marshall
Matthew Marshall*
Gareth Martins*
Catherine H. Smith and Peter Maxson
Randall May
Jack McCarron
George K. McLelland
John and Carol Meland
Peter and Kathy Metcalf
Debbie Miller
Sue and John Mills
Jake Miss
Evan Mittman
Anne Mize
Mark and Debbie Moderow
Greg Moga
Nancy Morgan
Sandra Moss
Marnie and Ken Myhre
Jay W. Nelson
John and Hortensia Nelson
Andrew and Leslie Nicholls*
Brian O'Donnell*
Donald Peele
Amanda Perkins and Christopher Perrault
The pH Fund
Scarlett Philibosian and Thomas Badger
Joan Poor
William Pope
Patrick Pourchot and Jennifer Johnson
Ann Powlas
Deb Raehl and Mary Lee Freeman*
Stephen Ramsey
Martha Raynolds and Sam Dashevsky
Jessica Reeves
Christine Ann Enright-Reffalt
Phyllis Reynolds
Corinne Ribble and Rob Simpson
Andrew Richardson and Mariah Carbone
The Ritzenthaler and Odmark Family
Larry Rockefeller
Colleen E. Romer*
Kate Roosevelt and Caroline Maillard
Jim and Gillian Rose
Karen Rutherford
Kate Sako and Kendall Flint
Nancy Saunders
Brian Schrader
Mark Schuermann and Nancy Carroll
Daniel Schwartz
Larry and Diane Shackman
Patricia Sharpnack
Ron and Eva Sher
Dave Shreffler and Ann Soule
Greg Singleton
Judy Sorrel
Patty and Stu Spencer
Richard Spener and Toni Armstrong
Cyrus and Joanne Spurlino
John Stamper
Carol and John Stansfield*
Michael Steffen
John and Heather Sterling
James and Linda Stinson
Jim Stratton
Frederic and Rozene Supple
Jane G. Taylor
John and Carson Taylor
John Taylor
Jack Telfer
William B. Thompson
Glenda and Paul Torrence
Gordon and Diana Tracz
Ann Trapp
John A. Trotter
Wendy Tsien*
Peter Van Tuyn and Ilona Bessenyey
Bill and Donna Van Buren
Judy and Jim Wagonfeld
Catherine Walker and David Fuqua*
The Scott Walker Family
Steve and Susan Weems
Alice Weigel
Jacquinot and Bob Weisenbach
Dr. Gene and Mrs. Joanne Wilhelm
Deborah L. Williams
Suzanne H. Williams
Moe Witschard and Marlena Renwyck
Dr. Edward Witten
Leonard Wittwer and Martha Blane
Mr. David Worthington
Erin Younger and Ed Liebow
WILD STARS MONTHLY DONORS: 2019
The Wild Stars Monthly Giving Program is a group of dedicated supporters of wild Alaska who make monthly donations to the League. Thanks to their ongoing support, we are able to continue our fights to protect the most pristine places in Alaska every day of the year. To join this special group of wilderness advocates, please visit this page or call our development department at 202-544-5205.
Kris Abshire
Nancy Adamson
Todd Adelman
James Allmendinger
Andrea and Richard Amend
Eleanor V. Armitage
Douglas Arnall
Diane Bagues
Joan Bailey
Paul Balle
Paige Balling
Margretta Voinot-Baron and Glen Baron
Whitney Barrows
Ms. Ann Bitner
Sherri Bloom
Sally Bolger
Mary E. Bowler
Geraldine Brenia
Lillian Brilhart
Bonnie G. Brooks
Caroline Brown
Charles Burgess
Jim Campbell and Carol Kasza
Dene Canon
Dr. Jacqueline Carr
Nedra Carroll
Mrs. Laura Champlain
Wendy Clifton
Darren Cohen
Patricia Cole
Donna Craft
Terry Cummings
Sean Daly
M. Alice DeAngelis
Simon Dettelback
Heather Dickinson
Marilyn Dinkelmeyer
Mr. Martin Dodge
Maureen Doheny
Leah Donahey
George Dorman
Mr. Jesse Feathers
Mr. Doug Forsell
Norma Fritsche
Pauline Gaffney
Jane Gerber
Lisbeth P. Gilbert
Joan Giovanetti
Doug Gledhill
Cathy Gorrell
Jennie Gosche
Roger and Judith Green
Michael Haeger
Meredith Hanrahan and Roger Boshes
Robbin Miller-Hawk
Mr. Daniel Hayes
Diane and Thomas Hert
David Hertzel
Benjamin Hill
Melinda S. Hirsch
Tim Hogan and Eleni Arapkiles
Carol L. Horner
Ms. Cheryl Hovanick
H M Howard
Walt and Sherry Hunner
Sharon Huskin
Ms. Sadikifu Akina-James
Brenda Joers
Mr. Roger A. Jones
Peter Jones
Phyllis F. Kadle
Sasha Kay
Gail R. Kennison
Linda Kolko
Anne Kollender
Chris Konish
Mr. Jim Koppensteiner
Susan Kramer
Lee Kuhl
Ellen Lachicotte
Rudi Lambrechtse
Bruce Larson
Elizabeth Leonard
David Lerner
James R. Lindsay
Gary Liss
Sylvia Lucas
Phyllis and Michael Mains
Diana Manheim
Jim Mankopf
William J. Marshall
Nicholas Marton
Mladen Mates
Sandra Matthews
Sherry Matthews
Margaret Mayer
Drew A. McCalley
Bailey McIntosh
Brian McLane
Miriam McLeod
David Meade
Diane and Robert Mehling
Carol Mellom
Judith E. Meltz
Kurt Menning
Georgianne Meyer
Alan and Kathie Moritis
Carole Murphy
Michelle Napoli
Marycarol Nelson
Ciry Null
Anne Oakes
Brigid O'Connor
Rebecca O'Reilly
Oliver Osborn
Bonnie Osborne
Corina Pambuccian
Sue Pappalardo
Laura Parker
Jill Pease
Greg L. Pennington
Terri Piotrowski
Robert Pitagora
Patti Polinsky and Dave Claar
Patricia Polizzo
Marilyn Porcino
Alexandra Prentiss
Joyce Ramee
Dr. Robert Redfield
Robin Reed
Bobbie Reed and Don Schwarz
Austin Rooks
Hugh Rose
Phyllis Ruth
Clay D. Schulte
Greg Scott
Sally Sheck
Mercedes Shelby
Laura Sherman
Susan Sheythe
Florence and Merle Siebert
Basia Sikora
Wendy Simmons
Jana Sinclair
Kimberly Slone
Joanne Kurtz Paris Smith
Ms. Margaret Smith
Hilary Stamper
Joanie Steckel
Diane Stone
Gwen Straub
Caroline Stricks
Dr. Jonathan H. Sumner
Mr. Joe W. Swierkosz
Nathaniel Tarn
Sarah and Thor Tingey
Robin Tyner
Kyle Ullman
Dr. Jerry Unruh
Rein and Jan van West
Joe and Yvette Vinson
Sally Vogel
Dr. Richard Waldman
Sherry Weiland
Ms. Sharol White
Owen Wozniak
Ako Yamamoto
Ms. Sandra P. Yarrington
THANK YOU
for all you've done to keep Alaska wild. Your tax-deductible support makes our work possible.
Alaska Wilderness League is an independent 501(c)(3) organization (EIN: 52-1814742).