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Apparently a million barrels a day coming from Prudhoe bay is not enough. Several sources insist that the oil in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge is greatly needed. The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1960 put aside 19 million acre land parcel in order to preserve the pristine environment and the wildlife that lives there (USGS 1). .
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The Light Brown Area indicates the area known as ANWR.
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The high potential for oil discovery in ANWR has long been known but since the area was set aside in 1960, exploration has been restricted to surface investigations (Chance 1). In 1995, the North Slope and Endicott oil fields, located west of ANWR are together producing about 1.7 million barrels of oil per day, or approximately 25 percent of the U.S. domestic production. However, Prudhoe Bay, which accounts for over three-quarters of North Slope production, began its decline by 1988, and no new fields have yet been discovered with the potential to compensate for that decline (Chance). Throughout this quest for oil, there have been two native Alaskan tribes with there own views on the drilling, which for them, is very close to home.
In Kaktovik, just north on ANWR on Barter Island, the Inupiat Eskimos live in the only village within the wildlife refuge. The small village consists of only 210 Inupiat, who's ancestors have lived in the area for more than 10,000 years (Chance). While initially the Inupiat where very uneasy with the idea of drilling in their homeland, they became more comfortable with the idea when they began receiving money from the oil companies. Most of their income now and days comes from taxes on the oil companies (Lester). On the other hand there is another tribe that does not take to kindly to the oil production.
Fifteen villages and small towns scattered across northeast Alaska and northwest Canada are the home of approximately 7,000 Gwich'in - the most northerly location of all Indian nations (Chance).
