Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, vast natural area occupying the northeastern corner of the U.S. state of Alaska. It was established in 1960 as Arctic National Wildlife Range with an area of approximately 13,900 square miles (36,000 square km) and was expanded and renamed Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in 1980. After further territory was added to it in the 1980s, the refuge reached its present size of some 30,500 square miles (79,000 square km). It is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with headquarters in Fairbanks. One of the great pristine and largely undisturbed wilderness areas of North America, the refuge has been the subject of much controversy because of the potential hydrocarbon reserves within it.