History

• The Eisenhower Administration established the 8.9 million acre refuge in 1960. President Carter expanded the acreage to 18 million in 1980, with more land added in 1983 and 1988.
  
  

Function

• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, under the auspices of the Department of the Interior, manage this area. Its stated goal is to preserve the wildlife and the pristine wilderness of this portion of the nation.
  
  

Types

• The Arctic National Wildlife refuge contains several different ecosystems. The icy Beaufort Sea, flattened tundra, part of the Brooks Mountain Range and boreal forests all exist within its boundaries.
  
  

Mammals

• Several species of large mammals inhabit the refuge. These include moose, Dall sheep, caribou, musk ox, black bears, brown bears, polar bears, walruses, whales and seals.
  
  

Birds

• Observers have recorded 195 different types of birds present in the refuge at one time or another, with such birds as geese, ducks, grebes, jaegers, gulls, owls, woodpeckers, swallows, chickadees, kinglets, sparrows and warblers among them.
  
  

Fish

• Fish like the arctic grayling, coho salmon, Dolly Varden trout and northern pike swim in the rivers and streams of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.