Untitled Article

Crusading for caribou
Canadian man pedals into NU en route to
Washington, D.C.
By FRITZ BUSCH
Journal Staff Writer
NEW ULM -- Award-winning Canadian writer, photographer and conservationist Ken Madsen pedaled through New Ulm Wednesday on his trip from Seattle to Washington, D.C.
His family is accompanying him. They are traveling in a bio-diesel powered van for the Caribou Commons Project, an international effort to permanently protect the calving grounds of the Porcupine caribou herd, located in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Madsen, of Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, began biking from Seattle on Aug. 23.
He plans to reach Washington, D.C., by Nov. 16. He biked from Walnut Grove to St. Peter Wednesday and gave a presentation at Gustavus Adolphus College.
Madsen has devoted the last five years to help protect the Arctic Refuge. His activities include extensive touring with the Caribou Commons multi-media slide show. He was the subject of "Champions of the Wild," a television documentary about the Arctic Refuge that has been broadcast on the Discovery Channel.
He will be part of a walk to raise awareness of the need to protect the caribou herd at the Minnesota Governor's Mansion at 1 p.m., Sunday. A reception will follow at 2:30 p.m. at Macalester College in St. Paul.
The caribou migrate farther than any other land animal on earth, converging on the coastal plain each year to give birth to the next generation of calves.
The controversy over oil development within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the highest profile conservation issue in the world. After the recent Senate energy vote that narrowly defeated drilling in the refuge as part of the current energy policy, the next important hurdle will be the results of the U.S. mid-term elections in November.
Madsen's wife, Wendy Boothroyd, said Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone is against drilling in the refuge while his challenger Norm Coleman is pro refuge oil drilling.
A unique collaboration among native Indians, northern artists and conservationists, the project is making people aware of the issue through live, multimedia concert presentations; slide show/lecture tours and CD releases of original music and sound recordings of the Arctic.
When Madsen arrives in Washington, D.C., he will be joined by other participants in the Caribou Commons Project who are also biking and walking across the United States.