America's Arctic is under threat, you can take action to protect it
Experience a place worth protecting.
SEE IT IN IMAX® AND GIANT SCREEN THEATERS
Imagine a vast, wild, and magical place in the far north of Alaska where one of earth’s greatest natural spectacles unfolds.
Discover a land that has evolved intact and untamed since the beginning of time, a world few have truly seen until now. For the first time on the giant screen, join National Geographic photographer Florian Schulz to experience this special place worth protecting. Find a theater near you!
The 42+ million acres of America's Arctic are full of life and history. The land is home to polar bears, caribou, and migrating birds from all 50 states. It supports indigenous cultures and has global ecological importance. This public land needs our protection.
Protect The Arctic is a global multimedia campaign to amplify and protect America’s Arctic. Conservation of polar regions is essential to meeting America’s climate agenda and to our cultural and ecological heritage.
In January 2021, Protect The Arctic, alongside a diverse coalition of environmental advocates, Indigenous partners, brands, and influencers, helped mount a record-breaking response to a government comment period on oil and gas exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Americans and advocates from around the world spoke up for nature, submitting 6.5 million comments to the BLM and US Fish and Wildlife Service.
We will continue to work to elevate America’s Arctic and connect audiences to timely actions to help safeguard one of our most spectacular and important natural places.
THE THREAT
America's Arctic is at risk from rapid climate change and ongoing efforts to open the region to extractive energy development, threatening wildlife, Indigenous cultures, and the stability of our global climate.
Despite America's ambitious climate goals, and broad support for protecting the Arctic, energy companies continue to push for expanding antiquated, environmentally harmful energy infrastructure, putting humans and wildlife at unnecessary risk.
Wildlife
In the far north of Alaska is one of the most pristine places on Earth - a global hotspot for wildlife, wetlands, and ocean species.
The American Arctic is home to hundreds of species of plants, birds, mammals, and fish. While the rivers and ice fields of the Arctic may seem remote, they have a direct connection to every American through the travels of migratory birds, whales, and caribou. Iconic species like polar bears, wolves, muskoxen, and grizzlies depend upon the mountains and tundra of America's Arctic.
Indigenous Peoples
In the Gwich’in creation story, Gwich’in and caribou began as one. After separating into two beings, they remained relatives and made an agreement to protect and provide for each other.
The Gwich’in and Iñupiat peoples of the Arctic have lived in the remote region of the Arctic Refuge for countless generations. They protect and celebrate the land, wildlife, and history of this landscape. They are important members of global society, and speak out for the protection of the land.
Environmental Importance
Arctic biomes are some of the most fragile on Earth, warming four times faster than other parts of the planet. However, they play a critical role in maintaining global stability.
America's Arctic plays a vital role in planetary systems which impact us all - from ocean currents to agricultural seasons, and from global temperatures to complex food webs spanning continents. The environmental importance of America's Arctic extends far beyond northern Alaska. Protecting our northernmost landscapes is vital to our economy, national security, and long term stability.
History
Indigenous cultures have existed on this landscape for tens of thousands of years. In the last 60 years, both Democratic and Republican Presidents have taken steps to protect its wildlife, wilderness, and history.
Protecting the American Arctic has been a bipartisan effort for decades. However, the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and America's Western Arctic and NPR-A, remain unprotected. Efforts to expand extractive energy development in America's Arctic have gained traction under recent administrations. Protect The Arctic, and our coalition of partners, continue to support permanent protection of the Arctic and a modernized, reimagined national energy policy that does not put vital ecosystems at risk.
our last great
wilderness
