The Last Great Wilderness Project

A Multimedia Slideshow Presentation

Started in 1987 by nature photographer Lenny Kohm, “The Last Great Wilderness Project” is a multi-media slide show aimed at bringing the grandeur and beauty of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to the American people. Using his spectacular photographs of the flora and fauna of the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge together with his experiences with the native Gwich’in people, Kohm wove together a compelling presentation to protect the Arctic Refuge.

Kohm gave film maker Jeff Barrie his first glimpse of the Arctic Refuge during a slide show in 1995. A year later Barrie traveled to Alaska with his video camera to record life in Gwich'in villages, the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay and the wilderness of the Arctic Refuge.  His documentary "Arctic Quest: Our Search for Truth" has been broadcast on PBS stations nationwide. Both men have traveled the country to advocate for protection of the Arctic Refuge, and now Barrie has picked up where Kohm left off, spreading the important message that the Arctic Refuge is too wild to waste.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is made up of more than 19 million acres of pristine mountains, forest, tundra, and coastal plain and is regarded by many as America’s last great wilderness.  The Refuge provides habitat for wolves, grizzly bears, polar bears, arctic fox, moose, musk oxen, and more than 140 species of birds.  The 129,000-member Porcupine Caribou herd migrates annually to the Arctic Refuge.  They come to give birth and nurture their young on the 1.5 million acre coastal plain. This essential habitat also provides nesting and staging grounds for migratory birds seen in 49 states throughout the country, including waterfowl such as Snow Geese, Tundra Swans, and Loons.  The coastal plain is the biological heart of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and the center of wildlife activity.

Barrie will present slides of the spectacular flora and fauna found on the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge, a place that the Gwich’in people call the “sacred place where life begins”. The Gwich'in people (the name means “caribou people”) depend on the Porcupine caribou herd for subsistence as well as tradition and lifestyle.  The Gwich'in have lived in harmony with the land, wildlife and harsh environment of the arctic region for over 20,000 years.  Caribou and other wild game make up 80 percent of their diet. Protecting the Arctic Refuge is so important to the Gwich’in, that they leave their native home and travel with Barrie, bringing their story to thousands of people each year. As a result, “Last Great Wilderness Project” carries with it not only the weight of the spectacular photos and slides, but also the first hand account of a people who will depend on all of us to make the right decision in the end.

Barrie will also present pictures of the development at Prudhoe Bay so people can see for themselves what happens to the Arctic Tundra under the control of the oil industry. The US Geological Survey estimates that drilling would yield only 6 months worth of oil from beneath the coastal plain. The majority of Americans believe that the value of a 20,000-year-old native culture and birthing grounds for 129,000 caribou is far greater than 6 months worth of a polluting, non-renewable resource. “It is puzzling that the government would be willing to sacrifice a renewable resource, such as the herd, and the lives of the Gwich’in Indian people, who depend upon it, for merely the possibility of the short term benefits we could gain by extracting a small amount of petroleum, a non-renewable resource” says Barrie.