Political Quotes

“Once again, we are going to debunk the flawed science that the other side looks at. Mr. Chair, I have two different articles that have been peer reviewed, and I include them in the Record. Caribou Calves and Oil Development--Do They Mix? (By Patti Harper) One thing's certain about day-old caribou calves. ``They are incredibly cute,'' says Steve Arthur, a biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Fairbanks. Arthur and his research partner, Patricia Del Vechhio, have gotten up close and personal with newborn calves of the Central Arctic caribou herd each June since 2001, in an effort to address an important question: What is the effect of oil field development on wildlife? Arthur says data they have collected suggest that when cows are displaced from preferred calving areas, their calves are smaller at birth and may not grow as fast or survive as well. It's an important finding because some of the calving and summer ranges of the Central Arctic caribou herd overlap areas of oil development on Alaska's North Slope. The herd's size increased from approximately 5,000 caribou in 1975, about the time development began, to almost 32,000 in 2002. But Arthur says no easy answer can be gleaned about whether development has affected the herd from looking at changes in the overall number of caribou, because many factors affect growth or decline of caribou populations.…”