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The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR or the Refuge) has been at the core of the conservation-development debate in the U.S. for over fifty years. The Refuge case epitomizes how policies shape territories governed by overlapping federal, congress, local, and Indigenous regimes. For instance, between 2017 and 2023, the Refuge was opened and closed to hydrocarbon development by two U.S. Presidents. ANWR is among the largest environmental refuges in the U.S. with oil reserve between 4.3 and 11.8 million barrels. Our analysis of U.S. policies about the ANWR shows the contestation between pro-environment and pro-oil development at the federal and state levels. Federal policies of Republican and Democrat administrations align with pro-drilling and pro-environment positions, respectively. Alaskan policymakers are pro-drilling, which puts them at odds with pro-environment legislators from Democratic states. Tensions between Alaska and the Federal government are about control and distribution of the oil revenue. Further, Indigenous peoples are on different sides as well. Traditional Gwich’in oppose development because it threatens their way of life. Iñupiat favor oil development because oil revenue has supported their modernized lifestyle. The fate of the ANWR will shape what happens with protected areas in the U.S. and with species across national boundaries. 

The global implications of a rapidly diminishing Cryosphere urge a human-centered framework to address the sustainability and equity concerns arising from impacts of cryospheric change and economic development. This more inclusive paradigm would enable research and policy approaches premised on causalities, historical injustices, and needs for enhancing the resilience of and for indigenous peoples and smallholders. This framework will need to reconsider what human dimensions can be added to current biophysical monitoring, including evaluations of infrastructure, land and marine resources, institutions, and policies. It should facilitate the sharing of data and lived experiences of people affected by and interacting with social-ecological systems with less sea ice, glaciers, and snow cover.