One of Alaska's treasures -- and a major center of the dispute over oil exploration -- is a park the size of eight Yellowstones. Within this vast preserve, called the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, lies a 1.5 million-acre section of the coastal plain that the oil industry insists has the greatest potential of any land in the U.S. Only two native villages abut this vast park: Arctic Village, on the southern border in the foothills of the Brooks Range, which is home to 100 Gwich'in members of the Athapaskan Indian group; and Kaktovik, on Barter Island, far to the north at...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
