As pro-development forces tirelessly note, people who live closest to the refuge support exploration. Unlike in Anchorage, Juneau or Washington, D.C., where the view of the refuge seems full of dollar signs, the view of development from Kaktovik would be quite different. South from Kaktovik on a brilliant March day, the coastal plain is a sea of white bounded 50 miles away by a sill of sculpted peaks. The expanse would make a 10-story drilling rig look like a matchstick and a building a matchbox. Where the actual oil facilities would sit is unclear.
Residents are ready for derricks at their doorstep.
Among other changes, hunting likely would be restricted around the oil fields. High-powered rifles and oil pipelines don't mix. Villagers still get about half their subsistence meat, including caribou, sheep and musk ox, from the same land where the oil lies. Rexford describes the surreal experience of standing amid a running caribou herd. Pipes will be everywhere.