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A Case Study
Welcome. Now
is your chance to take a look at wilderness through the eyes of the many
different peoples who live or work in and around Gates of the Arctic National
Park in Northern Alaska. The Park, just inside the Arctic Circle, contains
7,524,000 acres and more than 7,200,000 of these have Wilderness status.
Bruce Collins, former Chief Ranger for
Gates of the Arctic National Park, said:
"The very unique characteristic
of Gates is its vastness. It doesn't have the highest peak, the biggest
glacier, the deepest lake or anything like that. It doesn't have particularly
high concentrations of wildlife or waterfowl or fish. But, it's got one of the
most unique wilderness areas left in Alaska....You really can indeed get away
from it all in Gates. You can go for days without seeing any real, current,
significant sign of man."
This seems to be the perfect spot to see
how different cultures value wilderness. Far from "untouched," this
"wilderness" has been home to humans for at least the last 12,000
years.
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