The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a vast and beautiful wilderness, is an intact continuum of six different ecological zones spanning some 200 miles north to south. Such a diverse spectrum of habitats and associated fish and wildlife populations within a single conservation area is unparalleled in the circumpolar north. The Brooks Range is pictured above.

Photo: Steve Chase, USFWS 

The human history of Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve stretches back more than 10,000 years. The earliest people to settle the Brooks Range were among the first to cross the Bering Land Bridge from Asia in a series migrations that eventually populated the Americas. Archeological sites show that ancestors of Inupiaq and Athabascan peoples hunted caribou, moose, and sheep; trapped and snared small game; pulled fish from lakes and streams; and used the area’s other natural resources to survive in a difficult environment. Today, descendents of these early hunters and gatherers live in and around the park, where they continue traditional subsistence activities while also adapting to the demands of modern life.

Photo: National Park Service