The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a vast and beautiful wilderness, one unique in North America. Unique because it has a full range of arctic and subarctic ecosystems. Unique also because the systems are whole and undisturbed, functioning as they have for centuries, largely free of human control and manipulation. Refuge Information: Located in northeastern Alaska, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the most northern and one of the largest Refuges within America^s National Wildlife Refuge System. The Arctic Refuge is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Nature remains essentially undisturbed in this scenic, pristine land. The Arctic Refuge^s primary mandate: to protect the wildlife and habitats of this area for the benefit of people now and in the future. Wildlife: The Arctic Refuge contains an impressive variety of arctic wildlife. Dominated by the rugged and majestic Brooks Range, the Refuge is vast and remote - domain of the wandering Porcupine Caribou herd, packs of wolves, hardy muskoxen, lone wolverines, flocks of snow geese, and other wilderness-dependent species. The rich pageant of wildlife found within the Refuge includes more than 160 bird species, 36 kinds of land mammals, nine marine mammal species, and 36 types of fish. Habitat: The Arctic Refuge is among the most complete, pristine, and undisturbed ecosystems on earth. Here coastal lagoons, barrier islands, arctic tundra, foothills, mountains, and boreal forests provide a combination of habitats, climate, and geography unmatched by any other northern conservation area - conditions that support the Refuge^s diverse community of life. People: The Arctic Refuge is a landscape like those that shaped America^s unique heritage and culture - a place of reflection, beauty, and adventure. It^s big and wild enough to make you feel like one of the old-time explorers - self- reliant, independent, and free. The Refuge is an inspiration to nature enthusiasts, and a home to local Inupiat Eskimo and Gwich^in Indian communities. It is also a symbol, even for those who will never visit, of the link between wilderness and wildlife, and the need for both, now and in the future.

Uploaded: 2/21/2004