how many acres is the arctic national wildlife refuge
During their first days in office, the Biden Administration paused all activities that advance oil and gas development on the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge. Photo … They are the first and forever guardians of these lands. Things to Do. This region was was first made as the only region that could be used for drilling, but this was before the discovery of the fragile wetlands that makeup the 1002 region. The Trump administration announced today (Aug. 17) that it plans to open up part of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), a 19 million acre (7.7 million hectares) refuge … The refuge is home to more than 200 species of birds, 42 species of fish, and 45 mammal species—including more than 120,000 head of caribou. It also may hide some 7.7 billion barrels of oil, and therein lies the problem. Here, one can traverse the boreal forest of the Porcupine River plateau, wander north up the rolling tiaga uplands, cross the rugged, glacier-capped Brooks Range, and follow any number of rivers across the tundra coastal plain to the lagoons, estuaries, and barrier islands of the Beaufort Seas coast, all without encountering an artifact of civilization. Sarah James holds lichen that proliferates on the tundra near her home. Things to See. Thirty-six species of fish occur in Arctic Refuge waters, and 180 species of birds have been observed on the refuge. A prominent reason for establishment of the Arctic Refuge was the fact that this single protected area encompasses an unbroken continuum of arctic and subarctic ecosystems. These diverse habitats allow for a variety of life to thrive. National wildlife refuges now exist in every state and territory of the nation, ranging from the smallest refuge, the 0.6 acre Mille Lacs National Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota harboring nesting bird colonies,5to the 19.6 million acre Arctic Refuge Animals of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge . In August 2020, the Bureau of Land Management officially opened 1.5 million acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas drilling. The Athabaskan-speaking Gwich’in peoples are based in the Porcupine basin, and their economy is largely focused on the caribou herd that winters there. It’s offering drilling rights to 22 tracts of land that cover about 1 million federal acres of the coastal plain, or about 5% of the whole refuge. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is located in the Northeast corner of Alaska and with a range of nearly twenty million acres is the largest wildlife refuge in our country’s public lands system. [1.] The Final Frontiersman: Heimo Korth and His Family, Alone in Alaskas Arctic Wilderness by James Campbell. Learn More>> Tribes, such as the Gwich'in people of northeast Alaska and Canada's northern Yukon and Northwest Territories, depend on the migratory caribou herds and the Arctic fisheries for food. Nineteen million acres of spectacular, unspoiled nature, the Arctic Refuge is the largest and wildest of our publicly owned reserves. Eroding Wilderness: The Ecological, Legal, Political, and Social Consequences of Oil and Natural Gas Development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The 19.2-million acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge supports the greatest variety of plant and animal life of any Park or Refuge in the circumpolar arctic. Eisenhower was later quoted saying, “The great diversity of vegetation and topography in this compact area, together with its relatively undisturbed condition led to its selection as one of our remaining wildlife and wilderness frontiers.”[1]. (2006). “The 1002 area is a section of the ANWR near the northern coast approximately one hundred miles long, and 16-34 miles wide, almost 99% classified as wetlands and a fragile ecosystem”. It is home to 45 species of mammals, ranging from the small pygmy shrew to the large bowhead whale. Perhaps the most unique feature of the refuge is that large-scale ecological and evolutionary processes continue here, free of human control or manipulation. The Yu'pik, Iñupiat, and Athabascan are also native groups to Al… This bill was created to explicitly stop any drilling for oil in the region, little did they know by 2005 their hard work would be erased. Founded by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1903 and administered by the U.S. They maintain the small community of Arctic Village at the southern boundary of the wildlife refuge. Recreational use is managed to ensure that the refuge's wild character is preserved. Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - Human impact: Humans have lived in the region for thousands of years. The refuge includes some of the most pristine, untouched lands and waters within the United States. Many of the mammals, birds, fish, lichen, grass, insects and trees are only found in these two million acres. Arctic coastal lagoons, islands, tundra, wetlands, foothills and boreal forests house more than 400 species. How many millions of dollars did the Trump administration spend to prepare for the first lease sale? Sarah James holds lichen that proliferates on the refuge conducts ongoing biological studies of the 19th century Herds as... 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