Icy day here in Dallas, we missed a lot of dates that should have been commemorated.
Let’s catch this one: The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) was created 53 years ago today in the administration of Dwight Eisenhower, by Interior Secretary Fred A. Seaton.
Photo probably not taken this week: From the US Department of Interior: Happy 53rd birthday to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge! @USFWSHQ @USFWSRefuges #Alaska pic.twitter.com/2popb7EAvz
ANWR finds itself the center of controversy, now, because of the possibility of oil underneath it, and the difficulty of getting that oil without destroying wildlife habitat, or the possibility of destructive oil spills. For an understanding of the issues, visit ANWR’s website and the non-partisan discussion there.
Odd that land so severely beautiful, so far out of the way and so difficult to master, has its fate decided in marble halls in Washington, D.C., 3,172 miles distant. The United States is a big, sprawling nation.
Information on the ANWR:
History and Culture
Refuge Establishment: Legislation and Purposes
The Arctic Refuge was established in 1960 and expanded in 1980.
- Brief description of Refuge purposes
- Public Land Order 2214 creating the Range in 1960
- Excerpts from the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act expanding the Refuge and its purposes in 1980
Refuge History
The Arctic Refuge has been providing for the physical and emotional well-being of humans for many thousands of years. It remains an important resource to help sustain local Eskimo and Indian cultures. The Refuge continues to be valued, even by those who never travel within it’s borders, as a symbol of America’s vast and remote wilderness – a place of inspiration and beauty – a promise for the future for all Americans.
- Caribou Fences: People of the Caribou
- Time Line – Establishment and management of the Refuge
- Legacy of Conservation
- Discover what three official names the Refuge has had.
- Partial listing of historic writings related to the Refuge
Local Cultures
The lands of the Arctic Refuge continue to support the Inupiat Eskimo and Gwich’in Indian peoples who have lived here for centuries.
- Communities adjacent to the Refuge
- A gathering to learn traditional ways
More:
3,172 miles between the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and Washington, D.C.
- ANWR Campaigns March On, No End in Sight (alaskapublic.org)
- Senate Duo Announces Bill Protecting 1.56M Acres of Arctic Refuge (joemiller.us)
- PolitiFact Florida: Dave Weldon claims no wildlife in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (tampabay.com)
- Legislation introduced would prevent drilling in ANWR (juneauempire.com)
- Alaska oil separates Hanabusa and Schatz (staradvertiser.com)
- A bipartisan call to protect the Arctic (seattlepi.com)
- In a Warming Arctic, Oil Drilling Brings Disaster (Op-Ed) (livescience.com)
Posted by Ed Darrell 
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 