STAFF INFORMATION

Environmental Manager
Michael S. Peter
907.662.2581, Ext. 109

Environmental Technician
Roland Joseph

Realty Director
Shirley Fields
Ext. 107

Probate Technician
Judy Peter
jpeter@yftribes.org

Natural Resources Director
Ted Solomon
Ext. 105

Latest Update (4/14/08) - In response to requests from the public, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serve announced today that it is re-opening the comment period relating to the ”Proposed Land Exchange, Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge, Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).“ The re-opened 30-day comment period will begin with publication of the announcement in the Federal Register on Friday, April 18 and close on May 19th, 2008.

The entire Draft Environmental Impact Statement, as well as a summary, may be downloaded or viewed at http://YukonFlatseis.ensr.com (note that the link may not be fully updated before April 18th). Copies of the document were mailed to people in the communities affected. They are also available at the Noel Wien Library (Fairbanks) and Anchorage's Alaska Resources Library and Information Services (ARLIS).

Public comments may be submitted online at the above web address or by mail to: Yukon Flats EIS Project Office, c/o ENSR, 1835 S. Bragaw Street, Suite 490, Anchorage, Alaska 99508-3438.

Press Release (1/23/08) - A coalition of Alaska native and conservation groups, joined by a retired U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, denounced a proposed land swap that would remove 110,000 acres of critical and irreplaceable wildlife habitat and wilderness from the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to allow oil and gas development on the land. Read full release »

KEEP NATIVE LANDS IN NATIVE HANDS
The proposed Land Exchange between Doyon Ltd. and the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge will have severe impact on the land and to our people. We support economic development but not at the expense of our way of life. We must not allow the salmon, moose, ducks and other resources that rely on the magnificent Yukon River to be destroyed in exchange for money.

Tell Doyon to STOP the Land Exchange
“This land represents undeveloped wilderness, a place where the marks left by the hand of man are rarely seen. Imagine how the intrinsic values of this place will grow as the rest of the world becomes more devoid of natural areas.”
U.S.Fish&Wildlife Service, Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge Website:
www.alaska.fws.gov/nwv/yukonflats/welcome.htm

The Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge consists of 9.3 million acres and encompasses the Yukon Flats wetlands basin. This basin is located along the Arctic Circle and is bordered by the Brooks Range to the north and the White Mountains to the south. It includes 300 miles of the Yukon River, North America’s fifth largest river; an estimated 40,000 shallow lakes, ponds, and sloughs; and 7,000 miles of rivers and streams. The rich wetlands of the Yukon Flats are some of the most productive waterfowl breeding areas in North America; an estimated 1.5 million ducks breed here annually. The Flats also include a variety of other habitats, such as forests of white spruce, paper birch, and quaking aspen; black spruce bogs; thickets of willow and alder; and grasslands and meadows. These habitats are important to a variety of songbirds, shorebirds, and upland game birds.
USGS Website »

What Can You Do?
What Can You Do? Learn more about the Land Exchange by visiting the Yukon Flats Refuge Website or contact the Tribal Council Office. You can also get information from Pam Miller, Northern Alaska Envirnmental Center  at 907-452-5021