The impact of oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska is the focus of a presentation tonight.

Lenny Kohm, former photographer of the Arctic area, will be the featured speaker on protecting the refuge from development by the oil industry at 7 p.m. in the Student Center Auditorium.

Kohm said he will be speaking on why the refuge is important, why people in Southern Illinois should care about the refuge and the Gwich’in people who are natives of the area.

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Kohm said if the lands are allowed to be drilled by oil companies, it will have a great affect on the Gwich’in people because it will reduce the amount of porcupine caribou, which the people use for dietary and shelter needs.

Edna Kaye, a member of the Gwich’in tribe, who is touring with Kohm and will be at this evening’s presentation said the caribou are very important to her tribe.

The caribou we have lived on for many years. We use them for shelter, clothing and food, Kaye said.

A major portion of the Alaskan ecosystem is a group of people, an Indian tribe, that depends on wildlife resources born on the coastal plain where the oil industry wants to drill and disrupt the birthing of wildlife, Kohm said. The impact the loss would have on the ecosystem would be devastating.

A study by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says there will be a 40 percent loss of the herd if the oil industry is allowed to disrupt the caribou habitat, Kohm said. At the moment, there are around 152,000 caribou in the region.

Kohm, a photographer by trade, said he had an assignment to photograph the area.

I broke one of the rules. I lost my objectivity, Kohm said. I just couldn’t sit back and be a casual observer. I had to do something to preserve it.

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Kohm said the main emphasis for his interest in protecting the area lies in the people who live in the area.

One of the things that got me involved and keeps me involved is what Edna’s people want, Kohm said. It always amazes me that scientists and politicians can fly over it (the area) once and know what to do with it and discount the people who live there. It’s really important their (the Gwich’in’s) point of view is heard.

Kohm said he spends most of his time on the road, touring nine or 10 months out of the year. Prior to the presentation at SIUC, he has given presentations at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., Rockford and Chicago.

The presentation is free to the public and is sponsored by the Student Environmental Center, the Shawnee Group Sierra Club and the Phoenix Audubon Society.