The coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge is home to unique and abundant wildlife. This thin crescent of land is one of the most important onshore polar bear denning areas in the United States. Musk oxen, already obliterated once in northern Alaska by hunters, have made a comeback on the coastal plain and rely on its resources year-round.
Grizzly bears range the open tundra and Dall sheep thrive in the foothills.
A myriad of bird species rely on the coastal plain for breeding, nesting, and migratory stopovers on trips from as far away as the Baja Peninsula, the Chesapeake Bay, and even Antarctica. Wolves, red and arctic foxes, wolverines and an array of voles, lemmings and squirrels fill out the menagerie of the coastal plain. The plain is also home to the 129,000-member Porcupine River caribou herd. Each spring, the Porcupine caribou migrate over 400 hundred miles to reach the Arctic Refuge coastal plain, where they give birth to their young. The coastal plain s unique characteristics maximize calf and herd survival, providing nutritious food and much needed refuge from predators and oppressive mosquitoes.