On July 17, 1987, the United States and the
Canadian government signed the "Agreement on the Conservation of the Porcupine Caribou Herd"
[15] a treaty designed to protect the species from damage to its habitat and migration routes. Canada has special interest in the region because its
Ivvavik National Park and
Vuntut National Park borders the refuge. The treaty required an impact assessment and required that where activity in one country is "likely to cause significant long-term adverse impact on the Porcupine Caribou Herd or its habitat, the other Party will be notified and given an opportunity to consult prior to final decision".
[15] This focus on the Porcupine caribou led to the animal becoming a visual rhetoric or symbol of the drilling issue much in the same way the polar bear has become the image of global warming.
[16]
In March 1989, a bill permitting drilling in the reserve was "sailing through the Senate and had been expected to come up for a vote"
[17] when the
Exxon Valdez oil spill delayed and ultimately derailed the process.
[18]
