It’s Creation and Purposes

A Northern Landscape

Summers of Life

At Home in the Cold

As the Seasons Change

A Sense of the Refuge A Sense of the Refuge

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
A National Response

Throughout the first half of the 

20th century, Americans became 

increasingly concerned about ecological 

problems including wide-spread 

deforestation, loss of wildlife, and air 

and water pollution.

This awakened a growing appreciation 

for wilderness, and a recognition 

that areas of wildness needed to be 

preserved or they would disappear.

One response to these concerns was the 

creation of a new conservation area in 

northeast Alaska: The Arctic National 

Wildlife Range was established in 1960. 

The area was enlarged, and the name 

changed to Arctic National Wildlife 

Refuge in the 1980s. 

As the founders intended, Arctic 

Refuge preserves a wild region for 

us today and for our grandchildren 

tomorrow. 

Rivers were once thought to be a natural dumping 

grounds. The fish in the cartoon says, “And they 

complain because self respecting fish won’t live in 

their streams.” J.N. “Ding” Darling drew this cartoon 

in 1923.

a feeling of isolation and 

remoteness born of vast spaces”

William O. Douglas, U.S. Supreme Court Justice 1939-1975

Its Creation and Purposes

“

Courtesy of the Jay N. “Ding” Darling Society
National Interest

A survey of national print media 

indicates the Arctic Refuge is most 

valued by the American people for 

its wildness and naturalness—a 

place of undisturbed wildlife and wild 

landscapes.

ANWR is a Wildlife 

Refuge

ANWR (pronounced “an-whar”) gets 

mentioned in the news a lot. ANWR 

is really the Arctic National Wildlife 

Refuge.

When we hear “ANWR,” it’s easy to 

forget it is National (it belongs to all 

Americans), it’s for Wildlife, and it’s a 

Refuge (a conservation area managed 

by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service).

Arctic Refuge was established to 

preserve “unique wildlife, wilderness 

and recreational values.”

The Refuge is also required by the 

Alaska National Interest Lands 

Conservation Act to conserve 

animals and plants in their natural 

diversity, ensure a place for hunting 

and gathering activities, protect 

water quality and quantity, and fulfill 

international wildlife treaty obligations.

Refuge Purposes

Wildlife

Wilderness

Recreation

0 20 40 60

Miles

Arctic Refuge is about 19.3 million 

acres. It’s approximately the size of 

South Carolina and has no roads, 

marked trails, or campgrounds. 

A Vast Wild Place

Alaska

Arctic Refuge

South 

Carolina
A Northern Landscape

Sunshine is Key

The arctic tundra is so cold that the 

ground beneath the surface stays 

frozen all year. This permanently 

frozen ground is called permafrost. 

When the sun warms the surface, the 

top few inches of soil thaw, allowing 

plants to grow and insects to burrow. 

This thawed layer of soil is called the 

active layer.

Frozen Soil

“Active layer” melts each summer

Below “active layer” 

is permanently frozen 

soil and ice

“My soul is enriched—I am singing.”

Jane Goodall, renowned primatologist and United Nations Messenger of Peace, 

speaking about Arctic Refuge 

24 hours of mid-summer sun

Summer

Near the equator, a square 

foot of sunlight falls on a 

narrow patch of earth

In the Arctic, a square foot 

of sunlight falls across a 

wide distance

In the Arctic, the mid-summer sun 

never sets, but the mid-winter sun 

never rises—sending a dusky twilight 

over the landscape. 

Living creatures derive their energy 

from the sun by eating plants that 

absorb the sun’s rays, or by eating 

animals that feed on those plants. 

Because the low angle of sunlight in 

the Arctic causes the sun’s energy to 

be spread thinly across the land, and 

because there are so many months 

of winter darkness, Arctic plants and 

animals have adapted to the low level of 

available energy.
Coastal plain tundra is a treeless, flat to 

hilly region where caribou and birds 

raise young in summer. Polar bears den 

here in winter, and fish overwinter in 

deep pools along shallow rivers.

Five Ecological Regions

©Jeff Jones

The alpine zone is the vast Brooks 

Range mountains, which are the 

northern-most extreme of the Rocky 

Mountains. Dall sheep, grizzly bears, 

wolves and ground squirrels live here.

The forest-tundra transition has spruce 

trees interspersed with low tundra 

plants. Caribou feed here through the 

winter. Moose and wolves roam here 

year-round.

The boreal forest is a mix of spruce, 

birch, and aspen trees. It is the only 

extensively forested area in the Refuge. 

This region is home to moose, lynx, 

weasels, and numerous song-birds.

The coastal marine region, next to the 

Arctic Ocean, consists of salt marshes, 

lagoons, barrier islands, beaches and 

river deltas. These areas are important 

to polar bears, fish and migratory 

birds.

Alaska Arctic Refuge

Coastal Marine

Coastal Plain Tundra

Alpine

Forest-Tundra Transition

Boreal Forest

Native peoples have lived in the 

northern and southern portions of what 

is now the Arctic Refuge for thousands 

of years. Their hunting and gathering 

activities provided the foods necessary 

to nourish their bodies and their 

cultures. They continue many of their 

traditional life ways to this day.

Inupiat Eskimos live along the 

northern coast. They hunt seals and 

whales, fish from barrier islands and 

along freshwater rivers, catch birds 

throughout the spring and summer, and 

travel inland to hunt caribou, wolves, 

and Dall sheep.

Gwich’in Athabaskan Indians live to 

the south. Traditionally, they traveled 

widely each year in search of food. 

They still establish summer fishing 

camps along rivers, catch waterfowl 

and other birds, snare small game, and 

hunt caribou. Historically, they built 

long wooden fences to direct migrating 

caribou to prime hunting areas.

Long-term Residents

Remnant of 

ancient caribou 

fence seen 

from the air

Remnant of ancient 

caribou fence

Arctic 

Refuge

North 

Pole

NASA Earth Observatory

Winter

no mid-winter sun

Sun

Distance from the Refuge
Summers of Life

A multiple-exposure photo shows the sun 

reaching its lowest point over the horizon around 

midnight on a summer’s eve.

Land of the Midnight Sun

Summer in the Arctic is short but the 

days are long. On the coastal plain, the 

sun circles the horizon 24 hours per 

day. It will not set from mid-May until 

late July. 

A lone grizzly bear searches 

for food in a sparse landscape.

Arctic poppy flower-heads turn toward 

the sun throughout each day as it 

moves across the sky. This allows the 

plants to make use of the summer’s 24-

hour daylight. The satellite-dish shape 

of each flower concentrates the heat of 

the sun, raising the temperature of its 

developing seeds by as much as 10°F. 

This gives the poppy an important 

boost in the short growing season. 

A Swivelling Solar Oven

For those two intense months, midday 

and midnight sun blend into one, and 

plants, animals, and people work hard 

to gather enough resources to survive 

the long winter season ahead. 

Plants and animals have adapted to 

these harsh conditions in a variety of 

surprising ways. 

Feel the wind as it rushes across the 

tundra and whips your hair. 

Be thankful for it. 

It has blown away the whine and sting 

of a million mosquitoes.

Lean into it. 

It will hold you. 

Kelsey Bearden, Refuge visitor

Arctic Poppy blossoms face the sun.
Tens of thousands of caribou congregate 

on the coastal plain to feed on new growth. 

Look closely at the upper left corner to see 

the herd stretching away into the distance.

A Good Meal Draws 

Thousands from Afar

Plants are the foundation of the food 

chain in Arctic Refuge. They are eaten 

by grazers such as caribou. These 

grazers are in turn eaten by a smaller 

number of predators such as wolves 

and bears.

Throughout the year, a lot less sun falls 

on the Refuge than on areas farther 

south. This small amount of sunlight 

supports only a limited amount of 

plant growth.

As a consequence, plant-eaters such as 

caribou roam across hundreds of miles 

searching for the food they need for 

growth and reproduction. 

If all the caribou in the Refuge were 

spread out at equal distance from 

each other, there would only be 3 to 

4 caribou in each square mile of the 

Refuge. But plants grow unevenly. In 

early summer, abundant tender new 

growth on the coastal tundra attracts 

hungry caribou together into large 

aggregations of animals. 

Mosquitoes are drawn to the prospect of a meal. 

Like other creatures in Arctic Refuge, there are 

relatively few mosquitoes over the whole area, but 

they concentrate around favorable food sources.

In this northern environment, small 

changes in the climate can have a 

significant impact. 

For example, increasingly dry conditions 

can lead to more frequent and larger 

wildfires in the Refuge. Warming 

temperatures are also having an effect. 

Alpine glaciers in the Refuge shrank 

dramatically over the past half-century 

and are now melting ever more quickly. 

If current trends continue, all the 

glaciers in Arctic Refuge will be gone 

within 100 years.

The Smell of Smoke

Wildland fire in the 

boreal forest.

Visitors Seek Untamed 

Wilderness

When Arctic Refuge was established in 

1960 it was already receiving occasional 

visits by hunters and hikers.

Visitation increased gradually 

throughout the 1970s, and more rapidly 

during the 1980s. A public use study in 

1975 estimated 281 people visited the 

Refuge. By 1986 that figure doubled. 

Similarly, the number of commercial 

recreational guides increased from 7 in 

1980 to 21 only nine years later.

Taking a break to fish 

during a rafting trip.

Since 1986, visitor numbers have 

increased another two and a half times. 

People generally stay 7-11 days, most 

often to backpack, float rivers, or hunt.

In a 2009 study, visitors said they most 

appreciated the Refuge’s wilderness, 

vastness, remote isolation, opportunity 

for adventure, and natural conditions.

©2003 Matt Nolan

©1958 Austin Post
At Home in the Cold

Darkness and Light

In stark contrast to the brief, bright 

summer, winter in the Arctic is long, 

dark, and cold. Along the northern 

edge of the Refuge, the sun does not 

show its face from late November 

until mid-January. In the depths of 

darkness, during the months around 

the winter solstice, dusky sunlight 

seeps over the horizon for only a few 

hours each day. 

The winter sun casts deep shadows over the southern 

portion of the Refuge.

Despite the lack of sunlight, it is not 

actually dark all the time. Dawn, 

blending into dusk, may last for hours; 

the winter moon, which, like the 

summer sun, circles overhead without 

setting, reflects off the expanse of snow 

and illuminates the long nights; and the 

aurora borealis—the northern lights—

occasionally glow in the starry sky. 

Northern lights dance across the night sky.

The moon is at its half phase, casting light 

and shadow on the snow-covered Romanzof 

mountains. The Hulahula ice field catches 

the red of the aurora. Amazing shapes form 

and disappear in the sky.”

Subhankar Banerjee, photographer and environmental educator

“
Asleep... A polar bear mother spends five 

months in her winter den. From late October 

she must rely on her body fat, layered on during 

warmer months, to feed herself and nourish her 

young. She usually gives birth to a pair of cubs in 

December. The cubs each grow to 15 pounds by the 

time all three emerge from their den in early April. 

Mosquitoes survive the winter by replacing the 

water in their bodies with substances that act 

Survival Strategies

Awake... Muskoxen save energy during the 

winter by moving very little. They are also protected 

by foot-thick coats, covered by long guard hairs that 

shed snow and ice. 

Like plants, lemmings use the blanket of snow as 

insulation. Hidden beneath, they create an intricate 

network of burrows where they stay active all 

winter, eating willow and dwarf birch twigs. At the 

Looking out of a polar bear den

Young muskoxen frolic in the snow.

Collared lemming

Arctic fox - 

winter pelt

Arctic animals deal with winter in one of three ways. They can leave—migrate to a 

warmer climate; they can stay and sleep; or they can stay and keep active.

like antifreeze in a car. These chemicals keep their cells from being ruptured by ice 

crystals as the mosquitoes freeze. 

beginning of winter, the collared lemming grows 

enlarged claws for shoveling tunnels through the 

snow. It is also the only rodent that turns white in 

winter. This helps lemmings hide from the hungry 

arctic foxes that depend on them to survive winter 

above the snow. 

The arctic fox’s short legs and small ears help it 

retain body heat. Its thick coat not only keeps it 

warm, but, like the collared lemming it likes to eat, it 

turns white in winter. This camouflage helps the fox 

sneak up on prey and avoid becoming prey itself to 

polar bears and other large predators. 

In winter, parts of the Refuge look 

barren—some say a great white 

expanse of nothing—but plants, and 

many animals and birds, as well as 

fish and insects, live here through the 

long winter. One question is, where is 

everything?

Most plants in the Arctic use snow as 

a protective blanket against extreme 

Hidden from View

low temperatures and scouring winds. 

This partly explains why plants in the 

Arctic are so small. If they were taller, 

the winter wind and icy flakes would 

destroy any part above the snow. 

Snow looks cold, but it is an effective 

insulator. The base of a snow pack may 

be +20°F while the air at its surface is 

-30°F. That’s a 50 degree difference!

Willow branches scoured 

by blowing snow.

Feel the Chill

When you take a breath of the sparkling -25°F air 

on a February day (the average low for much of the 

Refuge), your nose tingles and the air feels sharp in 

your lungs. As you breathe out a cloud of vapor, you 

may find your eyes gently frozen shut from the frost 

on your eyelashes. Welcome to winter.

Cow moose 

nibbling her frosty 

lunch.

Historic Temperatures

North of the Brooks Range the climate 

is classified as Arctic. Until recently, 

temperatures during February (the 

coldest month) averaged -4°F but extreme 

lows frequently dropped below -40°F. 

South of the Brooks Range the climate 

is classified as Subarctic. Winter 

temperatures averaged -15°F to -20°F, with 

lows periodically reaching -50°F to -60°F. 

Climate change is bringing episodes of 

unseasonably warm weather to the Arctic 

winter—warming as much as 5-7°F in 

the past 50 years in Alaska and western 

Canada. One effect of these increases are 

icing events, when winter temperatures 

warm enough for freezing rain or thaws 

to coat the snow with a hard crust of ice. 

This can keep animals such as muskoxen 

from reaching the plants they need 

beneath the snow. Since the late 1990s, 

the number of muskoxen on the Refuge 

has declined, and icing events have 

likely contributed to this.

Warming Winters 

Arctic fox - 

summer pelt

Migrate... Of the 200 bird species that have 

been recorded on the Refuge, all but about 25 of 

them migrate to warmer regions for the winter.

Photo from itsagreengreenworld.com
As the Seasons Change

Times of Flux

Spring and fall are intense times of 

activity and transition. Animals and 

birds migrate to and from this remote 

northeastern corner of Alaska in great 

numbers. Plants burst out with new 

green growth and later shut down for 

the long, dark winter. 

Jumpstart on Growth

The sun shines brightly during the 

lengthening days of April and May, 

but snow still grips the land. Aspen 

trees jumpstart their growth by 

making use of this early-season light. 

Unlike most other trees, aspen bark 

contains chlorophyll, which begins 

photosynthesizing before the ground 

thaws and before leaves form. 

But this special bark can easily 

sunburn in the intense light, so the 

trees produce a white surface powder 

to reflect some of the sunlight away 

from the delicate cells beneath. This 

effort requires energy, however, 

so aspen trees only do it where 

necessary—on their south sides facing 

the sun.

Every aspen trunk is therefore a 

natural compass—lighter on the south 

side and darker on the north.

Look closely at this aspen trunk to see the lightercolor, powdery surface on the left, and the darker 

gray bark on the right. In this forest, SOUTH is to the 

left-hand side of the photo.

Caribou! 

They flowed down 

the shadowed valley 

toward me...”

George B. Schaller, internationallyrecognized field biologist

“
Flying Great Distances

Birds migrate from all corners of the 

Earth to spend the summer in the 

Refuge, where long days produce an 

abundance of insects and plants for 

them and their young to eat. 

The Refuge holds a unique position 

because it sits at the intersection of the 

four North American flyways, or main 

migration routes. Birds breeding on the 

Refuge have ranges that reach all 50 

states as well as five other continents. 

The Arctic Terns that breed on the Refuge migrate 

about 25,000 miles round-trip, flying south to Antarctica to escape winter in the northern hemisphere.

The Northern Wheatear flies approximately 13,000 

miles one-way from its breeding grounds on the 

Refuge, across Asia and the Middle East, to its wintering areas in Africa. This 6-inch bird then travels a 

similar distance back to Alaska each spring.

Caribou Journey

Each spring, caribou of the Porcupine Herd move by the thousands on a focused 

march from their wintering grounds north to their calving range. The cows will soon 

have an urgent matter to attend to—the birth of their calves. 

As temperatures cool, caribou amble back across the mountains, feeding slowly along 

the way to their wintering areas.

In early spring, a long line of 

caribou migrate north toward 

their summer calving range.

Shifting Seasons

As temperatures warm around the 

globe, many mammals, insects, birds 

and plants are facing challenges. 

In Arctic Refuge, where temperatures 

often hover around freezing, a small 

temperature increase may cause 

dramatic changes. 

Nutrition is critical to pregnant 

caribou, particularly after the long 

winter. They give birth in early June, in 

time for them and their calves to feed 

on tender, new, green vegetation when 

they need it most. 

As the Arctic warms, however, greenup is happening earlier than in the 

past. If caribou cannot find proper 

nourishment for themselves and their 

calves at this critical time, it may effect 

the health and future of the herd. 

Caribou cow with her newborn calf

A long-tailed jaeger defends 

its nest by dive-bombing a researcher on the Refuge tundra.

These birds winter over the 

open waters of the southern 

Atlantic Ocean.
U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

ANWR, the Arctic National Wildlife 

Refuge, is a conservation area in 

northeast Alaska managed by the 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and 

owned by all Americans. 

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

101 12th Ave., Room 236 

Fairbanks, AK 99701

907-456-0250 • 1-800-362-4546

arctic_refuge@fws.gov

http://arctic.fws.gov

www.facebook.com/arcticnationalwildliferefuge

October 2011

Photos by USFWS unless indicated otherwise