Receipts in Hand: How the Outdoor State Showed Up for the Arctic

Photos by Creative Alliance member Ming T. Poon

Last week, Protect Our Winters and the Alaskan Wilderness League showed up on Capitol Hill with receipts…74 pages of them. We hand-delivered a 74-page petition calling for permanent protections, putting thousands of Outdoor State voices directly on lawmakers’ desks.

The Trump Administration was poised to sign new legislation that would ease oil and gas drilling in the Arctic. POW answered by engaging Congress and pushing for permanent Arctic protections, making it clear we will not back down.

Over two packed days, POW joined Alaska Wilderness League (AWL) and the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) for a strategic fly-in that brought athletes, scientists, filmmakers, and Alaskan voices directly into the rooms shaping the Arctic’s future. Their mix of science, recreation, culture, and lived experience resonated across both sides of the aisle.

Why We Showed Up

Our coalition arrived with a clear purpose: deliver POW’s 74-page Arctic petition with 6,000 signatures, demonstrate unified strength across the Outdoor State and our partners, push back on new leasing in the Arctic Refuge and NPRA, and advance clean-energy progress through targeted Energizing Our Communities Act (EOCA) meetings.

With pressure mounting to revive Arctic lease sales, the moment couldn’t have been more critical. Across dozens of meetings, we delivered a unified message underscoring that the Arctic is not a bargaining chip, and its protection is non-negotiable. The petition reinforced the urgency by underscoring that drilling is environmentally reckless, fiscally risky, and out of step with today’s energy markets, while threatening carbon-rich landscapes, Indigenous sovereignty, and U.S. climate goals. 

The EOCA meetings provided the complementary path forward as a practical, bipartisan, community-level solution that strengthens energy resilience and supports a clean-energy future.

During this trip, our coalition met with key Senate and House offices, including:

• Sen. Martin Heinrich (D–NM) 
• Rep. Nick Begich (R–AK) 
• Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R–AK) 
• Sen. Dan Sullivan (R–AK) 
• Sen. John Fetterman (D–PA) 
• Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D–NY) 

Across the board, we highlighted the financial risks of Arctic drilling, the cultural and ecological value of intact northern landscapes, and the national upside of pragmatic clean-energy policy. Athletes, Indigenous voices, and Arctic storytellers grounded the conversation in lived experience, cutting through policy noise.

“Like it or not, policy is the only thing that has the chance to fix our climate and save our public lands,” said POW Climb Alliance member Tommy Caldwell. “This trip to DC, advocating for protection of the Arctic Refuge, shows me once again how POW creates a pathway for our community to show up big time.”

The Power of People

This fly-in was made possible thanks to our strong, diverse coalition of athletes, artists, coalition partners, and Indigenous voices, including:

• POW Climb Alliance member Tommy Caldwell – world-renowned climber whose stories of big-wall expeditions illustrated the fragility and value of wild places.
• POW Creative Alliance member Ming Poon – award-winning photojournalist capturing the emotional and ecological truth of the Arctic through imagery and film.
• POW Ski Alliance member Len Necefer – Indigenous scholar, athlete, and storyteller, grounding policy conversations in Native knowledge, culture, and lived experience.
• POW Creative Alliance member Brennan Lagasse – professor, guide, and skier offering decades of climate, recreation, and land stewardship insight.
• Gwen Quigley – Alaska-born scientist and guide providing a clear, local, science-based lens on Arctic change.
• Andy Moderow (AWL) – lifelong Alaskan advocate tying federal decisions directly to Alaskan communities, traditions, and economies.

Each brought expertise, lived experience, and passion, adding weight to every meeting and depth to every story.

What This Fly-In Achieved

In just two days, this coalition made a measurable impact. Together we: 

• Strengthened relationships and opened new bipartisan opportunities, especially in Alaska offices.
• Elevated Indigenous knowledge and lived Alaskan experience as central to Arctic decision-making.
• Reinforced that economic framing is now a non-negotiable tool in Arctic advocacy.
• Showed coalition unity between POW, AWL, and LCV.
• Built momentum for EOCA through POW clean-energy meetings.
• Created cultural and relational momentum through a standout evening of storytelling at the Arcteryx brand store.

“This was my third trip to D.C. to advocate for Arctic Refuge protection and each visit has reaffirmed the importance of showing up. Even given the current political climate, every office reiterated it mattered that we were there, hand delivering these petitions from constituents, and reminding them of the critical importance of protecting the Arctic Refuge,” said POW Creative Alliance member Brennan Lagasse. “This trip was another fresh reminder that even though there’s so much momentum against climate justice and intersected causes, there’s a vibrant counter-balance standing together to resist and move forward in a good way. It was good that POW showed up for this DC calling, as there will be more to come and the Outdoor State needs to be as ready as possible, to continue to do whatever we can to come together for our shared values and these significant causes.”

We Left  D.C. With Purpose

This trip to the Hill meant that when athletes, scientists, Alaskans, and storytellers stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, we can shift conversations in even the toughest rooms. We left D.C. with new relationships, deeper bipartisan openings, stronger alignment across the coalition, and a renewed sense of purpose.

The Arctic story resonated because it was told by the people who know it best. And the economic case for protecting it landed across party lines.

“Even in meetings with those pushing to open the Refuge to oil extraction, we found at least some common ground—or at minimum, established communication channels,” said POW Creative Alliance member Ming Poon. “And delivering our petition with more than 6,000 signatures made it clear that people are paying attention and care deeply about protecting this place.”

In recent news, the Trump administration signed legislation last Friday to ease the path for drilling in the Arctic. POW is prepared to escalate pressure and move into Phase Two of our Arctic campaign. We will continue to make the case that Arctic drilling is a bad long-term investment, grounded in clear economic realities, and remain vigilant in our engagement with the Arctic Congressional Delegation. The fight is not over – stay with us! 

We return home energized, strategic, and ready to carry this momentum into 2026.

Author: Stacie Sullivan

Stacie always knew she wanted to pursue a career in the ski industry from a young age, having first clicked into skis at the age of 4 and writing her 8th grade career project on being a professional skier. While her dreams of becoming a professional athlete didn’t quite pan out the way she planned at […]