Many people may know of the refuge by an abbreviation: ANWR (pronounced an-whar). The full name reminds us that the refuge is part of our national heritage, designated for wildlife conservation.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR, pronounced as “ ANN-warr ”) or Arctic Refuge is a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska, United States, on traditional Iñupiaq and Gwich'in lands.

Dec 12, 2025 · President Donald Trump has signed bills nullifying Biden-era environmental protections in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and in Northwest Alaska in an effort to promote oil and mining ...

Designated as wilderness in 1960, ANWR encompasses arctic tundra, boreal forests, wild rivers, the Brooks Range mountains, the coastal plain and the Arctic Coast. Inupiat and Gwich’in call this …

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the United States’ largest Wildlife Refuge, is situated in the northeast corner of Alaska. Most visitors to the Arctic Refuge begin their trips in Fairbanks.

Over 19 million acres, 7 million designated wilderness, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is possibly the crown jewel of the National Wildlife Refuge system.

Nature remains essentially undisturbed in this vast, unbroken refuge, the largest national wildlife refuge in the nation. The estimated 90,000 to 100,000 member Porcupine caribou herd calves on the …