Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)

At about 19 million acres, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is the largest refuge in the National Wildlife Refuge System managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. ANWR, in the northeast corner of Alaska on Alaska's North Slope, is about the size of the state of North Carolina. The refuge's 1002 Area, about the size of the state of Delaware, is the center of statewide and national debate over oil exploration in the refuge. The 1002 Area includes the calving grounds of the Porcupine caribou herd, upon which the Gwich'in Athabascan people depend for subsistence. The Gwich'in are among those who opppose oil development in ANWR. However, oil exploration proponents, including residents of the Inupiat Eskimo village of Kaktovik, located within the 1002 Area, maintain that oil exploration and development can take place without negative environmental impact. Currently the U.S. consumes about 7 billion barrels of oil each year; the U.S. Department of the Interior estimates that perhaps 7.7 billion barrels of oil are recoverable within the federal portions of the 1002 Area.

See also:
Environment & natural resources > Alaska oil & gas

Environment & natural resources > Oil spills

Federal resources

• Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Offical information on ANWR from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This site includes several resources about potential oil and gas development in ANWR.
• A Department of the Interior Review of Potential Oil and Gas Development on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 1002 Area. U.S. Department of the Interior, ca. 2001. Narrated presentation (sound or text) with 77 slides describing ANWR's 1002 Area, oil and gas potential on the Arctic plain, arctic oil technology, and resource concerns and mitigation.
• Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 1002 Area, Petroleum Assessment, 1998, Including
  Economic Analysis. U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 0028-01. Available in HTML or Acrobat PDF format.

State of Alaska resources

• Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Governor Tony Knowles. Gov. Knowles favors opening ANWR to oil exploration.

Alaska congressional delegation

• See Government > Alaska congressional delegation for official websites of Alaska Senators Ted Stevens and Frank Murkowksi and Congressman Don Young. All favor oil exploration in ANWR, and have sponsored or cosponsored legislation toward that end.

Other advocates of ANWR oil development

• ANWR.org. Pro-oil development site of Arctic Power, an Anchorage-based nonprofit organization dedicated to opening ANWR to oil exploration and development.
• The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Resource Develpment Council for Alaska, Inc.
• Alaska Federation of Natives, June 1995. By a vote of 19 to 9, the AFN Board of Directors on June 15, 1999 passed a resolution favoring opening ANWR to oil and gas exploration. Brief pro-development fact sheet.

Opponents of ANWR oil development

• Indigenous Mining Campaign Project: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Indigenous Environmental Network. Stories on ANWR, including several documenting opposition of the Gwich'in Nation, whose subsistence economy depends upon the Porcupine Caribou Herd, to oil exploration in Area 1002.
• Gwich'in Steering Committee. Composed of eight tribal members chosen by chiefs of the Gwich'in Nation -- four from Alaska, four from Canada -- the Gwich'in Steering Committee's primary purpose is "To establish Gwich'in cultural survival as a major issue in the debate over oil development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge."
• Keep the Arctic Refuge Wild. The Wilderness Society.
• Wildlands: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Sierra Club.
• Save the Arctic Refuge from Big Oil. Defenders of Wildlife.
• Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Defenders of Wildlife. Information about ANWR and oil development includes statements from scientists and government agencies.
• Alaska Wilderness League. Lobbies against ANWR oil exploration in Washington, DC.
• Northern Alaska Environmental Center. Based in Fairbanks.
• Oil and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. National Resources Defense Council.

Additional resources

• "Fuel or Folly: Drilling in the Arctic Reserve". National Public Radio, "Justice Talking," 10/30/2001. Margot Adler hosts a debate between the Wilderness Society's Jim Waltman and Arctic Power's Jerry Hood on the issue of oil drilling in ANWR, especially in the light of the September 11, 2001 terrorist strikes on the U.S. and reawakened concern about U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Will drilling in ANWR free us of dependence on foreign oil
  or provide only short term relief with lasting environmental impact? Program can be heard in Real Audio.
• "The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: A Special Report" by Norman Chance. Arctic Circle, University of Connecticut. Looks at both sides of the debate to open ANWR to oil exploration.
• "The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Preservation, Petroleum, and Politics in Arctic Alaska". Arctic Circle, University of Connecticut. A "virtual classroom" study.