In addition to its tremendous value as a spectacular haven for wildlife, the 1.5 million-acre coastal plain known as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is now the focus of major debate about oil and gas exploration and development. This resource provides some information on the refuge (not the debate). The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) maintains the site, the official homepage of...

This recently released 90-page report by the US Geological Survey and the US Fish and Wildlife Service is a summary of previously reported and currently updated research on the potential biological impacts of petroleum exploration and development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). After a 1987 report to Congress recommending opening the refuge to "an orderly oil and gas leasing...