Bald eagle near Davenport, Iowa

The following is a Guest Opinion published in the Iowa City Press-Citizen Thursday.

[BFIA ACTION ALERT:   "The National Petroleum Reserve is home to vast numbers of wildlife — waterfowl, shorebirds, caribou, bears and others. Tundra swans, snow geese, brant, pintail and dozens of other species nest there. They migrate through Iowa; resting and refueling along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, around Coralville, Saylorville, Red Rock and Rathbun Reservoirs, through the Prairie Pothole Region and other wildlife areas. They provide hunting, photography and bird watching opportunities for tens of thousands of Iowans."    To protect the wildlife, submit your comment here before June 1st.  http://iawildlife.org/national-petroleum-reserve/speak-up-for-waterfowl-and-shore-birds/]

by Joe Wilkerson and Doug Harr

Balancing our country’s demand for oil with our need for wild places has not been easy for the last 100 years. It is getting tougher these days. For decades now, our appetites for petroleum to fuel industrial growth and Americans’ passion for recreation and travel have drastically increased the risk to the same natural areas many wish to visit and experience.

Alaska is rich in both petroleum and those wild places. It always has been thought of as the solution to our domestic oil strategy because of the National Petroleum Reserve. The reserve was thought to hold enough oil to fuel our needs for many years. Recent government reports, though, place oil deposits there far below original estimates.

We in Iowa are connected to this 22-million acre region in two ways.

• First, there is oil and our demand for it. No argument there.

• More importantly, though, the reserve is home to vast numbers of wildlife — waterfowl, shorebirds, caribou, bears and others. Tundra swans, snow geese, brant, pintail and dozens of other species nest there. They migrate through Iowa; resting and refueling along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, around Coralville, Saylorville, Red Rock and Rathbun Reservoirs, through the Prairie Pothole Region and other wildlife areas. They provide hunting, photography and bird watching opportunities for tens of thousands of Iowans.

Both connections are strong.

The Bureau of Land Management — within the U.S. Department of the Interior — is charged with maintaining the balance between wildlife and its habitat, and our need for oil. Not an easy task. Iowans now have the opportunity to speak up; to help determine how the Reserve will be managed. We can help establish a balance between the need for wildlife habitat … and demands for oil.

Through the Iowa Wildlife Federation’s website, www.iawildlife.org, Iowans can look through the options the bureau is considering. Support one — or more — and provide suggestions for future management.

Time is running short. The bureau has a June 1 comment deadline.

Alaska and its rich resources may be thousands of miles away. However, those resources enhance our lives repeatedly. If you enjoy wildlife, we feel you should make this task a priority.

Press-Citizen columnist Joe Wilkinson is president of the Iowa Wildlife Federation. Doug Harr is president of Iowa Audubon.           LINK to article in the Iowa City Press-Citizen

[Submit your comment here before June 1st. ]