ANWR Fact of the Day
Under ANILCA, much of the Refuge was designated as wilderness area, but NOT the coastal plain of ANWR. Rather, the Act set the coastal plain area aside for future consideration of the development of its vast oil resources. Current legislation calls for responsible development on no more than 2000 acres of the 1.5 million acre coastal plain. That's 0.01% of ANWR's total acreage of 19.6 million. The remaining 99.9% would remain off limits to development.
"This act of Congress strikes a balance between protecting areas of great beauty and value and allowing development of Alaska's vital oil and gas and mineral and timber resources... 95 percent of the potentially productive oil and mineral areas will be available for exploration or drilling... How to tap these resources is a challenge we can now face in the decade ahead."
-- President Jimmy Carter at the signing ceremony for the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), December 2, 1980