More than 30 people gathered in front of U.S. Rep. John Katko’s (R-N.Y.) office on South Warren Street Monday afternoon to urge him to vote against a recent budget proposal to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is home to several bird, mammal and fish species.

The habitat is also critical to the Gwich’in nation, who depend on the caribou that migrate there as a food source.

The cold, blustery weather didn’t hamper the crowd’s enthusiasm. Holding brightly colored signs, they listened and cheered enthusiastically as each speaker addressed them.

Joe Driscoll, a Syracuse common councilor-elect; Jeanne Shenandoah of the Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force; Joe Heath, an Onondaga Nation lawyer; and David Alicea, organizing representative of Sierra Club’s “Beyond Coal” campaign, were among those who spoke at the rally.

“We must unite behind renewable energy, and Arctic drilling will result in the vast devastation of the area’s wildlife and endanger the culture and the very livelihood of the indigenous people that live there,” Heath said. “We have one earth, we’re all one people and we have one future, and Mr. Katko needs to get on board quickly.”

Tara Miller, New York outreach consultant for Defenders of Wildlife, was one of the main organizers of the event. She said she believes events like these will catch Katko’s attention and inspire others to stand up for the environment as the vote gets closer.

She said now is a critical time because the budget will pass through Congress soon. The House passed the budget last month, and it now faces the Senate for approval.

“Congressman Katko will likely have another chance to vote on the final version,” Miller added. “We need him to vote no this time.”

Maryanne Adams, conservation chair of the Onondaga Audubon Society, said she attended the event because she is concerned about potential effects on wildlife and the food stability of the Gwich’in people.

Claudia Klaver, an associate professor of English at Syracuse University who originally came from Alaska, attended the rally. She said she remembered when the Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in the Prince William Sound in 1989.

She said she fears the same thing may happen in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge if the vote passes.

Though she didn’t live in Alaska at the time, she said she still understood the fragility of the state’s environment.

“It is so shortsighted to drill for a little bit of money and wealth that is going to go mostly into the hands of a few corporate executives — and yeah, some oil workers — and will destroy an environment that can never be restored,” Klaver said.

Published on November 27, 2017 at 10:39 pm