Alaska Wilderness League Interview

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Every day you and I get bombarded with negative news. And just like our bodies, become what we eat, our minds become the information that we consume. If you want to stay positive, it’s so important that you also listen to stories that inspire you and uplift you. In this podcast we interview leading experts dedicated to solving the world’s most pressing problems. And if you stick around, I promise you will not only be as informed as if you watched the news, you will be uplifted, inspired, and have more positive energy in your life. Welcome to Great.com Talks With.

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Hi and welcome to today, great dotcom talks with Adam Caulton, who is the executive director, director of Alaska Wilderness League or Alaskan Wild Dog, and if you haven’t heard of them before, they are an organization that is protecting the wilderness of Alaska. And if you’re new here to this podcast, you definitely want to subscribe either on YouTube or in your podcast app that will greatly help us to reach more people with interviews like this, where we

shine a light on people who are making the world better in some way. Adam, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with great outcome today.

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Hey, Neal, thanks so much for having me on. It’s great to be here.

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You’re welcome. So how would you describe Alaskan Wild to someone that is not familiar with the organization?

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There were we’re really the twenty four seven cop on the beat for Wild Alaska, we we work on behalf of all who care about these last great wild places in Alaska, which we’re talking about, in particular, the one hundred million plus acres in Alaska that are public lands and waters that are national parks, national wildlife refuges, conservation areas, or public lands that still need strengthened protections. And while Alaska has many more than one hundred eight million acres of state lands as well, the lands we’re talking about are collectively owned and need to be secured by all Americans and argue everyone around the planet has a stake in protecting these last great wild places. So our job is to give folks a voice in those decisions by advocating in Congress with the executive branch also to go to court when we need to take legal action sometimes to put pressure on companies to change their practices. If they’re going to try to mind rail or log in certain places, that really ought to be protected. So we the way we do that is by engaging people across the country in a variety of ways, putting pressure on their members of Congress to vote the right way, writing letters to the editor, signing petitions, sometimes joining and shareholder action, sometimes taking action as a consumer, as a taxpayer, really to do what we argue, which is to cast your vote, as Thoreau said, not a scrap of paper merely, but your whole influence. And I think organizations like ours that serve as a watchdog have a way to to help people engage further than just casting their vote at the ballot box, but to to to stay on these things that they care passionately about year in and year out.

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Mm hmm, I can hear the taste of passion in the way you speak, and I’m so glad someone that is as engaged as you and your organization is protecting the wilderness of Alaska. Yes, I think it’s so needed both for nature and for climate change and for many reasons. So you mentioned logging, drilling and mining. Are those kind of the main threats at the moment for Alaska wilderness or what else are you protecting from?

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You know, we have to recognize that, of course, when I say logging, mining and drilling, I recognize that those activities have a place in Alaska’s economy historically and will work for years to come. But I think the question is, are there places that are so special that they shouldn’t be exploited? And are there some limits in the area of the climate crisis where we need to change longstanding practices and look to the future? And I

i think when you’re talking about drilling in the Arctic, a lot of people don’t realize this. You’re speaking from Sweden in an Arctic country, in the United States, the only Arctic state is Alaska. And of all of northern Alaska, sort of north of the Brooks Mountain range, which cut east to west on top of Alaska. The proponents of drilling are seeking close to rolling back all legal protections for the entire American Arctic coastline and if they have their way. One hundred percent of the American Arctic coastal landscape would be open to oil drilling. So for those that are concerned, say, well, there needs to be some drilling. We’re not saying that what we’re happening now is even when we know we’ve got to deal with the climate crisis, where we’re not scaling back, we’re not transitioning.

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In fact, one of the ministry aspirations we’ve seen sort of this doubling down on making long term bets for drilling decades to come. And we’re seeing that in southeast Alaska to where we’ve been phasing out logging of giant old growth trees. We’re talking about five hundred eight hundred year old sequoia spruce trees that sequester carbon, but keep it sort of active. These giant carbon sinks are really important for tackling climate change, but where we’re seeing an effort to try to restart industrial scale old growth logging. So we consider this America’s Amazon. It’s our largest temperate rainforest. It’s a place that we really need to change our practices and have been changing them. But there are those who want to go backwards and and restart and kind of the old bad logging practices of the past. So just to clarify, I think that we’re an inflection point. We’re at a time when we need to make big changes and there are forces that are trying to resist those that we’re up against.

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Right. So many things I’m curious about in what you just said and what the facts are under all oil drills and all that kind of stuff, but what I’m. What I want to know the most for now is oxidase administration change, then what effect is that going to have for nature? Are those people still going to be able to remove the protections or is the new administration going to be able to do something about it?

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Well, it’s a hopeful moment, to be sure, after the last four years when these wild places in Alaska and beyond were facing such dark times, in our view. But President elect Biden ran on the most pro climate action agenda of any successful presidential candidate in US history, and that included some specific commitments to protect places like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the North to last. So it’s a hopeful moment, to be sure. And the president has. Significant tools at his disposal, executive actions that he can take to begin restoring some of the protections that President Trump will back that said, lasting change, enduring change often takes bipartisan support and sometimes passing legislation through the Congress. And unfortunately, our Congress is still deeply divided, with Republicans likely, depending on the outcome of the Georgia Senate race, likely to continue to control the Senate Democrats holding onto a narrow margin in the House. So what remains a challenge for groups like ours is we’ve seen some of these issues even as the American people are growing in their view, that climate, the climate crisis is urgent. We still see this huge polarization around some of these issues. And when it comes to taking on oil and gas and recognizing that we’ve got to begin transitioning away from our long term dependence on fossil fuels, there are still forces and frankly, too many in the Republican Party that are resisting that. So on the one hand, we have huge opportunities we’re excited about. On the other hand, there may be some limits to what we can achieve under this divided government.

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And it makes a lot of sense. So what is the role of Alaskan wild in this equation? Where are you focusing now to push the envelope in your direction?

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Well, first up, unfortunately, from our standpoint, President Trump has until January 20. We are still in office. And we’ve been bringing lawsuits to try to block the Trump administration from taking actions on his way out the door to auction off the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, holding the first ever oil and gas lease sale and the largest. And while this place is left in the United States, we are trying to mobilize public support that can manifest itself in big banks and oil companies saying they’re not going to bid on that lease sale. So, for example, with big groups like Sierra Club, with indigenous partners, including the Gwich’in Athabascan people, we’ve been putting pressure on large multinational banks, US banks. And so far we have six of the largest US banks that have said they’re not willing to finance any oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. And indeed, many have adopted policies saying they won’t lend to finance drilling projects in the American Arctic period or the Arctic period, meaning the entire circumpolar north. So that’s very positive. The second thing that we’re really working hard on is to ensure that when he takes office on day one, President elect Biden begins keeping some of his campaign promises and makes a priority out of protecting these wild places as part of his climate agenda. So while he ran, made great statements, there’s a lot of things coming up, the president elect. So how do we keep these issues front and center, at least high on the list in the middle of the pandemic, in the middle of so many other crushing demands with the president elect coming in? So we’ve been working very hard to get messages into the president elect’s transition team and otherwise build the kind of support for him to take strong actions on day one and then throughout his early months in office. So that’s that’s a key part as well.

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So are you guys involved in. Lowering the effects of climate change in any other ways, since you’re politically involved or are you focusing just on the wilderness in Alaska?

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We certainly support broad efforts to reduce carbon pollution, but, you know, people say, well, there’s so many different environmental NGOs out there that do different things, and our role is to be laser focused on these wild places in Alaska, as well as standing in solidarity with many of the indigenous people and communities that depend on healthy, intact ecosystems. Having said that, though, I think there’s an increasing recognition that to solve the climate crisis, we need to recognize the connection that healthy landscapes have in both sequestering carbon, as I talked about, in places like the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska, but also keeping vast quantities of carbon in the ground. The journal Nature looked at what it takes to get to meet the two degrees Celsius goals of the Paris Accords. And they determined that if we develop the known, already known resources in the Arctic oil and gas resources broadly, including in the United States, there’s no way we can meet those two degree goals. So while there are many more things that need to be done to tackle the climate crisis, just think about what some of these decisions might amount to if we’re going to make long term bets on developing oil fields in remote areas in the Arctic.

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And let’s be clear that from the Ministration Zone, estimates are that it would take a decade to get the first drop of oil out of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and then it would be 70 years of production. So talking about a long term debt of locking in carbon for many decades to come, when we’re trying to transition away from it, there’s no way we can even begin the known oil reserves we have, let alone to go to these frontier areas. So we do think that we’re very much on the frontlines of the climate crisis. And we do think that by keeping this carbon in the ground, not only are we standing in solidarity with a lot of communities in Alaska that are on the front lines of climate impacts, many of these kids are warming twice as fast as those in the rest of the globe, but but also front line communities around the country that are desperate to see carbon reductions and don’t want us locking in these long term plays in the last.

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Hmmm, as someone that represents an organization that wants to prevent climate change, it really hurts me to hear the decision making of building a 17 year oil rig. Jesus then. If you’re looking forward, then what would you guys like to accomplish in five, 10 years time? What kind of successes would you be really proud of and still would be reasonable?

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Well, I think a big picture we would like to see greater recognition that protecting places in Alaska and frankly, other wild landscapes around the globe are essential to the goals of tackling the biodiversity crisis, the climate crisis, and in standing in solidarity with indigenous peoples and human rights. That is a tall order. I know. But if you think about the movement that right now is happening, the famed biologist Joe Wilson called for protecting half the planet for biodiversity. There’s a movement that’s gaining traction around the globe, calling for protecting 30 percent of the planet’s lands and waters by 20 30. So if you think about what’s left in terms of intact ecosystems in the United States, if we’re going to do our part, Alaska has to be part of the equation. So while we need that recognition, organizations like ours also have to recognize we need to support efforts to help transition them away from some of these extractive practices like industrial scale clearcutting and drilling in the Arctic. And that means standing with those that want to see Alaska’s economy diversify beyond its dependence on these long term extractive practices that are out of step with these larger goals and think about what it needs to have a healthier economic future. So if you’re asking me, what do we need to accomplish? Obviously, we work on protecting wild places. We’re not, you know, we’re not experts in economic transformation. But I do think that we have to be part of the dialogue about what can come next and how many of these people and communities in places like Alaska. And that’s true for places like West Virginia, in the United States and that are dependent on coal.

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What comes next? What kind of investments would be helpful in transitioning the economy over time as we begin to phase out these long term investments in oil and gas and logging? So that’s that’s important, I think, in terms of where you see lines on the map, we’ve got to rethink the American Arctic as a place that’s been principally about oil and gas development and recognize that even if we do take dramatic actions to deal with emissions, we really have a changing Arctic that’s going to affect Alaska dramatically. So we need to think about what kind of sustainable tourism practices could come to the Arctic. How can that help some of these indigenous communities? What new protections? What new practices? How can we steward these resources and provide economic opportunities at the same time as we phase out oil and gas in the Arctic? So there are also challenges to the legacy infrastructure. We have thousands of square miles of oil and gas infrastructure in the Arctic, the eight hundred mile Trans Alaska pipeline. So there’s quite a lot to think through in terms of the future. But what we really need to do is see the next several years as this pivot point where we stop. What we know is putting stepping on the gas and sort of heading over the cliff of the climate crisis and turning the car around and heading in into a better direction. And that can help Alaska, but obviously help all of us.

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Yeah, I would love to see that turn around and I understand how complex the issue is when you’re speaking, you got to think of both economics and so many factors that go into it.

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So imagine now that someone is listening to this and they want to help out, would be involved somehow, regardless if they live in the US or if they live somewhere else around the globe, what can they do to help out in an effective way?

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Well, obviously, we’re not the only environmental NGO out there, so I think it’s great when folks get involved with local conservation groups or national ones.

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I think one thing, but if you’re passionate about wild places in Alaska and some of the frontline indigenous communities that are also fighting alongside, we’re standing in solidarity with the protected places. You can go to Alaska Wild Dog and sign up to be on our list to get alerted to different opportunities, to engage in the advocacy process and learn about opportunities not only in the United States, but also opportunities to put pressure on companies that may be investing or drilling, seeking to drill in Alaska. In fact, many European, many Australian, other companies have been investing in the Alaskan oil production. So it’s important that everybody think about putting that kind of pressure on wherever you live. So you can do that. You can obviously become a member of our organization, get our newsletter. You can make financial contributions to help us do our work. That’s really important, too. But obviously, the most important thing is just to think about how you can engage in fighting for wild landscapes as part of the solution to the biodiversity and climate crisis and understand and educate yourself about some of the indigenous people and communities that still depend on these healthy ecosystems. For me, when I first got involved in this work, I was really passionate about wild places and I got to travel up to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for the first time in the late 1990s and.

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It was an incredible wilderness experience, you know, standing amidst the highest peaks and glaciers, the Brooks Mountains, looking out to the Arctic Ocean, it was incredibly moving and powerful for me. But what really transformed me was spending time with the Gwich’in Athabascan people. And in several of the villages that are located in northeast Alaska, northwest Canada, many of these villages are there still. They still depend on Cariboo for another wild week for 80 percent of their diet. So the migration of this giant porcupine caribou herd, which carves gives birth to its young on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge before the longest land migration on the planet to and through these Gwich’in villages. And they say the excitement in the villages when they hunt the Cariboo and hunters bring the caribou back when they use all parts of the Cariboo still. So certainly many changes have happened over time, many Western influences. But at the same time, there’s also this sort of traditional culture and food security issue that’s at stake. And just as they’re seeking to hold on to their traditional languages and other cultural practices, this is really a matter of food security and cultural survival for a lot of these indigenous communities. And that that sort of Sparkasse stood with me. And they certainly are doing their own advocacy through efforts like the Gwich’in Steering Committee here in the US and Canada as well. But we’re proud to have several women leaders on our board of directors and to be working in partnership with them.

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I have to Google accountable and what they look like. I want to see this on photo or video. We’re coming towards the end of this interview now. Adam Colton, thank you so much for taking the time to educate me and our listeners about the threats to Alaskan wildlife and what we can do to move towards a more positive future.

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Thanks so much for having me on, and I really appreciate your attention on this issue and such a critical time.

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Thank you. And for you listening. If you appreciated this episode, if you liked it, if you learned something and if you would like for more people to hear this kind of conversation and get excited about wildlife preservation, please hit subscribe on YouTube or your podcast app that would help us get through to algorithms. Some more people can hear conversations like this. Thank you so much for listening and we’ll see you in the next episode.

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