Abrupt About-Face in ANWR Warnings

A March 2002 United States Geological Survey (USGS) report reveals the potentially dire consequences that might result from petroleum exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge's (ANWR) northern coastal plain. The report, Arctic Refuge Coastal Plain Terrestrial Wildlife Research Summaries, adds fuel to the raging, fiery debate in Washington about opening additional parts of ANWR to oil drilling. ANWR was established in 1960.

The extensive USGS report that examined 12 years of data exposes potential threats to Porcupine caribou, muskoxen, polar bears, and snow geese from opening one specific area, known as "The 1002 Area" to oil drilling. The Porcupine caribou population in this area of the refuge is already declining; it may reach its lowest population level in the next three to seven years. Oil pipelines in this caribou's calving areas potentially would displace the animals during calving season, reducing chances of survival for offspring. The animals would be forced out of the areas with the rich vegetation necessary to meet their dietary needs sufficiently. Furthermore, these caribou would be pushed into areas with a greater density of predators such as grizzly bears and wolves.

Alaska's Inupiat Eskimos call muskoxen "oomingmak" (animal with skin like a beard). Oil exploration would threaten these magnificent hairy animals in the northern coastal plain of the ANWR. Photo by Jo Keller/USFWS.

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Muskoxen habitat also could be affected by drilling, and the extensive USGS report notes that these animals are also declining in the area. The muskoxen live in the coastal plain of ANWR year-round. According to USGS, "Muskoxen in the Arctic Refuge are vulnerable to disturbance from activities associated with petroleum exploration and extraction because of their year-round residency, their small population numbers and their need to conserve energy for the 9 months of the winter if they are to successfully reproduce." While 368 muskoxen were counted in "The 1002 Area" in 1968, an estimated 168-212 were found between 1996 and 2001.

Polar bears in the area are also exposed to risk from oil drilling and related activities including road building, particularly because the area of ANWR sought for exploration is a region where polar bears den.

Finally, the report notes that snow geese build their fat reserves in ANWR's coastal plain in preparation for their over 1,000 mile migration from Canada to Mexico; industrial development there could displace geese from prime feeding habitats.

The Washington Post has revealed that a hastily-prepared subsequent report, commissioned by President Bush's Secretary of the Interior, Gale Norton, downplays the potential impacts of oil drilling on caribou in the study area. Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) told the Post "There have been numerous government reports telling the Bush Administration what they didn't want to hear, namely that drilling in the Arctic will forever mar this unspoiled wilderness. Now they've rushed through a study telling them what they do want to hear, but an objective scientific review would show it to be lacking." Environmental ally Senator John Kerry (D-MA), a fierce opponent of oil drilling in ANWR, asserted, "The new Administration report shows that President Bush and the oil industry are unyielding in their fight to drill in ANWR despite the risks."

Despite this ploy, the Senate rebuffed attempts to open ANWR to drilling, at least temporarily. On April 18, 2002, Senators Lieberman and Kerry successfully defeated an amendment to a comprehensive energy bill pending in the Senate to allow drilling in ANWR. The debate, however, is far from over and oil drilling proponents promise to raise the issue repeatedly in varied forms. The House of Representatives version of the energy bill already includes a provision to drill in the Refuge, and a Conference Committee will ultimately reconcile the differences in the two bills.