The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, located in the northeast corner of Alaska, is one of the wildest and most pristine places left in the United States. Some 180 bird species have been recorded in the Arctic Refuge, including 135 on the “coastal plain,” which migrate there from all 50 states and four continents. The coastal plain is also the central calving ground for the Porcupine caribou herd; it contains the most important denning habitat for polar bears in the Alaskan Arctic; it hosts habitat for wolves and grizzly bears; and it is the year-round home to muskoxen, Arctic foxes and wolverines. The Refuge and its wildlife are central to the identity and the cultural survival of the Alaskan Gwich’in Nation.

Cool Facts about the Arctic Refuge

• The 19.6 million acre Arctic Refuge is part of the only fully intact and unbroken continuum of arctic and subarctic ecosystems in the world.
• The 1.5 million acre coastal plain that is at risk for development is considered the biological heart of the Refuge.
• The coastal plain is a convergence area for migratory wildlife — as many as 300,000 snow geese feed on the coastal tundra in the fall.
• Each year the 130,000 member porcupine caribou herd, the largest international herd in North America, migrates over 400 miles across Canada and Alaska to calve in the coastal plain.

For over 15 years, the biological heart of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has been a prime target for oil and gas exploration. The Refuge was originally set aside in 1960 as a promise to the American people to preserve the area’s “unique wildlife, wilderness, and recreational values.” Production of oil and gas from the Refuge is currently prohibited, unless authorized by an act of Congress. Nevertheless, the Administration has called for drilling the Refuge as part of its development-focused energy plan, as well in the FY 2006 budget bill. Similarly, the Senate recently voted to include provisions opening the Arctic Refuge for energy development in the Senate version of this year’s (FY 2006) budget.

The National Wildlife Federation helps lead a nationwide grassroots effort to protect the Arctic Refuge. We will continue to be a watchdog for the Arctic Refuge by tracking of efforts in Congress to open this area for oil development and working with members of Congress to secure a wilderness designation for this national treasure.

NWF, along with a coalition of groups dedicated to protecting the Arctic Refuge, has:

• Fought and defeated a provision in the Senate’s 2001 energy bill that would have included Arctic drilling as a source of domestic energy;
• Helped to win a difficult vote during the FY 2004 Senate budget battle that would have included $1.2 billion in assumed revenue from drilling the Refuge as part of the budget;
• Battled against an Arctic drilling provision in the 2003 energy legislation, resulting in the provision being removed from the final version of the bill; and
• Successfully kept any provisions that would have allowed Arctic drilling out of both the House and Senate 2005 Budget bills.

Incredibly, even though the majority of Americans do not want any drilling in the Arctic Refuge, the battle continues.

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• Arctic Promise blog
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• Looking North, Seeing the Future - Global warming’s far-reaching consequences will be the defining events of this century.
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