Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Review

The 19-million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, lying wholly above the Arctic Circle, is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and contains one of the few protected Arctic coastal lands in the United States, as well as millions of acres of mountains and alpine tundra in the easternmost portion of the Brooks Range. This protected region is an area of much dispute, as it is believed to harbor billions of barrels of oil (statistically, hardly a drop in what the country uses). It is sure to be a hot topic for years to come.

The refuge's coastal areas also serve as critical denning grounds for polar bears, which spend much of their year on the Arctic Ocean's pack ice. Other residents here are grizzly bears, Dall sheep, wolves, musk ox, and dozens of varieties of birds, from snowy owls to geese and tiny songbirds. The refuge's northern areas host legions of breeding waterfowl and shorebirds each summer. As in many of Alaska's more remote parks and refuges, there are no roads here, and no developed trails, campgrounds, or other visitor facilities. This is a place to experience true wilderness—and to walk with care, for the plants are fragile and the ground can be soft and wet in summer. Footprints in tundra can last a hundred years. You can expect snow to sift over the land in almost any season, and should anticipate subfreezing temperatures even in summer, particularly in the mountains. Many of the refuge's clear-flowing rivers are runnable, and tundra lakes are suitable for base camps (a Kaktovik or Fort Yukon air taxi can drop you off and pick you up). The hiking is worth it; upon scrambling up a ridge, you'll look out on wilderness that seems to stretch forever.

ANWR is the home of one of the greatest remaining groups of caribou in the world, the Porcupine Caribou Herd. The herd, its numbers exceeding 150,000, is unmindful of international boundaries and migrates back and forth across Arctic lands into Canada's adjacent Vuntut and Ivvavik National Parks, flowing like a wide river across the expansive coastal plain, through U-shape valleys and alpine meadows, and over high mountain passes.