>>> The above map was deleted from a United States Geological Survey Website in March 2001.

From "Federal Worker Is Fired in Wildlife Refuge Map Flap" by Lisa Getter, Los Angeles Times, 15 March 2001:

Last week, Ian Thomas posted a map on a U.S. government Web site of the caribou calving areas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an area the Bush administration wants to open up for oil exploration. This week, Thomas is looking for a new job.

"I'm really flabbergasted," Thomas said Wednesday. "After putting out 20,000 maps with no problem and then putting out one where baby caribou like to hang out, I got fired." Thomas, a contract employee for the U.S. Geological Survey's Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland, says he is a victim of politics. His offense: drawing attention to wildlife that might be affected by drilling.

[read the full LA Times article]

[archive of info about the map and the problems it caused]

[Ian Thomas' Website, Maptricks]

front page | newest additions | index + search
about | contact | donate