Roger Herrera, a petroleum geologist and spokesman for Arctic Power, said there are a wide range of misconceptions about the refuge and what impact petroleum development would have on the protected land. The debate, which started 30-plus years ago, often discounts that only about 8 percent of the 20 million-acre ANWR is being considered and that regulations are already among the most stringent in the world.

Another misconception is the opinions of state residents.

"People think Alaskans are opposed to this issue," Herrera said. "Nothing could be farther from the truth — (Alaskans) are consistently at least 75 percent in favor — and include our governor and lieutenant governor."

Lawson LeGate, Southwest representative for the Sierra Club, said it was just an "election-year gimmick" to depict ANWR resources as a viable alternative to bringing down gas prices.

"Even our own Department of Energy, a Republican-controlled Department of Energy, has said utilizing resources in ANWR will not make an appreciable difference in prices," LeGate said. "Drilling in the Arctic, even with 20 years of production, would change prices very little."

LeGate said the solution to achieving independence from foreign oil was reducing dependence on oil, period. The U.S. petroleum reserves only account for 3 percent of global supplies, yet the U.S. consumes 25 percent of the world's oil.

"Do the math," LeGate said. "There are smarter, more-efficient ways to address the issues — all these proposals (for domestic oil development,) in the end, enrich big oil companies, who are already making obscene profits."

Videos of the visit can be watched/viewed on www.anwr.org.

---

E-mail: araymond@desnews.com