The US Congress is again considering opening the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling. The proposal threatens to violate the internationally recognized human rights to culture, subsistence, health, and religion of the Gwich’in people of northeastern Alaska and northwestern Canada. Since time immemorial, the Gwich’in have relied physically, culturally and spiritually on the Porcupine Caribou Herd that calves each spring on the Coastal Plain.

Proponents of opening the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil development profess a commitment to strict environmental regulation, and they assert that new technologies — particularly ice roads and directional drilling — will make drilling in the Arctic Refuge environmentally benign. They cite the recent Alpine oil development as the state-of-the-art showcase for this new technology.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge provides vital habitat for some of America’s most spectacular wildlife. Birds, in particular, rely heavily on the Arctic Refuge. When the weather turns warm, the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge becomes a haven for millions of migrating birds, affording them a safe place to feed, mate and nest.