Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Research Articles

Indigenous peoples and the power(lessness) of public participation: Assessing effects of Indigenous community input in the Alaskan Coastal Plain oil and gas leasing program environmental impact statement

Public participation in the U.S. environmental impact assessment process is legally required under the National Environmental Policy Act, yet the procedural norms of the process often leave members of the public feeling powerless. While public participation has the appearance of a democratic process, it is imbued with unequal power dynamics and federal agencies maintain decision-making authority. Despite sovereignty and treaty rights, Indigenous communities in the U.S. do not participate in environmental decision-making through a collaborative governance structure. Instead, Indigenous communities interested in project impacts primarily voice their concerns through the public comment process. This paper explores Indigenous participants’ impacts on environmental impact decision-making through an illustrative case study structure. The phenomenon is explored in an in-depth analysis of the recent leasing environmental impact statement (EIS) for oil exploration and development in the 1002 Coastal Plain area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. This work uses a qualitative content analysis of the Coastal Plain case study to assess how public comments, particularly comments from Indigenous peoples, impact change in the documents that follow public participation processes. From this analysis, this article aims to illustrate a few key issues with how Indigenous input is considered in public participation processes. Findings indicate that public comments may result in minor changes to assessment documents but, overall, public input has little influence on project outcomes.

Potential impacts of an autumn oil spill on polar bears summering on land in northern Alaska

Demand for oil and natural gas continues to increase, leading to the development of remote regions where it is riskier to operate. Many of these regions have had limited development, so understanding potential impacts to wildlife could inform management decisions. In 2017, the United States passed legislation allowing oil and gas development in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Alaska. This area has received limited industrial development and is an important region for polar bears that use the coastline as a travel corridor in autumn. We sought to understand how an autumn near-shore oil spill in the Refuge could affect polar bears. We simulated oil spills from shallow sub-sea pipelines at 3 locations along the coastline of the Refuge and allowed spills to discharge 4800 barrels of oil per day for 6 days, and tracked oil for 50 days. We interacted the trajectories with simulated polar bear movements to estimate how many bears might be exposed. Oil spread quickly along the coastline and during some weeks exposed an average of 10 bears (95 % CI: 0–37) to lethal levels of oil, and 60 (95 % CI: 9–120) to sub-lethal levels. Our results suggest a significant number of polar bears could become oiled from a spill in the region and require decontamination. Therefore, future mitigation strategies could include careful siting of future development and additional capacity to capture and decontaminate bears in the event of an oil spill.

How Many Generations are Available for Study? Expectations and Applications of Historical Ecological Insight from Bones Lying on Modern Landscapes

Skeletal remains lying on landscape surfaces are useful for evaluating historical states of living populations, but across how much time can such resources inform management and conservation? Further, how do differences in environmental setting impact the breadth of the available timeseries? Using radiocarbon dated bones from across the globe, we evaluated the relationship between the maximum duration that bones persist on landscapes and the mean annual temperature of each locality. We found that bones can persist for several millennia in cold (high-latitude) settings and that there is a strong link (R2 > 0.9, p < 0.01) between local temperature and the logged duration of maximum bone persistence. This relationship provides an initial expectation for the duration across which skeletal remains from different settings can provide historical ecological context. Across the Holarctic, caribou (Rangifer tarandus) are the most abundant large mammal and arguably the most economically significant one for multiple human cultures, including serving as a key nutritional and cultural resource. For migratory caribou, movements between winter ranges and spring calving grounds are among the longest annual migrations of any terrestrial species and maintaining access to these areas is a top conservation priority. But how long have herds used particular calving grounds? Shed female antlers lying on the tundra provide insight into historical calving geography because they are shed within days of giving birth. Following antler surveys across the Coastal Plain calving grounds (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska) of the Porcupine Caribou Herd (PCH), we radiocarbon dated three highly weathered female antlers. Antler ages ranged between ~1,600 and >3,000 calendar years ago. These antlers provide the first physical evidence of calving activity on the PCH calving grounds from previous millennia and substantiate the long ecological legacy of the Coastal Plain as a caribou calving ground.

Shed Female Antlers as a Mineral Resource for Caribou on Spring Calving Grounds

Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) is the only extant deer species in which females produce antlers, but what are the roles and biological benefits of this feature? Female antler shedding is roughly synchronous with calving and, within populations, occurs at approximately the same time and place every year. Interestingly, spring and summer forage on caribou ranges can be insufficient in key minerals (calcium and phosphorus) that support nursing, and strategies for offsetting these deficits are poorly understood. We test the hypothesis that female caribou antlers, rich in calcium and phosphorus, provide mineral supplements for nursing females. Using antler and bone materials collected from the Coastal Plain calving grounds of the Porcupine Caribou Herd (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska), we assessed the consumption of bone-derived nutrients by ungulates (Rangifer), carnivorans (Ursus, Canis, Vulpes), and rodents (Urocitellus, Microtus). Taphonomic surveys yielded over 1,300 antlers and hundreds of skeletal bones. We visually inspected each element for modifications and compared observed features to those generated by candidate modifiers. We identified 20 modification classes within the collection and attributed 10 to caribou. We found caribou gnawing on ~90% of shed antlers, but <10% of skeletal material, indicating a clear focus on antler resources. Co-occurring mammals rarely targeted antlers, with rodents gnawing 30%). On the calving grounds, caribou monopolize antler nutrients, likely driven by nursing females. Antlers can form dense accumulations on caribou calving grounds (>1,000 antlers/km2) and persist for centuries or longer, potentially serving as an important mineral-rich attractor. The annual return to calving grounds, during which females consume available antler resources and contribute new ones, may function as an unrecognized feedback mechanism for maintaining calving ground fidelity.

Shed female caribou antlers extend records of calving activity on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by millennia

Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) have among the longest annual migrations of any terrestrial mammal as they move from winter ranges to spring calving grounds. Biomonitoring records indicate broad consistencies in calving geography across the last several decades, but how long have herds used particular calving grounds? Furthermore, how representative are modern patterns of calving geography to periods that pre-date recent climatic perturbations and increased anthropogenic stresses? While modern ecological datasets are not long enough to address these questions, bones from past generations of caribou lying on the tundra provide unique opportunities to study historical calving geography. This is possible because female caribou shed their antlers within days of giving birth, releasing a skeletal indicator of calving. Today, the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (Alaska) is a key calving ground for the Porcupine Caribou Herd (PCH). To test the duration across which caribou have used this area as a calving ground, we radiocarbon dated three highly weathered female antlers collected from tundra surfaces on the Coastal Plain. Calibrated radiocarbon dates indicate that these antlers were shed between ~1,600 and more than 3,000 calendar years ago. The antiquity of these shed antlers provides the first physical evidence of calving activity on the PCH calving grounds from previous millennia, substantiating the long ecological legacy of the Coastal Plain as a caribou calving ground. Comparisons to published lake core records also reveal that dates of two of the antlers correspond to periods with average summer temperatures that were warmer than has been typical during the last several decades of biomonitoring. This finding expands the range of climatic settings in which caribou are known to use the current PCH calving grounds and suggests that the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge may remain an important caribou calving ground during at least portions of predicted future warming. Discarded skeletal materials provide opportunities to assess the historical states of living populations, including aspects of reproductive biology and migration. Particularly in high-latitude settings, these insights can extend across millennia and offer rare glimpses into the past that can inform current and future management policies.

Borealization of nearshore fishes on an interior Arctic shelf over multiple decades.

Borealization is a type of community reorganization where Arctic specialists are replaced by species with more boreal distributions in response to climatic warming. The process of borealization is often exemplified by the northward range expansions and subsequent proliferation of boreal species on the Pacific and Atlantic inflow Arctic shelves (i.e., Bering/Chukchi and Barents seas, respectively). But the circumpolar nearshore distribution of Arctic-boreal fishes that predates recent warming suggests borealization is possible beyond inflow shelves. To examine this question, we revisited two nearshore lagoons in the eastern Alaska Beaufort Sea (Kaktovik and Jago lagoons, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, USA), a High Arctic interior shelf. We compared summer fish species assemblage, catch rate, and size distribution among three periods that spanned a 30-year record (baseline conditions, 1988-1991; moderate sea ice decline, 2003-2005; rapid sea ice decline, 2017-2019). Fish assemblages differed among periods in both lagoons, consistent with borealization. Among Arctic specialists, a clear decline in fourhorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus quadricornis, Kanayuq in Iñupiaq) occurred in both lagoons with 86%-90% lower catch rates compared with the baseline period. Among the Arctic-boreal species, a dramatic 18- to 19-fold increase in saffron cod (Eleginus gracilis, Uugaq) occurred in both lagoons. Fish size (length) distributions demonstrated increases in the proportion of larger fish for most species examined, consistent with increasing survival and addition of age-classes. These field data illustrate borealization of an Arctic nearshore fish community during a period of rapid warming. Our results agree with predictions that Arctic-boreal fishes (e.g., saffron cod) are well positioned to exploit the changing Arctic ecosystem. Another Arctic-boreal species, Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma, Iqalukpik), appear to have already responded to warming by shifting from Arctic nearshore to shelf waters. More broadly, our findings suggest that areas of borealization could be widespread in the circumpolar nearshore.

The Arctic-related activities of Joe Biden’s administration in 2021–2023

The article outlines the US administration activities with regard to the Artic in 2021–2023: the moratorium on Oil and Gas Leasing Program in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; military exercises in Alaska and in Norway; continued construction of polar icebreakers; personnel changes in government bodies responsible for the Artic; the boycott of Russia in the Artic Council; “National Strategy for the Arctic Region”. A conclusion is offered that there were no significant achievements in this field while the split in the Artic Council has evolved into a stalemate situation.

Semi-Automated Semantic Segmentation of Arctic Shorelines Using Very High-Resolution Airborne Imagery, Spectral Indices and Weakly Supervised Machine Learning Approaches

Precise coastal shoreline mapping is essential for monitoring changes in erosion rates, surface hydrology, and ecosystem structure and function. Monitoring water bodies in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is of high importance, especially considering the potential for oil and natural gas exploration in the region. In this work, we propose a modified variant of the Deep Neural Network based U-Net Architecture for the automated mapping of 4 Band Orthorectified NOAA Airborne Imagery using sparsely labeled training data and compare it to the performance of traditional Machine Learning (ML) based approaches—namely, random forest, xgboost—and spectral water indices—Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), and Normalized Difference Surface Water Index (NDSWI)—to support shoreline mapping of Arctic coastlines. We conclude that it is possible to modify the U-Net model to accept sparse labels as input and the results are comparable to other ML methods (an Intersection-over-Union (IoU) of 94.86% using U-Net vs. an IoU of 95.05% using the best performing method).

No evidence that cameras affect shorebird nest survival on the coastal plain of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, AK

Cameras are important tools used to determine nest fate, identify predators and evaluate behaviour; however, they may impact the parameters they are used to measure, thereby biasing results. We evaluated the impact of cameras ˜ 10 m from the nest on shorebird nest survival at the Canning River Delta, Alaska, 2017–2018 (ncontrol = 122, ncamera = 109) using a much larger sample size than in previous studies conducted in the Arctic and random assignments at nest discovery. We found no effect of camera presence at the nest on daily nest survival (model‐averaged daily survival rate (DSR) 85% confidence interval (CI); control: 0.971–0.983, camera: 0.969–0.982). We suggest that nest survival studies of tundra‐nesting birds should consider the use of cameras to minimize researcher disturbance, increase the accuracy of fate assignments, and broaden the ecological data collected (e.g. incubation behaviour, predator identification and non‐anthropogenic non‐predation disruption such as by caribou).

Comprehensive Valuation of the Ecosystem Services of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Ecosystem services (ES) have been well studied in most biomes, but the Arctic tundra has received little attention, despite covering over 10% of terrestrial Earth. Using established ES methodologies, we calculated values (in 2016 USD) for the United States Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a region virtually undisturbed by humans, but slated for future oil and gas drilling. We estimated the Refuge is worth about 1957 USD/hectare/year, equal to over 15 billion USD annually. Globally important services, such as climate regulation (e.g., carbon storage) and non-use services (e.g., aesthetic information), contributed the most value and were similar to valuations from more productive ecosystems. Local services made smaller contributions to the total, but they remain vitally important to local indigenous cultures. Strikingly, a contingent valuation survey of US residents found that, after neutral educational information, willingness-to-pay to maintain the Refuge in its current state exceeded estimated values of the oil and gas deposits. Our study shows that citizens may value Arctic habitats beyond their traditional economic development potential. Our comprehensive ecosystem services valuation suggests that maintaining the Refuge in its current condition (i.e., de facto wilderness) with its full range of ES is more valuable to humanity compared to development for oil and gas.

Characterizing Wetland Inundation and Vegetation Dynamics in the Arctic Coastal Plain Using Recent Satellite Data and Field Photos

Arctic wetlands play a critical role in the global carbon cycle and are experiencing disproportionate impacts from climate change. Even though Alaska hosts 65% of U.S. wetlands, less than half of the wetlands in Alaska have been mapped by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) or other high-resolution wetlands protocols. The availability of time series satellite data and the development of machine learning algorithms have enabled the characterization of Arctic wetland inundation dynamics and vegetation types with limited ground data input. In this study, we built a semi-automatic process to generate sub-pixel water fraction (SWF) maps across the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska using random forest regression and 139 Sentinel-2 images taken in ice-free seasons from 2016 to 2019. With this, we characterized the seasonal dynamics of wetland inundation and explored their potential usage in determining NWI water regimes. The highest levels of surface water expression were detected in June, resulting from seasonal active layer thaw and snowmelt. Inundation was most variable in riverbeds, lake and pond margins, and depressional wetlands, where water levels fluctuate substantially between dry and wet seasons. NWI water regimes that indicate frequent inundation, such as permanently flooded wetlands, had high SWF values (SWF ≥ 90%), while those with infrequent inundation, such as temporarily flooded wetlands, had low SWF values (SWF < 10%). Vegetation types were also classified through the synergistic use of a vegetation index, water regimes, synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) data, topographic data, and a random forest classifier. The random forest classification algorithms demonstrated good performance in classifying Arctic wetland vegetation types, with an overall accuracy of 0.87. Compared with NWI data produced in the 1980s, scrub-shrub wetlands appear to have increased from 91 to 258 km2 over the last three decades, which is the largest percentage change (182%) among all vegetation types. However, additional field data are needed to confirm this shift in vegetation type. This study demonstrates the potential of using time series satellite data and machine learning algorithms in characterizing inundation dynamics and vegetation types of Arctic wetlands. This approach could aid in the creation and maintenance of wetland inventories, including the NWI, in Arctic regions and enable an improved understanding of long-term wetland dynamics.

Historical Landscape Use of Migratory Caribou: New Insights From Old Antlers

Accumulations of shed caribou antlers (Rangifer tarandus) are valuable resources for expanding the temporal scope with which we evaluate seasonal landscape use of herds. Female caribou shed their antlers within days of giving birth, thus marking calving ground locations. Antler geochemistry (87Sr/86Sr) reflects the isotopic signature of regions used during antler growth, thereby providing data on a second component of seasonal landscape use. Here, we evaluate shed caribou antlers from the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. The Central and Eastern regions of the Coastal Plain are calving grounds for the Porcupine Caribou Herd, while the Western Coastal Plain supports calving by the Central Arctic Herd. We found that antler 87Sr/86Sr from the Central and Eastern Coastal Plain were isotopically indistinguishable, while antler 87Sr/86Sr from the Western Coastal Plain was significantly smaller. For each region, we compared isotopic data for “recent” antlers, which overlap the bulk of standardized state and federal caribou monitoring (early 1980s and younger), with “historical” antlers shed in years predating these records (from the 1300s to the 1970s). For Porcupine Herd females calving in the Arctic Refuge, comparisons of antler 87Sr/86Sr through time indicate that summer ranges have been consistent since at least the 1960s. However, changes between historical and recent antler 87Sr/86Sr for the Central Arctic Herd indicate a shift in summer landscape use after the late 1970s. The timing of this shift is coincident with multiple factors including increased infrastructural development in their range related to hydrocarbon extraction. Accumulations of shed caribou antlers and their isotope geochemistry extend modern datasets by decades to centuries and provide valuable baseline data for evaluating potential anthropogenic and other influences on caribou migration and landscape use.

Alaska

The First Regular Session of the thirty-first Alaska Legislature began on January 15, 2019, and ended on May 15, 2019. A First Special Session was held from May 16, 2019, through June 13, 2019, with a Second Special Session following from July 8, 2019, through August 6, 2019. The 2019 legislative session resulted in virtually no oil and gas legislation being passed, as the Alaska Legislature focused primarily on legislation regarding the State budget and the funding of the Permanent Fund Dividend. Despite the uncharacteristic lack of oil and gas legislation, the Legislature addressed the prevalent issue of oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (“ANWR”) through the passage of Senate Joint Resolution No. 7.

Landscape impacts of 3D-seismic surveys in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.

Although three‐dimensional (3D) seismic surveys have improved the success rate of exploratory drilling for oil and gas, the impacts have received little scientific scrutiny, despite affecting more area than any other oil and gas activity. To aid policy‐makers and scientists, we reviewed studies of the landscape impacts of 3D‐seismic surveys in the Arctic. We analyzed a proposed 3D‐seismic program in northeast Alaska, in the northern Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which includes a grid 63,000 km of seismic trails and additional camp‐move trails. Current regulations are not adequate to eliminate impacts from these activities. We address issues related to the high‐density of 3D trails compared to 2D methods, with larger crews, more camps, and more vehicles. We focus on consequences to the hilly landscapes, including microtopography, snow, vegetation, hydrology, active layers, and permafrost. Based on studies of 2D‐seismic trails created in 1984–1985 in the same area by similar types of vehicles, under similar regulations, approximately 122 km2 would likely sustain direct medium‐ to high‐level disturbance from the proposed exploration, with possibly expanded impacts through permafrost degradation and hydrological connectivity. Strong winds are common, and snow cover necessary to minimize impacts from vehicles is windblown and inadequate to protect much of the area. Studies of 2D‐seismic impacts have shown that moist vegetation types, which dominate the area, sustain longer‐lasting damage than wet or dry types, and that the heavy vehicles used for mobile camps caused the most damage. The permafrost is ice rich, which combined with the hilly topography, makes it especially susceptible to thermokarst and erosion triggered by winter vehicle traffic. The effects of climate warming will exacerbate the impacts of winter travel due to warmer permafrost and a shift of precipitation from snow to rain. The cumulative impacts of 3D‐seismic traffic in tundra areas need to be better assessed, together with the effects of climate change and the industrial development that would likely follow. Current data needs include studies of the impacts of 3D‐seismic exploration, better climate records for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, especially for wind and snow; and high‐resolution maps of topography, ground ice, hydrology, and vegetation.

Pictures of polar bears: Using visitor employed photography to identify experience indicators in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

The purpose of this research is to apply visitor employed photography (VEP) to recreation management to develop indicators of the wildlife viewing experience. VEP and semi-structured interviews were used at a popular polar bear viewing destination in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (Arctic Refuge). Visitors to the Arctic Refuge who participated in an on-site semi-structured interview were asked to participate in a VEP procedure after their visit. A sample of 24 semi-structured interviews, and 17 VEP responses were collected and compared to test the utility of VEP to develop indicators of the wildlife viewing experience. Results indicate that VEP offers additional and unique types of information from semi-structured interviews for identifying indicators of the wildlife viewing experience. Potential indicators that emerged from VEP include ‘time spent on the water viewing polar bears’, and the ‘number of vessels in view.’ Indicators emerged exclusively from the VEP procedure, demonstrating the utility of VEP for recreation management and scientific inquiry.

On the edge of the world: examining pro-environmental outcomes of last chance tourism in Kaktovik, Alaska

Travel to impact-sensitive destinations has been on the rise in recent years. Coined “last chance tourism” (LCT), visitors are increasingly coming to these destinations to see them before they are gone. To offset their presence, which ultimately contributes to site degradation, a possible positive outcome of these LCT experiences is the creation of environmental ambassadors. Utilizing data collected from 189 visitor surveys, the purpose of this study is to provide a basis for understanding the visitor experience and outcomes of boat-based polar bear viewing in the Kaktovik area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. A typology of visitors was created based on importance of various trip elements, and demographic and trip characteristics were examined by resulting groups. Analyses show that the polar bear viewing experience does have the potential to increase visitors’ pro-environmental and ambassadorship behavioral intentions. Regression analyses revealed, for the sample population, that total minutes educated and the occurrence of an epiphany had a positive impact on visitors’ reported pro-environmental behavior and ambassadorship intentions. Surprisingly, seeing more polar bears was negatively related to these same intentions. Implications for the management of similar experiences are discussed.

Conservation Floors and Degradation Ceilings

U.S. conservation policy, both in structure and in practice, places a heavy burden on conservationists to halt development projects, rather than on advocates of development to defend their proposed actions. In this paper, we identify this structural phenomenon in several landmark environmental policies and in practice in the contemporary debate concerning oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The burdens placed on conservation can be understood in terms of constraints—as conservation ‘floors’ (or minimum standards) and degradation ‘ceilings’ (or upper limits). At base, these floors and ceilings emerge out of underlying consequentialist commitments that assume that our environmental activity can be justified by appeal primarily to ends. A series of intuition pumps guides our argument to instead shift the conservation discourse away from these consequentialist commitments to more widely justify activities on our public lands.

Seismic Survey Design and Effects on Maternal Polar Bear Dens

ABSTRACTLarge‐scale industrial activities can have negative effects on wildlife populations. Some of these effects, however, could be reduced with effective planning prior to development. The Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, in northeastern Alaska, USA, is an important maternal denning area for polar bears (Ursus maritimus). Recent legislation has opened the area for potential oil and gas development. As a result, there is interest in conducting winter seismic surveys across the area that could disturb denning female polar bears and lead to decreased cub survival. We sought to demonstrate how different seismic survey designs, with and without aerial den detection surveys, could affect the level of potential effect on denning polar bears during spring (Feb–Apr). We developed 5 hypothetical seismic survey designs for a portion of the Coastal Plain ranging from no spatial or temporal restrictions on activities to explicit consideration of when and where operations can occur. We evaluated how many dens might be disturbed by seismic surveys and the average distance activity came within simulated polar bear dens. Survey design had a large effect on the estimated number of dens that could be disturbed; the scenario with the highest spatial and temporal specificity reduced the number of dens disturbed by >90% compared to the scenario with no restrictions on when and where activity could occur. The use of an aerial den detection survey prior to seismic activity further reduced the number of dens disturbed by 68% across all scenarios. The scenario with the highest spatial and temporal specificity always had the lowest level of disturbance for all scenarios with and without the aerial survey included. Our study suggests that large reductions in the probability of disturbance can occur through careful planning on the timing and distribution of proposed activities even when surveys are planned in areas with a high density of polar bear dens. Published 2019. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. The Journal of Wildlife Management published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Wildlife Society.

House Passes Measure to Protect Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

The measure, which would repeal an oil and gas development program in the refuge, now needs to pass the Senate, where there is stiff opposition.

Ignoring Indigenous peoples—climate change, oil development, and Indigenous rights clash in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

The politics of climate change are the politics of energy and in turn the politics of Indigenous people’s rights. The clash of these political realms is nowhere more vivid than the north slope of Alaska, where the acute impacts of climate change to the livelihoods of Alaska Indigenous peoples places energy development decision-making in a new light. Considering the elevated exposure and sensitivity to the impacts of climate change, the development of oil and gas resources in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska will exacerbate the acute livelihood challenges already being faced by the Indigenous peoples of this region. The tendency to marginalize the rights of Indigenous peoples in US natural resource development planning, moreover, constitutes a missed opportunity for advancing development decision-making toward more effective socio-ecological planning in the context of climate change. Indigenous communities in the North are uniquely qualified, both as sovereign peoples and as knowledge holders, to enrich government policy and decision-making about development in the context of climate change, constituting strong justification for their involvement in the planning process. This article integrates recently published research with an in-depth in-person interview with the Executive Director of the Gwich’in Steering Committee. We argue that accommodation of the cumulative threats posed by climate change and development to the rights of Indigenous communities in oil development plans for the Coastal Plain area of the ANWR will be essential to protect the livelihoods of these communities and the ecosystems within which they live.