SunlightNorth.com
Title
Arctic National Widlife Refuge Treks, Backpacking with Sunlight North Expeditions
Description
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ("The Refuge") has a number of unique characteristics. It stretches from the coast of the Arctic Ocean (the Beaufort Sea, to be precise) south across the coastal plain to encompass the highest mountains in the range: Chamberlin, Michelson, and Isto (9,020', 8,855', and 9,060' respectively) and extends south across the continental divide to the northern reaches of the boreal forest. (Find 70° N latitude on a globe, go to the Alaskan - Canadian border, and you are in the area. Observe how much of North America lies to the south.)
The Refuge is the home of the Porcupine caribou herd, a healthy population of grizzly bears, several wolf packs, Dall sheep, musk oxen, wolverines, ermine, Arctic and cross foxes, golden eagles, falcons, several other species of raptors, many species of shorebirds, large numbers of waterfowl, and a multitude of nesting songbirds. However, the land is vast and the mammal density is low, although the numbers may be high locally. The density of Homo sapiens is even lower. The tiny Eskimo (Inupik) village of Kaktovik is on Barter Island, just off the northern coast; the Athabaskan (Gwich'in) village of Arctic Village is on the southern edge of the refuge.
Margaret Murie and her naturalist husband Olaus are usually credited with spearheading the first effort to protect the area. They were following the excellent suggestion of George L. Collins, a Park Service planner whose field surveys led him to suggest the area for protection. They were also supported by dedicated conservationists, most notably those within The Wilderness Society. As a result of their advocacy, Secretary of the Interior Fred Seaton established the Arctic National Wildlife Range by executive order in 1960. Further protection was extended to the area under the Carter administration (the memorable Cecil Andrus was Secretary of the Interior) when it was established as a wildlife refuge, its borders were expanded, and a large portion of it was granted wilderness status. In this latter regard, one must remember Howard Zahniser, who is usually credited with doing most of the heavy lifting to secure passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964. Much of the Refuge is now classified as legal wilderness, with the very important exception of the 1002 area on the coastal plain. (Contact the Alaska Geographical Society for a copy of the excellent back issue Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Volume 20, Number 3, which was my reference for much of this paragraph.)
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- WebContents, Inc. (www.WebContents.com)
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- La Grange IL
- United States 60525
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- 877-877-3053
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