With the exception of a brief visit by a few to Cook County in the winter of 1980, the only Caribou found in the state of Minnesota since the days of settlement have come with baristas and free wifi access.

These days, the largest herd of caribou in North America reside 2,300 miles to the northwest in Alaska's northern coastal plain. The Porcupine Caribou, whose numbers are estimated to be around 160,000, have their calving grounds along the Porcupine River. The area is also home to all three species of America's bears, wolves, and muskoxen. Millions of birds representing some 180 species migrate to the Coastal Plain to nest, rear their young, molt and feed. Birds from all 50 states and six continents migrate to this geographic region.

In 1960, with Alaska in its first full year of statehood, President Eisenhower set aside 8.9 million acres of federal land as the Arctic National Wildlife Range, in order to protect it from development. In 1980, President Carter more than doubled the size of the protected area, and turned it into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. However, neither president included the 1.5 million acres along the Beaufort Sea on the state's northern coast in their wildlife designations.

Currently, Congress is working to remedy this oversight with H.R. 139, the Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness Act. Named for president Eisenhower and former Rep. Morris Udall who helped lead the 1980s reforms through Congress.

Versions of the bill have been tried in previous years. Former Congressman Jim Ramstad was a champion of the effort during his time in congress, and currently, over half of Minnesota's congressional delegation is signed on as authors or sponsors. But while the bill enjoys some bipartisan support, it currently lacks enough bipartisan support to survive. Representative Erik Paulsen could help change that by signing on and working for passage of this important measure.

We are running out of opportunities to set aside pieces of largely untouched land to provide future generations with opportunities to experience the land the way we found it. This is a great opportunity for us, as Americans, to preserve a amazingly diverse piece of wilderness for future generations.

We can let partisan politics again derail this important effort. Or we can see this as what it is, which is a historical opportunity that is larger than any political philosophy.

Its time for a large herd of caribou, hold the political froth.