Caribou
cow and calf
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was first established
in 1960 to preserve this unique part of Alaska bordering
the Arctic Ocean west of the Canadian border in northern
Yukon. Its virtually untouched landscape of over 77 000
km2 is rich in Arctic biodiversity, including 36 fish species,
36 land mammals, nine marine mammals, and more than 160
migratory and resident bird species.
More than 400 km north of the Arctic Circle in the northernmost
part of the Arctic Refuge is a 6070 km2 area known as the
1002 lands (named for clause "1002" of the Alaska
National Interest Lands Conservation Act). This area of
the coastal plain between the Brooks Range and the Beaufort
Sea is the only portion of the Arctic Refuge that does not
have protected wilderness designation. The 1002 lands constitute
about 75 per cent of the total coastal plain of the Arctic
Refuge and could hold large petroleum deposits. It is also
the core calving grounds for the Porcupine caribou herd.
The most recent census (2001) showed the herd at about 123
000 caribou, the largest population of large mammals shared
by the United States and Canada. Drilling
in the Arctic Refuge
Range of caribou migration. Click
to enlarge.
The debate on development of the potentially oil rich
1002 lands has been ongoing for decades. This issue is
now re-emerging, as a proposal before the United States
Congress to open the 1002 lands of the Arctic Refuge for
petroleum exploration and development.
Scientists predict that drilling in
the 1002 lands of the Arctic Refuge would have detrimental
impacts on the Porcupine caribou herd, which migrates
seasonally across the Canada-US border. The culture of
Gwich'in First Nations of northern Yukon, the Mackenzie
Delta, and north eastern Alaska, who rely on the herd
for food and their way of life, would be irreparably damaged.
Several other species of wildlife which depend on this
fragile ecosystem for their survival would also feel the
impacts of exploration and development activities.
For its part, the Government of Canada
has provided permanent protection of the lands where the
herd occasionally calves, through establishment of Ivvavik
(1984) and Vuntut (1995) National Parks in northwest Yukon.
In addition, a 1978 Order-in-Council prohibits exploration
and development on the Yukon North Slope, north of the
Porcupine and Bell rivers.
Cooperative research is continuing
on both sides of the border to determine what the long-term
environmental impacts would be if the U.S. Congress gives
the go ahead for petroleum exploration and development
in the Arctic Refuge.
Porcupine Caribou Herd
Herd of caribou. Click to enlarge.
The Porcupine caribou herd ranges over 250 000 km2 of
northeast Alaska and northwest Canada, and the calving
grounds are predominately in the 1002 coastal plain area.
This area contains the core of critically important calving
and post-calving habitat for the Porcupine caribou herd.
The 1002 lands of the Arctic Refuge
is the primary calving grounds for the Porcupine caribou
herd.
As many as 80 000 cow caribou migrate
to calving grounds in the 1002 lands each spring.
Nutritious forage, fewer predators
and frequent cool breezes make the 1002 lands ideal calving
grounds.
The Gwich'in people have relied on
this caribou herd for sustenance and their way of life
for millennia.
Ivvavik (1984) and Vuntut (1995) National
Parks were established in northwest Yukon to help protect
the Porcupine caribou herd's calving grounds and post-calving
habitat. |
