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ANWR Photos - Pictures of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
The original Arctic National Wildlife Range was created in 1960 "For the purpose of preserving unique wildlife, wilderness and recreational values..."
Renowned for its wildlife, the Arctic Refuge is inhabited by 45 species of land and marine mammals, ranging from the pygmy shrew to the bowhead whale. Best known are the polar, grizzly, and black bear; wolf, wolverine, Dall sheep, moose, muskox, and the most famous for symbolizing the area, the caribou. Thirty-six species of fish occur in Arctic Refuge waters, and 180 species of birds have been observed on the refuge.
Eight million acres of the Arctic Refuge are designated Wilderness, and three rivers (Sheenjek, Wind, and Ivishak) are designated Wild Rivers.
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A curious Polar Bear in ANWR
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Two areas of the refuge are designated Research Natural Areas. Because of distinctive scenic and scientific features, several rivers, valleys, canyons, lakes, and a rock mesa have been recommended as National Natural Landmarks.
Perhaps the most unique feature of the refuge is that large-scale ecological and evolutionary processes continue here, free of human control or manipulation. 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.
In 1980, Congress passed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) which enlarged the area, designated much of the original Range as Wilderness under the 1964 Wilderness Act, renamed the whole area the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and added four purposes which are:
(i) to conserve fish and wildlife populations and habitats in their natural diversity including, but not limited to, the Porcupine caribou herd (including participation in coordinated ecological studies and management of this herd and the Western Arctic caribou herd), polar bears, grizzly bears, muskox, Dall sheep, wolves, wolverines, snow geese, peregrine falcons and other migratory birds and Arctic char (Dolly Varden) and grayling;
(ii) to fulfill the international fish and wildlife treaty obligations of the United States;
(iii) to provide the opportunity for continued subsistence uses by local residents; and
(iv) to ensure water quality and necessary water quantity within the refuge.
The now famous Section 1002 of ANILCA required that studies be performed to provide information to Congress. The studies included a comprehensive inventory and assessment of fish and wildlife resources, an analysis of potential impacts of oil and gas exploration and development on those resources, and a delineation of the extent and amount of potential petroleum resources. Because this Congressionally designated part of the Refuge coastal plain was addressed in Section 1002 of ANILCA, this part of the refuge is now referred to as the "1002 Area."
Also referring to this area of the coastal plain, Congress declared in Section 1003 of ANILCA that the "production of oil and gas from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is prohibited and no leasing or other development leading to production of oil and gas from the [Refuge] shall be undertaken until authorized by an act of Congress."
This last line, “…until authorized by an act of Congress,” provides a “door” for the refuge to be opened to the oil industry and to controversy. To drill or not to drill in ANWR has been a controversial problem for every president dating back to the days of Jimmy Carter. As the cost of oil and gas continues to rise and
problems in Middle-Eastern countries increase, the demand to open up ANWR for oil extraction seems to ever increasingly dominate the political platforms. In general, the Alaska people support opening up ANWR as a resource for the economical benefits to the state. However, not all agree and the national public opposition out weighs support. Even among native Alaskan tribes, support is mixed. Efforts to open the Refuge have ultimately been thwarted by filibusters, amendments, or vetoes.
Books of Interest:
 Oil, Globalization, And the War for the Arctic Refuge 
 Caribou Rising
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