The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has been the topic of much heated political debate recently. This pristine home of many flora and fauna species, endangered and not, could possibly also be the home of an abundance of natural resources which could prove vital to the long term resurgence of the embattled American economy. Many experts believe that there is enough oil available for drilling in the refuge to significantly decrease the United States dependency on foreign oil. This decrease in dependency, greatly lowering the cost of oil to American business and the American consumer, would pump much needed money into a currently moribund economy, and also help to allay the current energy crisis facing many regions of the United States. However, there are yet more experts who feel that drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a short term energy solution whose risks greatly outweigh any projected long term benefits to the economy. .
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was established by Public Land Order 2214 by the Secretary of the Interior, Fred A. Seaton, on December 6, 1960. The purpose of the refuge is to preserve the unique wildlife, wilderness and recreational values that are present in the Refuge. The original described area is a plot of land covering approximately 8,900,000 acres in northeast Alaska. The Refuge was further modified on December 2, 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, and another 9,160,000 acres was added to the original size of the Refuge. The total size of the Refuge now stands at over 19,000,000 acres, and is very nearly the size of the state of South Carolina.
The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act outlines the purpose in creating the Refuge.
