On Arctic Ground
Tracking Time Through Alaska's Petroleum Reserve
Debbie Miller
The National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska is the largest tract of public land in the United States. Debbie Miller traveled to the far northwest corner of Alaska to spend four summers documenting the Reserve. Within its 22.8 million acres live caribou and polar bears, raptors and wolves, in a setting virtually untouched by humans and unspoiled by roads. Wildlife photographers and experts in biology and paleontology contributed to this project.
About the Author
A lover of wild places, Debbie Miller has explored and written about Alaska’s wilderness and wildlife for more than four decades. She is the author of Midnight Wilderness: Journeys in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (Braided River, 2011), On Arctic Ground: Tracking Time Through Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve (Braided River, 2012), and numerous award-winning children’s nature books about Alaska. View Debbie’s site to learn more.
Successes
- In 2013, the Department of the Interior finalized a new management plan for the Reserve to protect 11 million acres of special wildlife areas—critical habitat for caribou, migrating birds, and other wildlife.
- Thanks to a grant from the Campion Foundation, Braided River provided 7,000 books at cost to advocacy groups including The Wilderness Society and Sierra Club.
- Following the book’s publications, project contributors presented across the U.S., including at the Department of the Interior.
select media
Alaska author expands wilderness focus in ‘On Arctic Ground,’ Anchorage Daily News, September 28, 2016
“America’s Wildest Place Is Open for Business,” New York Times, 2017
Partners
Photographers
Subhankar Banerjee / Paul Bannick / Gary Braasch / Patrick Endres / Josh Ferris / Richard Kahn / Steven Kazlowski / Hugh Rose / Joel Sartore / Florian Schulz / Dave Shreffler / Gerrit Vyn / Steve N. Zack
Writers & Contributors
Bruce Babbitt / Richard Nelson / Jeff Fair / John R. Horner / Patrick S. Druckenmiller / Rosemary Ahtuangaruak