Yukon photographer plots U.S. media offensive to protect ANWR

When U.S. lawmakers last month passed a tax reform bill, they included something that's long been on the wish list of many Alaskans a provision to open parts of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration.

That sort of backdoor approval bothered Peter Mather, an award-winning Yukon photographer who's documented the migration of the Porcupine caribou herd to its calving grounds in ANWR.

"People didn't really have a chance to debate this issue. It just doesn't fit into the news cycle, with all the crazy things going around. And so it kind of got snuck into this strange budget bill," Mather said.

"It deserved more debate."

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Now, Mather is trying to organizea groupof freelance journalists and storytellers to pay a visit to ANWR and, ultimately, helpsway public opinion in the U.S. enough to reverse the decision.

"Our goal is to do eightexpeditions this summer, and get 50 different storytellers like writers, photographers, filmmakers into the refugeand try to get that story, the stories they see in there, out to the general public in the U.S.," he said.

"The caribou just hold something in your imagination."

Goal to reach 20 million people

Mather hopes the Caribou Commonsproject willproduce at least 100 stories, videos or exhibits, and reach 20 million people. He'snot thinking aboutthe major U.S. mediaor environmental groups, though. Rather, he's focused on smaller or nichepublications, for example,Christian magazines.

"This is isn't one of their core issues, and we want to bring it to them because we think they're going to care about it, and help us out on this issue," he said.

"We're shooting for alternative publications, where people haven't heard about this issue. We're not talking to the converted."

It's not easy or cheap to get to ANWR.Most visitors fly to Fairbanks and then hop on another plane north to reach the refuge, on Alaska's remote north slope. People who join Mather's excursions will have to pay their own way.

Still, he's already been overwhelmed by the level of interest.

"We started out as fourexpeditions, and had room for maybe 25 people.And I've had to bring it up to eight expeditions," he said. "I've had to turn away about 20 storytellers because I just can't get everybody out there."

Mather says it's all about recognizing and publicizing the importance of protected areas for caribou. He refers to the "caribou people" who live in the North and rely on the Porcupine herd.

Even though debate over drilling in ANWRgoes back decades, Mather believes there are still too fewAmericans whounderstand what's at stake.

"I think there's lots of people telling this story in Canada. We're trying to do something a littledifferent,and reach a differentaudience."

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