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MONDAY, JANUARY 21, 2002

The Alaska Legislature is once again moving to fund Arctic Power with an extra $1 million so the group can lobby Congress to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling.

Arctic Power is a non-profit organization with close ties to the Bush administration. Executive director Camden Toohey was tapped by Secretary of Interior to be a special assistant for Alaska.

Toohey also has close ties to Republican lawmakers in the state. He was former assistant to the Alaska Senate Finance Committee, one of the panels which will hold hearings on a bill to fund Arctic Power.

Last year, the Legislature gave $2 million to the group. The $1 million would be on top of the amount.

The group anticipates a February vote in the Senate on energy policy. Environmental groups have begun airing television ads against drilling.

Get the Story:
Legislature poised to fund ANWR lobbying (AP 1/19)
TV ads opposing oil drilling to air in Omaha (The Lincoln Journal Star 1/19)

Relevant Links:
Gwich'in Steering Committee - http://www.alaska.net/~gwichin
Oil Issues in ANWR, US Fish and Wildlife - http://arctic.fws.gov/issues1.html
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, US Fish and Wildlife Service - http://arctic.fws.gov
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Pro-Development site - http://www.anwr.org

Related Stories:
Report: Norton missed deadline on plan (1/14)
Norton admits ANWR 'mistake' (10/23)
Norton staff rewrote Arctic drilling data (10/19)
Arctic drilling debate continues (10/15)
Bush promotes ANWR as home security (10/12)
ANWR supporters say don't have votes (10/12)
ANWR had votes to clear Senate panel (10/11)
Okla. lawmakers see hope for energy (10/11)
I'm not President but I play one on TV (10/11)
Bingaman halts Senate energy bill (10/10)
Bingaman: Scale back energy tax breaks (10/9)
ANWR spared in defense vote (10/3)