Protect Bristol Bay From Oil and Gas Development

Protect Bristol Bay Once and For All From Oil and Gas Development

• Target: U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar
• Sponsored by: Pew Environment Group

The waters of the North Aleutian Basin and Bristol Bay provide 40 percent of the nation's wild seafood, host the largest runs of wild sockeye salmon in the world, support centuries-old Native subsistence traditions, and offer critical habitat for some of the world's highest concentrations of whales, seals, walrus, seabirds, salmon, crab and halibut.

In 2010, the administration prohibited drilling in the North Aleutian Basin and Bristol Bay through 2017. However, the push to drill will likely continue after 2017 unless more lasting action is taken.

Right now, the administration is accepting comments on the nation's five-year offshore oil and gas leasing plans. Tell Secretary Salazar that this region is too valuable to drill, and request that Bristol Bay be protected from oil and gas development permanently.