There Won't Be Any More Second Chances.

Less than 50 days from today, members of the House and Senate will cast the final decisive vote on the future of the Arctic NationalWildlife Refuge.

The purpose of this post isn't to ask you to do anything, just sharing
the challenge that lies before the NRDC and it's members. Then, in the days and weeks ahead, the plan of action and calling on you to play a key role in helping save the Arctic Refuge.

Either we will win this upcoming vote or we will lose the Arctic Refuge to massive oil development and senseless destruction. I hope that's not an outcome that you and I can tolerate. Which is why it is imperative that we demonstrate strength, spirit and passion over thenext seven weeks.

It's time to show the Bush Administration, the oil companies and their allies in Congress that we will never let their relentless scheming succeed in destroying America's greatest sanctuary for caribou, polarbears, white wolves and other Arctic wildlife.

As things stand right now, there is a serious danger that the Arctic Refuge will fall victim to one of the oldest political tricks in thebook.

The House and Senate have passed a "budget resolution" that paves the way for oil drilling in the Refuge. However, to complete its raid on the Arctic, Congress must still pass a "budget reconciliation" billthat formally opens the Refuge to drilling.

But the Bush Administration and its Congressional allies are trying to declare the battle over. They are working hard to create a sense of inevitability about the Refuge's fate, hoping to break the spirit of its environmental protectors before the decisive vote inmid-September. Don't be fooled!

Their sneak attack on the Refuge back in the spring carried the day by only five votes in the Senate and a mere three votes in the 435-member House. They're in the fight of their lives and they know it! Our job is to make sure that the American people know it, too, because 72 percent of the public is opposed to sacrificing the Arctic Refuge as part of the budget process.

That's why it is absolutely essential that you join together with NRDC Action Fund supporters all across the nation in an all-out effort todefeat this budget bill.

We will be using each and every one of the 49 days between now and the decisive vote to put pressure on members of the House and Senate tosave the Arctic Refuge.

Make sure everyone you know understands that the final "make-or-break" vote on the Arctic Refuge is less than 50 days away. Make it clear to them that a passionate, spirited campaign over the next seven weeks can turn the most serious threat the Arctic Refuge has ever faced into one of the most powerful victories the environmentalcommunity has ever won.