Background
strtotime ("January 25, 2005 11:40 PM"))
{
?>
WHAT IS ANWR AND WHERE IS THE COASTAL PLAIN?
Most folks don't really understand where the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is located and the relatively tiny amount of space within ANWR, (the Coastal Plain), that's been set aside for potential oil and gas development. If exploration proves the area is worth developing, less than one half of one percent, 2,000 to 5,000 acres would actually be developed.
strtotime ("January 26, 2005 12:36 AM")) { ?>
ANWR: THE ISSUE
Most geologists agree that the potential of recoverable oil on the Coastal Plain is in the order of billions of barrels and trillions of cubic feet of recoverable gas and that these resources may rival the initial reserves at Prudhoe Bay. The validity of these estimates can only be proved by drilling exploratory wells. Before oil and gas development in the Coastal Plain can proceed, Congress and the President need to authorize leasing and development.
strtotime ("January 26, 2005 12:38 AM")) { ?>
HOW MUCH OIL & GAS IS IN ANWR'S COASTAL PLAIN?
Geologists agree that the Coastal Plain has the nation's best geologic prospects for major new onshore oil discoveries. According to the Department of Interior's 1987 resource evaluation of ANWR's Coastal Plain, there is a 95% chance that a 'super field' with 500 million barrels would be discovered. DOI also estimates that there exists a mean of 3.5 billion barrels, and a 5% chance that a large Prudhoe Bay type discovery would be made.
strtotime ("January 26, 2005 12:40 AM")) { ?>
WHO ACTUALLY VISITS THE ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE?
The answer?: Not many. For most of the year, ANWR is unbearably cold and dark. For several weeks, the sun doesn't even rise and leaves the windswept landscape a very inhospitable environment. Only a few hundred people visit ANWR each year.
strtotime ("January 26, 2005 12:43 AM")) { ?>
OTHER WILDLIFE
Wildlife other than caribou, such as bears, wolves, and moose, use the Coastal Plain area infrequently and would be unaffected by development. Populations of these animals and others that live on the Coastal Plain such as muskoxen, are healthy and increasing despite three decades of development at Prudhoe Bay. Oil and gas development on the Coastal Plain would be temporary, and the long term ability of the habitat to support wildlife would not be affected.
strtotime ("January 26, 2005 12:45 AM")) { ?>
WEATHER AND CLIMATE CONDITIONS
The Coastal Plain of ANWR is an arctic desert with approximately 10 inches of precipitation annually .The Coastal Plain area demonstrates a striking contrast between summer and winter. During the summer months temperatures are relatively cool (40" F) and daylight is continuous for 75 days. During the winter months temperatures drop well below O" F and darkness lasts for 56 days. Permafrost (permanently frozen ground) exists throughout the Coastal Plain area to an approximate depth of 2,000 feet deep. The permafrost creates an excellent environment for insects which plague the caribou throughout the year. (See Caribou for more info on insects.) Nearly continuous winds reshape the Coastal Plain winter landscape with blowing snow filling in valleys and swells, resulting in the appearance of a vast, white wasteland.
strtotime ("January 26, 2005 12:46 AM")) { ?>
POLITICAL HISTORY
The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) , finalized in December of 1980, designated the 1.5 million acre Coastal Plain within ANWR a study area, to be evaluated for its oil and gas development potential. The resource evaluation, conducted by the Department of Interior, was released in 1987 and recommended that Congress open the Coastal Plain for oil and gas exploration and development. Since then, Alaska's Congressional delegation, our Governors and State Legislature's have been working toward that end. In 1995, the U.S. House and Senate approved Coastal Plain Development as part of a balanced budget act, but the entire measure was vetoed by President Clinton.
strtotime ("January 26, 2005 12:47 AM")) { ?>
TOP TEN REASONS TO OPEN THE COASTAL PLAIN
Only 8% of ANWR Would Be Considered for Exploration Only the 1.5 million acre or 8% on the northern coast of ANWR is being considered for development. The remaining 17.5 million acres or 92% of ANWR will remain permanently closed to any kind of development. If oil is discovered, less than 2000 acres of the over 1.5 million acres of the Coastal Plain would be affected. Thatıs less than half of one percent of ANWR that would be affected by production activity.
