Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in northeastern Alaska represents 7.7 million hectares of sensitive northern wilderness. At issue is the US government’s desire to open up the coastal plain of the refuge — the ecological heart of ANWR — to oil and gas exploration, despite what the US Geological Survey estimates is, at best, a 16 month oil supply.

While the coastal plain represents a fraction of ANWR, it is directly related to the health and survival of many northern species and is of prime ecological significance to the refuge. The conservation of caribou, polar bears, grizzly bears, dall sheep, wolverines, wolves, muskox, artic foxes, peregrine falcons, snow geese and others, was one of the reasons for the establishment of this unique refuge.

The construction necessary to exploit ANWR, such as airstrips, dormitories, roads and pipelines would permanently change the environment. The US governments’ own scientists have stated that developing the coastal plain would be harmful to wildlife populations.

CWF’s involvement

The development of the coastal plain is not a new issue. Since 1960, the Canadian government has been opposing development in this area. CWF backs the Canadian government’s opposition to developing ANWR, as many species’ populations are shared between Canada and the United States. In fact, this has been an issue for CWF since 1963, when we first started opposing the development of ANWR and we have been advocating for its permanent protection ever since. The coastal plain will continue to be threatened until it receives permanent protection.