Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, in northeastern Alaska, is the northernmost refuge in the United States. It is also one of the nation’s largest refuges, occupying 19 million acres (7.7 million hectares).
The future of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge—best known by its acronym, ANWR—has become a topic of debate. Oil companies have sought the right to drill for oil on the coastal plain in the northern part of the refuge. Environmentalists have protested that drilling there would damage the refuge. Currently, federal law prohibits oil exploration and development in the refuge.
A great diversity of wildlife lives in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The region is home to nearly 180 bird species, including great gray owls, golden eagles, peregrine falcons, and tundra swans. About 45 types of land and marine mammals, including grizzly and polar bears, lynxes, wolverines, caribou, and moose occupy the area. More than 35 kinds of fish, including grayling, Dolly Varden char, northern pike, and whitefish, swim in refuge waters.
Nearly 20 major rivers, including the Sheenjek and the Porcupine, flow through the refuge. The Brooks Range spans 250 miles (400 kilometers) from east to west across the region. This mountain range’s peaks and glaciers rise more than 9,000 feet (2,740 meters). Under most of the land lies thick permafrost—that is, ground that remains frozen all year.
After a survey of northeastern Alaska in 1949, the National Park Service recommended that this vast wilderness be preserved. In 1960, the U.S. Congress denied the proposal to establish the region as a wildlife reserve. That same year, Secretary of the Interior Fred A. Seaton, in response to the congressional denial, signed a special order that established the area as the Arctic National Wildlife Range. In 1980, the U.S. Congress passed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. This act renamed the area the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and more than doubled its size. It also called for studies of the fish and wildlife resources of the coastal plain, and it permitted testing there for oil and gas.
Assessment of the petroleum resources of the coastal plain began in the 1980’s. This effort ignited the debate that continues today, especially between oil companies and environmentalists. In 2002, President George W. Bush proposed a bill to allow drilling in the refuge. His administration argued that opening the refuge to oil and gas production would decrease American dependence on foreign suppliers. Environmentalists believed that drilling would damage the land and wildlife. They said that polar bears, musk oxen, and a caribou herd would be particularly threatened. In 2002 and again in 2003, the U.S. Senate refused to pass the bill.
See also Alaska (Federally protected lands) ; National Wildlife Refuge System .
