Ed. Note: I'm happy to let you know that the House has decided to strip Arctic National Wildlife Refuge drilling provisions from the budget bill. This is a tremendous victory, and wouldn't have happened without your help. The polluters and their allies in Congress were convinced that they finally had the votes to destroy one of America's most spectacular places. For now at least, we've stopped them.

However, we're still opposing this bill because it contains provisions that would have disastrous consequences for our most special public lands, including a mining provision that could lead to the cut-rate sale of millions of acres of existing and future "mining claims" on public lands, National Forest lands, and even lands in our National Parks.

The battle is far from over, and the leadership in Congress continues to insist that they will find a way to drill in the Arctic Refuge. But we will remain ever-vigilant, and with your support we will continue to prevail.

This fall, the fight between the Bush administration and the American public over the fate of the Arctic Refuge will move into the final round. The House of Representatives will likely vote this fall on a final budget bill that is expected to include Arctic Refuge drilling language.

“The pro-drilling lobby has been forced to hide drilling language in the budget because they know Americans oppose drilling in the Arctic Refuge,” said U.S. PIRG Arctic Campaign Director Athan Manuel. But even under the prodrilling lobby’s new strategy, an earlier version of the budget barely passed—by just three votes in the House and four in the Senate.

Throughout the summer, U.S. PIRG focused on persuading moderate Republicans, including Sens. John McCain and Susan Collins, and Reps. Wayne Gilchrist and Tom Davis to vote to protect the Arctic. Manuel held more than two dozen meetings over the summer.

Outside the beltway, organizers collected thousands of public comments in favor of preserving the Refuge, and our “Don’t Drill on Me” tour, featuring a 20-foot-high oil rig, held more than 40 local events in 28 states.