Sitka took a stand

[Where's Bruce?]

My dad helped design the AK pipeline in glacial areas where the pipe needed to have flex cuz the ground moved. Everyone argued about its impact. Now we know the region's animals benefit from the pipeline and use it as a source of heat and protection. Things often end up differently than we expect. I have reviewed this region and drilling isn't a threat despite what many may think. Visit it on Google Earth and then decide. Its a huge barren area and they wanna put a small piece of it use. We'll need that resource in the next world war. I could give a fig about Sitkas political stance, I like their products. I will continue to wear em.

 

[Bighorse]

Can we cut down some tree's while we're at it please? I'm so sick of lower forty eight mentality filtering into our state. We have swaths of wilderness that defy perspective. There's a diminishing human population in AK and decreasing state revenues. Families are needing good careers doing real work.
I'm a hunter and enjoy wild places....so I go there. Utilizing ultra remote locations for resource extraction is a win win. Mother nature wins! People still won't go that far north as a rule, it's too far, too expensive, too risky, too wild!
While we're about posting pictures of human encroachment......just post pics out of any airplane crossing the continental USA. Don't come up here and tell us about human development when your sitting in an office building after a 40 mile commute down a freeway.
My opinion.....and I appreciate access to these wild places. Logging roads in SE AK are amazing for getting into spots that wouldn't be available under normal human endeavors.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

Well,, whether you think the ANWR plan is good, bad or ugly...you might want to poke around the web in search of NPRA drilling operations.

That region is home to the Western Arctic Herd (has been as large as 450K) and the Teshekpuk Herd. Pay attention if you like wild places, because you'll never see the spots ANWR will be drilled (and it will be), but you might see the hundred drill rigs built in the Colville river basin in the western arctic plains in the past 6 years. To marry that, learn more about the road to Ambler (South Slope) for mineral and heavy metal mining and the road to the Colville River (North Slope) for oil extraction and development.

ANWR is a ruse, boys, for whats becoming a quietly developing plan for two roads cutting through lands hunters actually use and has potential to change the visual and physical face of both sides of the Brooks Range heading west off the Haul Rd. Roads that public land owners won't have access to for several decades after construction just like the Haul Rd.

BLM is shedding 13 million acres of public lands west of the Haul Rd, and public comments haven't changed the course of this movement. Search Murkowski's 2004 Lands Transfer Acceleration Act to grasp what's driving BLM's impetus to transfer public lands back to Native hands and developers pockets.

Don't waste too much energy on ANWR, that's the least of palpable change to come to truly wild lands in the North.

 

[Bighorse]

Larry, that was like a mic drop...…..Well said sir.

 

[Tick]

Thank you guys from Alaska for giving your opinion. I put more value in yours than one from a company trying to sell clothes.

 

[11boo]

I never cared for Sitka anyway, now they have dropped to the level of REI.

 

[AlaskaEd]

As a (ex)die-hard Sitka fan their uneducated stance on this pisses me off. Maybe you could argue we don’t need more oil and that we should find other sources of energy (which I may agree on), but this message they put out is pure propaganda. False pictures, inflated facts, and tug on the heart-strings stories. In fact, go to the sources of the petition and the photographer they cite and they are filled with left-wing propaganda. Anti-hunting and more.

The photos they posted are from hundreds of miles from the proposed site, if they are even from ANWR at all. The caribou have coexisted and flourished for over 40 years around the locations just to the west where oil has been extracted extremely efficiently. All of the predictions of the 1960s environmental groups have proven to be unfounded when it comes to effects on wildlife. These aren’t Texas oil fields with derricks as far as the eye can see like everyone thinks in their heads when you say oil fields. The modern oil drilling techniques are surgical, as every bit of excess is a waste of money. They have a minuscule footprint compared to the vast open lands that are nearly uninhabited. In addition, their environmental regulations are astronomical. Possibly the strictest in the world. They are required by law to remove and return the land to the way it was. They literally have to report and clean up a spilled cup of windshield washer fluid like it’s toxic waste. I’d wager the areas to the west (not in ANWR) are some of the cleanest industrial facilities you’d find in the world.

It tells you something that nearly everyone that has hunted or been to the North Slope has no issue with this. The Alaskan hunting page comments are all against Sitka on this. According to many, Sitka is dead in Alaska. All, with VERY few exceptions, are fully supportive of opening the area. They have seen the effect the current oil exploration has had (all positive) first hand. Not in photos, or stories, or things they’ve read, but seen with their own eyes. We’re talking a flat barren land area the size of Delaware with some buildings on it. Now imagine standing in the middle of an area the size of Delaware, and tell me how many (temporary, because they will be later removed) structures it would take for the animals to care. Well for an exact case study you could look a little west and see it would be massively more, because the animals DON’T CARE!

Strangely Sitka’s other environmental post about Bristol Bay a few days ago has four comments. Four, compared to over 600 of this one. That tells you something. Why weren’t Alaskans up in arms about that one? Maybe because there’s actually some debate to that one.

 

[11boo]

I’ll spread this around. I know plenty of guys who use Sitka gear, and will not buy another piece. Chinese commie made gear anyway.

 

[EastMT]

I can’t speak for the surface damage etc, but I can tell you for a fact they don’t mind D-10’s and Cat 390’s. Hanging in the gravel pit watching the trucks do laps.

 

[Rich M]

Sign me up for cohabitation - you can drill for oil and sustain a caribou herd, polar bears and whatnot. Ever been to Texas and see the oil wells and much of our nations cattle using the same land?

If you want to have untouched land - it has to be untouched. No access, keep out kind of stuff. Goes for hunters and nature seekers too.

 

[sndmn11]

It is ironic that a company will exploit the industrialization of foreign sweat shop labor to make larger margin money, but turn around and "use their voice" to stop development of their own country. If Sitka cared anymore about this than a press statement, they would be working with others to fund their own purchase of the land.

Who remembers the Sitka employee throwing out anti-firearm propaganda?

 

[Newtosavage]

Ever been to Texas and see the oil wells and much of our nations cattle using the same land?

I live with the effects of oil development and our stupid state tax system that all but requires small landowners to overgraze and destroy wildlife habitat, every day.

People are so uneducated on the long term incremental impacts of all types of development on wildlife.

It's always clear when folks think with their wallet first, but it's especially sad to see hunters doing it.

 

[Wrench]

Well,, whether you think the ANWR plan is good, bad or ugly...you might want to poke around the web in search of NPRA drilling operations.

That region is home to the Western Arctic Herd (has been as large as 450K) and the Teshekpuk Herd. Pay attention if you like wild places, because you'll never see the spots ANWR will be drilled (and it will be), but you might see the hundred drill rigs built in the Colville river basin in the western arctic plains in the past 6 years. To marry that, learn more about the road to Ambler (South Slope) for mineral and heavy metal mining and the road to the Colville River (North Slope) for oil extraction and development.

ANWR is a ruse, boys, for whats becoming a quietly developing plan for two roads cutting through lands hunters actually use and has potential to change the visual and physical face of both sides of the Brooks Range heading west off the Haul Rd. Roads that public land owners won't have access to for several decades after construction just like the Haul Rd.

BLM is shedding 13 million acres of public lands west of the Haul Rd, and public comments haven't changed the course of this movement. Search Murkowski's 2004 Lands Transfer Acceleration Act to grasp what's driving BLM's impetus to transfer public lands back to Native hands and developers pockets.

Don't waste too much energy on ANWR, that's the least of palpable change to come to truly wild lands in the North.

As someone who was stuck in umiat for 13 weeks straight, I can't believe they finally built a road. Being in a place with no communication with the outside world was interesting to say the least.

I'd like to think anwr will not be littered like the npr was.

As for anwr, who's been there twice?

 

[DangerRanger]

People need to stop acting like 12 year olds and boycotting every company that disagrees with you slightly.

 

[mwebs]

A few caribou hanging out in a bulldozer ditch means absolutely nothing. Can they eat that gravel? Is that the type of landscape you want to hunt them on? It’s frustrating that as a group of supposed backcountry hunters we can’t agree to support untouched, hard to access wilderness areas, without development. Honestly the point isn’t whether or not it hurts the residents animal population or not, which I would argue isn’t even debatable despite what argument you pull out of your butt, but what kind of wild places we support. If I am caribou hunting in Alaska you better believe I don’t want to be looking at oil rigs everywhere and I don’t know who would. Just leave it the hell alone, we don’t even need it, keep fracking.

 

[tdhanses]

When I see companies such as REI/PETA/Patagonia make misleading statements to push their agenda (such as “Trump to sign ruling to allow bear and wolves to be killed in their dens in Alaska”), hunters are the first to step in and call out their rhetoric. I always thought it was because our group held truth to a standard and took the time to research things before blindly following along because a company told them to. It appears I was wrong.

I will start by saying that I oppose drilling in ANWR. Strictly because I believe that at this point in time, we should extract the oil reserves where we have already impacted the surface before breaking more ground. Sitka pulled a page out of the anti-hunting playbook and threw a bunch of misleading shat at the wall and hoped something would stick. It worked. And it continues to work with a group that I thought was too smart to fall for such nonsense.

I’ve never seen an anti-ANWR drilling post with a picture within 50 miles of the wasteland that is the ANWR 1002 area. That includes Sitka’s pictures of the mountains and trees. The effects of oil infrastructure, including the pipeline, has impacted caribou and musk ox exactly opposite of what Sitka and other companies claim. The peer-reviewed research on this substantially outweighs the contrary. I wouldn’t expect Sitka to know that because the caribou herd they claim is the “largest in the world” isn’t even the largest in Alaska. Just a huge fail all around for Sitka.

While we’re on the subject, I found it disgusting when BHA couldn’t find the message they were pushing by visiting an ANWR village so they went to Fort Yukon (a place outside of ANWR that the porcupine herd doesn’t even frequent) to exploit the native people to give them the content they wanted to hear. There is one village in the 1002 area - Kaktovik. I have spent a substantial amount of time there and I consider the people my friends. They have been begging for the opening of their land, which was stolen by the feds, for development for decades. They have testified in front of congress numerous times referring to themselves as “Refugees of Conservation.” There’s a little fact that all these companies standing on the shoulder of indigenous rights to push their agenda conveniently omit.

So just remember the next time that CNN runs a misleading headline about evil hunters and instead of getting mad, just remember the time you drank the Sitka koolaid because they told you what you wanted to hear. It’s ok to accept all the facts for what they are and still oppose something. And when companies/people with large platforms skew the facts, they should be questioned and not praised.

I could careless about Sitka’s message, I just don’t see the need to drill when we are exporting more then we use currently. Nothing wrong with man not touching everything that they see $$ on.

 

[Mtnboy]

You shoulda' ordered a $1500 rain suit.

I'm not claiming to be anything. I lived in Alaska for a long time and have seen much of that state--how's that for 'one trip'? I dealt with -20 -- -60, cold, dark for many years.
I do know that for a long time ANWR was on the table and thankfully Trump got it done. Liberals squeeled about the fact that we couldn't prudently drill there which is horsesh!t as evidence by recent work there.

Why is this an issue now? Because a clothing company deems it a convenient advertising issue so gullible sheep order T shirts, and maybe SItka really wants us beholden to foreign oil.
WIth ANWR gone, and an executive order by Prez Biden with his ban on much of fracking, we're back to kissing Arab ass for our energy needs for the next 'X' years.

Some of you guys are complete idiots.

Thanks for showing your true colors. We're idiots because we don't agree with you huh?

Shoot me a PM if you wanna grab a beer, I'll be in North Idaho all of October and maybe you can see if you wanna say the same stuff to me while we are face to face.

 

[WCB]

If I am caribou hunting in Alaska you better believe I don’t want to be looking at oil rigs everywhere and I don’t know who would. Just leave it the hell alone, we don’t even need it, keep fracking.

So you are saying don't drill anywhere because if you are hunting you don't want to see them? If you looked at the map someone provided they wouldn't be "everywhere". What kind of equipment/machinery is allowable where you are hunting? I hunt western ND and SD all the time. I would much rather look at oil wells pumping than a whole horizon of windmills which are popping up at a pretty fast clip. Are the areas where fracking is going on less important to you?

For the guys touting alternative energy...have you seen the solar projects they are doing in MN...Thousands of acres leveled and every single inch covered with solar panels. Have you seen the hundreds and thousands of acres some of the wind farms are taking up?

 

[blackdog]

This is one of those issues I don't really know where I stand and go back and forth in my view about every third or fourth post.
First, I do believe it's crap that Sitka has to use bullshit arguments and disingenuous pictures to support their stance. If they want to be against the drilling, great, that's their perspective but just say that. Don't try to fool people. In this day and age, it's way to easy to find out the truth.
Second, I can see that maybe this really won't be a huge hit to the environment and that it might even somehow help out some of the wildlife up there and certainly it'll bring revenue to the citizens of the area and the state. But like some others have stated, do we really need this oil supply right now or is it anticipated that we'll need it in the next 10-20 years? Aren't we trending down in overall consumption of fossil fuels while also trending up in domestic production already?
It seems to me, at the end of the day this is more about profit than anything else and when have giant corporations really given a crap about the little guy and the environment? I don't trust them. That's my opinion. They're looking to get rich and they'll spin this effort to say how great it'll be for the area but mostly it's great for their bottom line and stock price. Can't we leave some of our country undeveloped? Maybe the antelope herds are doing just fine under all the windmills in Wyoming and maybe the deer and elk don't mind the oil development in Colorado but it's ugly as f**k and I'd rather hunt an area not having that if given the opportunity.

 

[fnf01]

Thanks for the heads up I just signed the petition and will be looking at some sitka gear to see about a purchase