Help Save the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Urge Congress to Oppose Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge!

Please contact your Congressperson today and urge them not to support efforts to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.  With 95 percent of the Arctic coastline already open to oil drilling and exploration, the Refuge’s coastal plain is one of the last remaining wild places in the United States.

Referred to as America’s Serengeti, the Arctic Refuge is a haven for more than 250 species including grizzly bears, polar bears, wolves, caribou, muskoxen, snow geese and millions of migrating birds.  Opening the refuge to further drilling may have permanent consequences for the species that are dependent on the refuge for habitat, breeding and nesting, and migration. 

The Department of Energy (DOE) expects that the Arctic Refuge would contribute roughly about 0.7% to the world's total oil output in 2020.  The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) concluded that, given America's current rate of consumption, the Arctic Refuge would, in all likelihood, hold a 180-day (6-month) supply of oil.  Despite proponents talk of energy independence with 3 percent of the world's oil reserves America is never going to be able to achieve independence from foreign oil.  

The Arctic Refuge is one of America’s last wild places and a crucial habitat to many imperiled and wonderful species.  We owe it to future generations to keep the pristine coastal plain intact.  Please, contact your member of Congress now and urge them to oppose efforts to open the Refuge in the name of short-term gain.

WCS in the Arctic Refuge

In 1956, WCS’s Director for Science Dr. George Schaller joined an expedition with famed naturalist Olaus Murie across the northern reaches of Alaska. Their findings led to the creation of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which today spans nearly 20 million acres of wilderness, home to polar bears, wolves, lynx, along with over one hundred species of migratory birds, and vast herds of caribou. Biologists often refer to the Arctic Refuge and its spectacular concentrations of wildlife as the “Serengeti of North America.” It is America’s last great wilderness.

“The Refuge was established not for economic reasons, but as a statement of our nation’s vision and intangible spiritual values,” says George Schaller. “We must not forget that value lies less in possessing riches than what we do with them. There are places on earth that are so special and unique that they must remain unaffected by greed and preserved without compromise. The Arctic Refuge is one of these.”

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