The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is an irreplaceable unspoiled wilderness and a home to birds, grizzly bears, muskoxen, polar bears, and other wildlife. The Coastal Plain of the Refuge is the birthing and nursery grounds for the over 120,000-member Porcupine Caribou herd, one of the hemisphere’s largest caribou herds. The native Gwich’in people, one of North America’s last subsistence cultures, depend upon the caribou for food and as the foundation of their culture and traditions.
The Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (also known as the “1002 area”) is perhaps the most well known target of the oil industry and its allies in Washington, DC. Despite the relentless push by industry advocates in Congress to drill in the Refuge, a solid majority of Americans respect the beauty and fragility of America’s only arctic ecosystem and strongly oppose drilling on the Coastal Plain.
Too Little, Too Late
Drilling for oil in America’s Arctic Refuge would do little or nothing to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil or to address America’s long-term energy needs. According to reports by the U.S. Geological Survey, the Refuge would likely yield less oil than the U.S. consumes in a single year, and even industry officials admit that oil wouldn’t be available for 10 years.
