The region includes 7555 humans--72.3 percent are Inupiat Eskimo--and lots of wildlife.
        The word "Inupiat" means "the real people" The Inupiat have inhabited the Arctic for thousands of years, traditionally following animal migrations and subsisting on whale, caribou, walrus, seal and birds.
        In one of the earth's most challenging environments, the Inupiat developed a rich culture and dynamic set of traditions. Their survival depended on close family ties, a strong sense of community and a deep respectfor nature.
        "For thousands of years, the Inupiat people have depended upon the Arctic Ocean for the whales, seals, fish and polar bears that give us sustenance. The Arctic Ocean is our garden, and we cannot afford to have it contaminated by oil spills and industrialisation."
        Charles Edwardsen, Jr., an Inupiat Eskimo who resides in Barrow, Alaska.
Inupiat of Arctic Alaska is a wealth of information on the Inupiat culture.

The Gwich'in Indian knows no beginning. A thousand years ago, before the Norman conquest of Britain, the Gwich'in were following the Porcupine caribou herd. Two thousand years ago, when Christ was born, the Gwich'in were celebrating the annual return of the caribou from the birthing grounds. Even five thousand years ago, when the Pharaohs were building their pyramids, the Gwich'in had already created a caribou culture with shelters, clothing and tools all made from caribou.
        Today, the Gwich'in continue to rely on the caribou for subsistence and culture. However, like the buffalo tribes, the Gwich'in culture could fade until it exists only in memories. Without the chance for life that the coastal plain area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge gives the young caribou, many will die. Then the herd will die. And the people will wait in vain for the return of their caribou.
People of the Caribou The Gwich’in people of Northeast Alaska and Northwest Canada.

Musk oxen
Musk oxen live year-round on the coastal plain, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists predict that they would suffer the most from oil exploration and development during the winters, when temperatures that dip to minus 40 degrees. To conserve energy at extreme low temperatures, musk oxen reduce their activity and movement. In the Arctic Refuge, most of the musk oxen spend the winter months near the large rivers flowing across the Coastal Plain. Oil exploration would require water from these rivers for the construction of ice roads, and millions of tons of gravel will be removed for road and drilling pad construction. The Department of the Interior predicts that musk oxen numbers will drop by 25 to 50 percent in the face of oil development on the coastal plain.

Caribou
In a pattern of migration established centuries ago, the caribou of the Porcupine River herd arrive each spring on the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge. The caribou have crossed thundering rivers and the high, jagged peaks of the Brooks Range as they push to their historic calving grounds. The herd -- 129,000 strong -- congregates on the Coastal Plain where the cows will give birth. It is a cycle that has gone on undisturbed for thousands of years. No one knows what will happen if the Porcupine herd should encounter pipelines, processing facilities, roads, airports, and all of the other infrastructure that would accompany oil exploration and development on the Coastal Plain. But the U.S. Department of the Interior warns that oil drilling on the Coastal Plain could jeopardize up to 40 percent of the herd.

Polar Bears
Contrary to some oil company reports, maternal polar bears prefer to den on the land, not floating ice. They chose sites along bluffs or steep creek banks where deep snow drifts form early in the winter. The den is usually a single chamber about seven feet long, five feet wide, and three feet high. The female's body heat and the insulation provided by the snow keeps the den warmer than the outside air temperature. This protects newborn cubs from winter's temperature extremes. Cubs are born November through January; the mother and cubs emerge from the den in late March or April. The Arctic Refuge's coastal tundra provides America's only land denning habitat for polar bears, serving primarily the Beaufort Sea population.
        Biologists note that polar bears with newborn cubs are especially sensitive to human activity, and can be prematurely displaced from their winter dens by the noise, vibration, and human disturbance created by seismic oil exploration. According to a 1987 report by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, early den abandonment can be fatal to cubs who are unable to fend for themselves and cannot withstand the winter temperatures, or travel with their mother.

Migratory Birds
Some 135 species of birds are known to use the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge for breeding and nesting. These birds are shorebirds, waterfowl, loons, songbirds, and raptors. Many of the migratory birds travel from as far away as Asia, Antarctica, and the Chesapeake Bay. In addition to waterfowl, many other birds also inhabit the area: ruddy turnstones, golden plovers, lapland longspurs, and a variety of sandpipers and other shorebirds. Golden eagles, arctic peregrine falcons, snowy owls and ptarmigan are among the few that stay in the Arctic Refuge through the winter. Snow geese fly 500 miles out of their way to feed on cottongrass at the Refuge's coastal plain for several weeks each fall. The snow geese will eat up to one-third of their body weight each day; the rich vegetation of the arctic tundra lets them increase their fat reserves by 400% in only a few weeks. They then fly south to California for the winter. Snow geese are especially sensitive to disturbances. Scientists with the Department of the Interior predict that oil activity will drive up to half of the birds away from their prime feeding area of the Coastal Plain.

For an in-depth analysis of the impact the oil industry would make on wildlife in the ANWR visit the website of the Alaska Wilderness League