Peter Matthiessen in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Travel Blog  •  Jim Benning  •  01.30.03 | 10:35 PM ET

The acclaimed travel and nature writer journeyed into Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) last summer to see for himself the rugged land the Bush administration would like to open to oil drilling. In a thoughtful essay in the February issue of Outside, Matthiessen writes about his sightings of cream-colored grizzly bears, musk ox, golden eagles, polar bears and porcupine caribou. What would happen if the area was opened to drilling? For starters, the caribou “would probably calve farther to the east, producing fewer young and altering the migration patterns on which Gwich’in villages and the whole ecosystem depend,” Matthiessen writes. “And this disruption of a fragile wilderness would almost certainly lead to widespread ecological degradation.” Matthiessen’s essay isn’t available online, but the magazine’s Web site does feature many of photographer Subhankar Banerjee’s stunning images from the region, and they’re well worth a visit.

Tags: Adventure Travel, Eco Travel, Page Turner, North America, United States, Alaska, News and Briefs


1 Comment for Peter Matthiessen in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

matt yochum 06.16.08 | 4:15 AM ET

I believe your artic program to be a very biased program that miss leads people that have never been to Alaska.

The oil fields and mining industries in Alaska are very regulated.  I have seen unregulated use of the land and it can be bad for the animals and plants.  The land can be used responsively to help
better our great country.

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