Today Is the 57th Anniversary of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
The Arctic coastal plain hosts a staggering amount of wildlife, but less than two percent of this vital habitat is currently protected.
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Transcript:
Gerrit Vyn interviewed, by Chris Peterson
This is BirdNote!
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a place where wildlife photographer and sound recordist, Gerrit Vyn, has spent a lot of time鈥 Let鈥檚 hear what he has to say about the wetlands there:
GV: 鈥淭here鈥檚 one habitat in Alaska that鈥檚 probably most important for the widest number of species and the most number of birds as individuals in the entire state, and it鈥檚 the Arctic coastal plain鈥 and ironically, that鈥檚 the one habitat type that has the least protection in the entire state. Less than 2% of the entire Arctic coastal plain鈥s protected.鈥
GV: 鈥淚n early June millions of birds arrive there, from all over the world to breed, all these different kinds of ducks, shorebirds鈥 which are sandpipers, plovers, and other types of wading birds -- all these birds go up there and they鈥檙e feeding on this explosion of insect life that happens in the brief spring and it鈥檚 also a place that鈥檚 very safe for them to nest because there鈥檚 relatively few predators 鈥 so they鈥檙e going to this place because it鈥檚 safe and there鈥檚 lots of food, and trying to quickly breed and then move on again, across the globe...to where they spend the rest of the year.鈥
From the American Birding Association to the U.S. Sportsmen鈥檚 Alliance, from the 爆料公社 to the National Rifle Association, groups are joining together in support of funding to maintain wildlife refuges. Learn how you, too, can help. Begin at our website, BirdNote.org.
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Credits:
Narrator: Mary McCann
Songs and calls of the birds at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, recorded by M.J. Anderson and Gerrit Vyn
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson
漏 2012 Tune In to Nature.org December 2017
ID# SotB-ANWR-01-2010-12-06 SOTB-ANWR-01