Polar-bear mothers build dens near the coastline during winter. Enviromentalists say drilling would disturb these families.
Evon Peter stands on a hill and looks over a stretch of Alaska's snowy wilderness. Peter belongs to the Gwinch'in (Gway-chin) tribe. His tribe lives on the southern edge of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).
Peter has a story for each part of the landscape. Many of his stories are about caribou, the wild reindeer his people depend on for food. "When I stand here, I feel I am free," he says.
| Polar-bear mothers build dens near the coastline during winter. Enviromentalists say drilling would disturb these families. |
Big changes may soon be coming to this quiet place. President George W. Bush, oil-industry leaders and others want to drill for oil in the ANWR. They say tapping oil there will help cut fuel prices and reduce our country's need to buy oil from other nations. Last week Alaska Senator Frank Murkowski asked the Senate to pass a law that would allow the drilling.
The ANWR was set aside for protection in 1960. Wildlife experts fear that drilling there could disturb polar bears and grizzlies. But their biggest worry is the caribou. More than 130,000 caribou travel each spring into a part of the ANWR called Area 1002.
The Gwinch'in people are against drilling. But many other Alaskans favor it. They say money from the sale of oil will improve their lives.
Few of the people who will make the decision to drill have ever seen the ANWR. Murkowski plans to take Senators there. Once they see this beautiful place, what will they decide to do?