ARCTIC
NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGEARCTIC
NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
The Gwich'in of northern Canada and Alaska have lived in their Arctic homeland
since the last ice age. The Gwich'in are caribou people. There is direct
archaeological
evidence that the Gwich'in have depended upon the Porcupine Caribou Herd
for at
least 12,000 years. They still depend upon the caribou for their subsistence
needs as
well as their cultural survival. They are firmly opposed to oil exploration
or
development in the herd's calving grounds on the coastal plain of the Arctic
National
Wildlife Refuge. The Gwich'in have fought for permanent protection of the
calving
grounds for more than a decade.
The calving grounds are a sacred place for the Gwich'in
"The calving grounds are on lands in Alaska, but it is our children who
will
be affected by what happens there."
- Liz Hansen, Gwich'in elder from Old Croww, Yukon
"If the oil companies go into the calving grounds, it would be like drilling
in
a hospital nursery. That's how we feel about it. We will do everything
that
we can, everything in our power to prevent that, because it means our life."
- Norma Kassi, Gwich'in spokeswoman from OOld Crow
"Our right to continue to live our traditions and to depend on the caribou
like we do is our constitutional right as Americans, it is our inherent
right
as indigenous people, and our essential human right to our own means of
subsistence."
- Faith Gimmell, Gwich'in spokeswoman fromm Arctic Village, Alaska.
The Porcupine Caribou Herd
the coastal plain contains the nutritious plants that the caribou need
after a
long winter during the vulnerable first few weeks of a calf's life, the
coastal
plain has fewer predators than do the mountains to the south
on the coastal plain the caribou find areas to get relief from insects
-
mosquitoes suck up to a quart of blood a week from a single caribou and
disrupt feeding patterns
Oil Development and Caribou
Caribou biologists tell us that caribou during the calving and post-calving
periods do
not become acclimatized to the activity associated with oil development.
If oil
development is allowed in the calving grounds, the pregnant females would
be
forced to give birth in the mountains to the south where calf survival
rates would
likely plummet. Oil wells and pipelines would also restrict caribou migration.
In summary, state-of-the-art technology has not prevented displacement
of
calving from even the newer oilfields on the North Slope, and no proven
technology exists that would ensure unrestricted passage through an
oilfield of the large mid-summer aggregations of Porcupine Caribou.
Considering the high degree of uncertainty regarding mitigation of oilfield
impacts on caribou, ensuring the integrity of the calving grounds and early
summer range of the Porcupine Caribou Herd is a compelling reason for
applying the most precautionary management to the Arctic Refuge coastal
plain. The Porcupine Herd is an international resource too important to
risk.
- excerpt from a letter from 13 caribou biiologists from Alaska and Canada
"America's Serengeti"
The wildlife spectacle of the Arctic Refuge is much more than caribou.
Polar bears,
grizzlies, wolverines, musk oxen and wolves are just a few of the 200 animal
species
that use the coastal plain. It is also nesting and staging habitat for
millions of
migratory birds. Some 125 bird species migrate to the coastal plain from
four
continents, every province in Canada and every state in the US. In the
offshore
waters, endangered bowhead whales, belugas and three species of seal rear
their
young.
Moreover, the Arctic Refuge's coastal plain is a rare example of an
ecosystem where ecological and cultural processes continue to interact
much as they have for thousands of years . . . Five decades of biological
study and scientific research have confirmed that the coastal plain of
the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge forms a vital component of the biological
diversity of the Refuge and merits the same kind of permanent safeguards
and precautionary management as the rest of this original conservation
unit . . .
- excerpt from a letter from an internatioonal group of more than 240
scientists
What the oil companies don't say
development means hundreds of miles of roads and pipelines and dozens of
oil
fields
caribou, musk oxen, polar bears, migratory birds and other wildlife would
be
harmed by oil development
there would be chronic oil and chemical spills (there are an average of
more
than 400 spills per year in the Alaskan Arctic oil fields already under
development)
oil development in the Refuge would accelerate the negative impacts of
climate
change
95% of Alaska's Arctic coastal plain is already open for oil development
Geological Survey scientists predict less than a 6-month supply of oil
for the US
increasing the fuel efficiency of cars and light trucks by 2-3 mpg would
save
more oil than could ever be found under the calving grounds
oil development would destroy the coastal plain's wilderness value forever
1903
President Theodore Roosevelt established the National Wildlife
Refuge System, designating Pelican Island in Florida as its first
unit.
1949
The National Park Service began a recreational survey in Alaska
to identify areas with special natural values.
1954
The National Park Service recommended that the undisturbed lands
in the northeastern corner of Alaska be preserved for their
wildlife, wilderness, recreation, scientific, and cultural values.
1957
The Department of Interior announced plans to ask Congress to
establish an 8,000 square-mile wildlife reserve in the area
identified by the National Park Service study.
1960
After Congress debated but failed to create the wildlife reserve,
the Secretary of Interior signed a Public Land Order establishing
the 8.9 million acre Arctic National Wildlife Range.
1964
President Lyndon Johnson signed the Wilderness Act, establishing
the National Wilderness Preservation System and policies for
wilderness management.
1968
President Lyndon Johnson signed the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act,
establishing the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, which
protects designated rivers as either wild, scenic, or recreational.
1969
The first manager was hired for the Arctic National Wildlife
Range.
1971
President Richard Nixon signed the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act. The Act gave the Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation
surface rights to 69,000 acres along the arctic coast within the
Range.
1980
President Jimmy Carter signed the Alaska National Interest Lands
Conservation Act. The Act expanded the Arctic Range to 18
million acres, renamed it the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,
designated eight million acres as Wilderness, designated three
rivers as Wild, and called for wildlife studies and an oil and gas
assessment of 1.5 million acres of the Refuge coastal plain.
1983
Nearly one million acres were added to the south side of the
Refuge when the State of Alaska decided not to retain control of
lands it had selected under the Statehood Act.
1987
The governments of the United States and Canada signed an
international agreement for management and long-term protection
of the Porcupine Caribou herd.
1988
Congress added 325,000 acres to the south side of the Refuge,
bringing its total size to 19.8 million acres.
1997
President William Clinton signed the "National Wildlife Refuge
System Improvement Act." This Act provides specific guidance to
the Refuge System, and establishes the mission of the National
Wildlife Refuge System "to administer a national network of lands
and waters for the conservation, management, and where
appropriate, restoration of fish, wildlife, and plant resources and
their habitats within the United States for the benefit of present and
future generations of Americans."
1997
The U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed that the lagoons bounded by
barrier islands along the northeast coast of Alaska are within the
boundaries of the Arctic Refuge. The State of Alaska had hoped to
claim ownership of these lagoons to make oil leasing available.
