The Alaska Coalition is a partnership of nearly 1,000 groups from the conservation, sporting, labor, religious and business communities working together to protect Alaska’s wild public lands. For more than 30 years, the Alaska Coalition has worked hard to safeguard the health and wildness of Alaska’s public lands, from the tundra of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to the lush temperate rainforest of the Tongass and Chugach National Forests.
In the spring of 2007, Alaska Wilderness League integrated with the Alaska Coalition. This integration enhances the broader conservation community’s grassroots capacity to protect Coalition as well as state based coalitions formed under the Alaska Coalition.
Our member organizations and businesses work together with our regional organizers to build support in Congress by urging their elected officials to pass wilderness legislation in Alaska. Ultimately, we hope to add the 1.5 million-acre coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge to our nation’s wilderness preservation system, to protect the remaining wilderness areas in the Tongass National Forest from clearcutting and other harmful development, to protect special areas in the Western Arctic within the NPR-A, and the Polar Bear Seas—the Beaufort and Chukchi—off the North Slope.
Membership in the Alaska Coalition does not require a financial commitment. We believe that the future of Alaska’s wildlands is directly tied to the strength and political power of our coalition and our ability to mobilize grassroots support at the local level in every state, including yours. Increasing the number and variety of member groups will bring us closer to our ultimate goal of ensuring permanent protection for these special places in Alaska. The level of participation in the Alaska Coalition varies from one member to another, but in general each member group takes part in a variety of different activities to help protect wild Alaska. Some of these activities may include:
- Sending action alerts about Alaska issues to organization’s members
- Signing onto letters to decision makers
- Writing and/or submitting letters to the editor (ltes)
- Writing opinion pieces
- Setting up meetings with Member of Congress in your district or state
- Tabling in your local community to educate the public about wild Alaska
- Setting up or participating in local press events
- Participating on a state steering committee* and helping to organize state “chapters” or groups
- Participating on the national steering committee**
- Many more!
* State Steering Committees: We are aiming to have 6-10 representatives from a range of state organizations/businesses to serve on a state steering committee. Steering committee members will work with either our regional organizer or the Alaska Coalition Coordinator to plan and implement grassroots strategies in their state. Steering committee members participate in monthly conference calls, quarterly state coalition calls and a yearly in person meeting. Often Steering committee members help with Wilderness Week recruitment and/or participation. This person is responsible for maintaining frequent communication with field staff.
** National Steering Committee: Similar to a state steering committee, we are aiming to have 15-20 representatives from state steering committees and national organizations/businesses commit to participating on a national steering committee for the Alaska Coalition. National steering committee members participate in quarterly conference calls, and yearly in person meetings.
Some groups are able to dedicate a lot of time to the Alaska Coalition and others aren’t able to commit as much. All members are a critical part of the work of the Alaska Coalition. By signing on as a member of the Alaska Coalition, organizations lend local legitimacy to our community organizing work and help to send a clear message to Congress that there is broad support for protecting Alaska’s special places.
