Caribou and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

By Milly Josephson

 

This picture, courtesy of Community Webshots, shows the fragile tundra of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Simply walking on this tundra or disturbing it in the slightest way can damage the land, which takes years to recover. The picture can be found at http://community.webshots.com/photo/4135377/4135798onmCljfdlt.

 

Opening ANWR for oil drilling is a controversial issue. Many people feel that the threat to the area's caribou herds and their habitat would be very great. Proponents for exploration in ANWR point out that the amount of land that would be used for drilling is only a fraction of ANWR's total area. This website explains the issue, as well as the caribou that play such a large part in it.

 

This is a picture of a caribou. Caribou are sacred to the Gwich'in Native Alaskans, who are concerned for the animals' welfare in the event of exploration in ANWR. This picture is courtesy of Community Webshots at http://community.webshots.com/photo/13446009/13446321wExCnODGwe

 

ANWR

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Caribou

Caribou2

Bibliography

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