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hemisphere winter. Another example is the
Alaskan bar-tailed godwit ( Limosa lapponica
baueri ), which l ies an astonishing 11,000-km,
non-stop journey between the Alaskan Arctic
and New Zealand (Hedenström 2010).
Over the years, studies have tracked natural
l uctuations within caribou populations across
the Arctic (Douglas, Reynolds and Rhode 2002).
Recent counts suggest declines across the cir-
cumpolar region, including within the Porcu-
pine and Western Arctic caribou herds of
northern coastal Alaska. These declines have
been attributed to climate-induced changes to
plant and insect phenology and anthropogenic
inl uences (Vors and Boyce 2009). The caribou
are a particularly important cultural symbol and
socio-economic contributor to many indigenous
communities including the Gwich'in, Yup'ik and
Iñupiat in northern Alaska and Canada, as well
as the Saami in Fennoscandia, among others.
Their persistent decline would undoubtedly
inl uence the ability of dependent indigenous
communities to sustain long-standing cultural
traditions and their economic livelihoods.
Since the production of oil from Prudhoe Bay
began in the 1970s, Alaska's North Slope has
seen signii cant development from oil explora-
tion, production and transportation. Develop-
ment has spread outward from Deadhorse/
Prudhoe Bay and included offshore drilling as
well. While stricter environmental regulation
and improved drilling, extraction and transpor-
tation technology have helped to reduce the
footprint of oil production across the North
Slope, the fragility of this ecosystem and
its vulnerability to change require special atten-
tion and careful decision making. Four major
entities are responsible for land management
and resource stewardship in the region. These
include the Bureau of Land Management, State
of Alaska, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and
Native lands, which collectively manage approx-
imately 96% of the land area (Martin et al. 2009).
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the east-
ernmost part of the North Slope is the country's
largest and most northerly refuge managed by
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (see Fig. 17-
28). The refuge covers approximately 75,000 km 2 ,
almost the size of the state of South Carolina.
Figure 17-29. Sketch of musk ox ( Ovibos moschatus )
by P.S. Foresman. Obtained from Wikimedia Commons
<
http://commons.wikimedia.org/
>
March 2011.
span of a few weeks after spring thaws begin.
Sedges, mosses, dwarf shrubs and tussock sedge
dominate the low coastal and lacustrine land-
scape. Depending on standing water depth,
sedge marsh, such as Carex aquatilis (water
sedge) and Eriophorum angustifolium (tall cot-
tongrass), along with forbs and mosses are
common (Martin et al. 2009). Sedge and dwarf
shrub groupings are more common on higher
terrain toward the interior. The Arctic Coastal
Plain is perhaps best known for its abundant
bird life and large mammals, such as the rein-
deer or caribou ( Rangifer tarandus ), polar bear
(see Fig. 7-39), Arctic fox ( Alopex lagopus ), and
musk ox (Fig. 17-29). Recent surveys, however,
suggest declines in the musk ox population to
just over 200 individuals across the region
(USFWS 2009b).
With the exception of a few species, like the
rock ptarmigan and snowy owl, most of the
Arctic Coastal Plain's 200-plus bird species com-
prise migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, terns and
loons and use this region from May through
September for nesting and breeding (U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service 2010d). Some of the more
remarkable birds include the Arctic tern ( Sterna
paradisaea ), which undertakes the longest
annual bird migration recorded. It covers a dis-
tance of about 40,000 km in a round trip between
its summer breeding grounds in the Arctic and
Antarctica where it l ies to escape the northern
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