Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), the crown jewel of the nation's 544 refuges, is in danger of destruction (Lamar and Markey 12). ANWR has been around since 1960 and has slowly become one of the most controversial topics in Congress. ANWR spans 19 million acres on Alaska's northeast coast. Although the government has received this huge land, it is fighting to get more. For what? ANWR is the second largest oil field owned by the United States. The government now wants more land to build oil reserves. The refuge is home to many endangered species such as migratory birds, polar bears, and wolves (Lynne and Roberts 1). Most of the ANWR designated petroleum area is owned by Alaska Native people (Klyza and Ford-Martin 1). While these are some of the concerns in debates about stopping further drilling, the most predominant questions for anti-drillers are: caribou species, how long the changes (benefits) will last, and why continue a project of law that contradicts already existing federal laws. As mentioned previously, caribou is a sensitive issue for environmentalists and Alaska Natives. The Porcupine caribou herd is the most concentrated species, with 130,000 individuals (Lamar and Markey 12) roaming ANWR territory. The herd uses the ANWR as a calving area (Whitten 2008). Each herd has a distinct calving area (Markey 2004), establishing a spiritual and survival connection with the land itself. If drilling continues, the number of species will decrease, this has been proven in other caribou localities! Central Arctic caribou resided in Prudhoe Bay with 23,000 herds after oil reserves began to increase in that region, and their numbers fell to 18,000 (Whitten 2008). ANWR specialists also discovered that most...... middle of paper ......s Resource Center . Gale of wind. GILA RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL. February 20, 2015Klyza, Christopher McGrory and Paula Anne Ford-Martin. “Alaska National Lands Conservation Act (1980)” Environmental Encyclopedia. Ed. Marci Bortman, Peter Brimblecombe, Mary Ann Cunningham, William P. Cunningham, and William Freedman. Flight. 1. 3rd ed. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2003. 1 p. 2 vol. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale of wind. GILA RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL. February 20, 2015 Markey, Edward J.. “Arctic National Wildlife Refuge should remain off-limits to oil drilling. ". At issue: dependence on foreign oil. James Haley. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2004. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale of wind. GILA RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL. February 20, 2015 Will, George F. “The Biofuel Follies.” Newsweek. 151.06 (February 11, 2008): 64. General Gold Reference Center. Gale of wind. GILA RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL. February 20. 2015