Lenny Kohm’s pictures were worth 1,000 words.
And all of those words summed up the idea of protecting wildlife.
Kohm, a wildlife photographer, spoke to members of the Central Michigan Group of the Mackinac Chapter of the Sierra Club and MSU’s Resource Development Undergraduate Organization on the problems of oil drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
The speech included a sideshow with pictures of the area the petroleum industry wants to drill.
“In 1987, I went up there on a photo assignment, ever since I have been going around talking about it,” Kohm said.
He has been touring universities and clubs speaking about the ecological damage oil drilling can have on the area.
“We don’t need the oil, it would be 10 years before it would even come online,” he said.
Kohm said just searching for the oil would destroy the area.
“I’m not going to give in on what I consider America’s treasures to those criminals,” he said.
Ken Smith, a member of the Gwich’in peoples, calls the area home and also spoke.
Smith said if the petroleum industry does drill in the area, the caribou herds would disappear.
“We depend on the caribou herd and there is a cultural significance of it,” he said.
Smith said chemical spills or oil spills on the tundra may affect the vegetation, the source of food for the animal. This could be dangerous for his people who eat the caribou.
“If there is any oil drilling in the area, the caribou will have to go elsewhere,” he said.
The speech and slide show aroused many in the room on the issue.
Peter Pasterz, chairman of the Central Michigan Group of the Sierra Club, said it was a real eye opener.
“It was helpful for me to get an education on the area they were targeting,” he said.
Pasterz said 40 percent of the people in the area are subsistence hunters and would be adversely affected by the drilling.
“My personal opinion is enough is enough, there has already been so much compromise on that ecosystem,” he said.
Christine Battiste, president of the Resource Development Undergraduate Organization, said she is a strong supporter of keeping drilling companies out of the area.
“I think the part where he said ‘The land is really owned by us, we all own 16 square feet, and I don’t want drilling on my 16 square feet’ really hit home with me,” the environmental studies and application senior said.
Laura Houston, a member of the student group, said she had never heard about Kohm before the speech.
She said she was touched when she learned of the situation facing the area and its people.
“It is one thing to hear the story from someone down here who went up there, but actually hearing from a native was really touching,” the environmental studies and application senior said.
