A
R
C T I C N W R
The Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge is
not the largest wilderness area
in the United States, but it is one of the best known - primarily due
to recent legislative battles over the fate of an area of the
refuge
known as section 1002. Lying outside of the refuge's designated
wilderness boundaries, Section 1002 is
in the Arctic coastal plain of
Alaska.
Former Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton once described 1002 as "an
area of flat, white nothingness." Others describe it as a winter
wasteland and argue that drilling can occur with little to no impact on
wildlife through the use
of new technologies.
But conservationists view 1002 as an integral part of the greater
ecosystem and question the claims that development can be done with so
little impact on the caribou
herds or that the amount of oil produced would be worth the price
of opening up one of the last wild intact ecosystems to development.
The Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge is a yet unbroken link between arctic and subarctic ecosystems.
The
best time to visit the refuge is between mid-June and early August. Because ANWR is roadless, access is
primarily by air via Fairbanks
connections to Fort Yukon, Arctic Village, Deadhorse or Kaktovik.
From these locations, bush pilots can be hired for the flight to the
refuge.
VIDEO:
Malkolm the Birder Boy
www.birdyear.com.
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T H
E W I L D
L I F E
The
refuge is a
haven for polar, grizzly and black bears and 42 other species of marine
and land mammals - including wolves, wolverines, moose, muskox, Dall
sheep and caribou. The refuge's bird
list
tops out at 180 species, including 6 species of owls and 4 species of
falcons and loons. Migratory waterfowl and shorebirds flock to
the refuge, breeding on the north slope tundra. Fish also enjoy the
refuge's pure waters -
with 36
species recorded.
The
Porcupine caribou herd numbers 123,000. They winter in the
southern portion of their range amd move north to their calving grounds
on the Arctic coastal plain in April. Females give birth in early
June. By late June and early July, clouds of newly hatched
mosquitos trigger new movement - and the caribou move up the coast or
seek higher ground in the Brooks Range. They begin to return to
their wintering areas in mid-July.
Polar
bears that frequent the refuge are part of the Southern Beaufort Sea
population. Although they spend much of their time on pack ice,
pregnant females may return to land in November, digging their dens in
snow drifts. They emerge with their cubs - normally one or two -
in
March or April.
Grizzly
bears at
ANWR hibernate for up to eight months. They choose rock
caves in
the mountains due south of the coastal plain or dig their dens in sandy
soils in mid-October. They are smaller than grizzlies found in
more
temperate climates of Alaska due to their longer hibernation period.
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