By Mallory Rutigliano, Chair, Environmental Education Committee

This Spring, Sierra Club volunteer Gary Keir gave a keynote presentation at an event hosted by the Patagonia clothing and gear store on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, in partnership with Sierra Club. Gary has more than 20 years of experience in leading trips in Arctic Alaska. Gary’s presentation to an intimate group at the back of the store focused on the importance of preservation and respect for the Brooks Range, a particularly remote and sensitive ecosystem in the northern part of Alaska.

Gary detailed his many trips bringing small groups up to the range, to appreciate the beauty and the hundreds of species that call the range their home, breeding ground, or migratory route. The Brooks Range is one of the few natural areas left on the planet, which makes it particularly imperiled by encroachment. Much of Gary’s talk focused on the deleterious practices of oil exploration and extraction that happen in the landscape, including not only drilling and road creation, but also the use of machines that send vibrations deep into the earth to investigate potential oil deposits, which can disrupt species and landscapes. 

The Trump administration has held land lease sales in the range, to try to promote oil and gas drilling, and we must do our part to oppose this. As auctions come up, Sierra Club has been at the forefront of litigation and pressure from the grassroots base. The lease sale that came up shortly after the talk failed to generate meaningful interest from buyers, which is a big (if temporary) success for the movement.

The evening with Gary, for which he presented slides with incredible graphics of caribou travel patterns and first-account photos of flora and fauna, was bolstered even more by remarks and Q&A with Loren Blackford, Sierra Club’s national executive director. The event ended with a spirit of awe of the natural beauty of Alaskan Wilderness and camaraderie with other local members and the public.

Stay engaged and make sure to sign action alerts that come up from your local, state, or national Sierra Club – they make a big difference.
To read more about the lease sale, see Sierra Club’s statement.