ARCTIC NWR - WILD AND REMOTE
Once the float plane
leaves, you're on your own in the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge - that is, if you don't count the thousands of caribou
and migratory birds that claim this refuge as their home. The
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge offers a special and remote wilderness
experience. Though it's not the largest wilderness area in the
United States, it is one of the best known - largely due to legislative battles over
an area of the refuge known as section 1002.
Section 1002 lies outside of the refuge's designated
wilderness boundaries. Former Secretary of the Interior Gale
Norton called it as "an
area
of flat, white nothingness," and she - and other oil drilling
proponents - asserted that drilling could occur with little to no
impact on
wildlife through the use of
new technologies.
But
conservationists view 1002 as an integral part of the greater
ecosystem and question the claims that development can be done with so
little impact on the caribou
herds or that the amount of oil produced would be worth the price
of opening up one of the last wild intact ecosystems to
development.
WILDLIFE
The
refuge is a
haven for polar, grizzly and black bears and 42 other species of marine
and land mammals - including wolves, wolverines, moose, muskox, Dall
sheep and caribou. The refuge's bird
list
tops out at 180 species, including six species of owls and
four species of
falcons and loons. Migratory waterfowl and shorebirds flock to
the refuge and breed on the north slope tundra. And the rivers
and lakes harbor 36 species of fish.
The
Porcupine caribou herd numbers 123,000. They winter in the
southern portion of their range amd move north to their calving grounds
on the Arctic coastal plain in April. Born in early June, young
caribou have only a few weeks to ready themselves for the next
migration. By late June and early July, caribou are again on the
move,
heading to higher ground in the Brooks Range.
Polar
bears that frequent the refuge are part of the Southern Beaufort Sea
population. Although they spend much of their time on pack ice,
pregnant females may return to land in November, digging their dens in
snow drifts. They emerge with their cubs - normally one or two -
in
March or April.
Grizzly
bears at
ANWR hibernate for up to eight months. They choose rock
caves in
the mountains due south of the coastal plain or dig their dens in sandy
soils in mid-October. They are smaller than grizzlies found in
more
temperate climates of Alaska due to their longer hibernation period.
BEST TIMES TO VISIT
The
best time to visit the refuge is between mid-June and early August. Because ANWR is roadless, access is
primarily by air via Fairbanks
connections to Fort Yukon, Arctic Village, Deadhorse or Kaktovik.
From these locations, bush pilots can be hired for the flight to the
refuge.
YOUTUBE VIDEO PICK: Malkolm the
Birder Boy. from birdyear.com
LINKS
View Map of ANWR
USFWS:
Arctic
NWR Website
Mammals: Species
Checklist
Birds: Species
Checklistf the RGV
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