National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska

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The National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska (NPR-A) is an area of land in the North Slope of Alaska owned by the United States Federal Government. It lies to the west of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which is also federally owned land on the North Slope. At a size of 23.5 million acres, it has been described as "the largest tract of undisturbed public land in the United States" (the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is 19 million acres) and includes a point 120 miles from the nearest village or driveable road. Inupiat Eskimos live in several villages around its perimeter.

Syncline ridges in southwestern NPRA

[edit] Ecological importance

The NPR-A is an ecologically important area. It contains Teshekpuk Lake, an important nesting ground for many species of migratory bird, including shorebirds and waterfowl. The NPR-A also supports more than half-a million caribou of the Western Arctic and Teshekpuk Caribou Herds. The Western Arctic Herd calves in the Utukok, Kokolik and Colville uplands, while the Teshekpuk Herd calves in the areas surrounding Teshekpuk Lake. The highest concentration of grizzly bears in Alaska's arctic, as well as wolverines, and wolves prey on the abundant caribou. NPR-A contains the headwaters and much of the Colville River, Alaska's largest river north of the Arctic Circle. The region's geology is unique in Alaska and most of the area was never glaciated.

[edit] History

The NPR-A was created by President Warren G. Harding in 1923 as "Naval Petroleum Reserve Number 4" during a time when the United States was converting its navy to run on oil rather than coal. The area was left as a wilderness until 1999 when Bruce Babbitt, Secretary of the Interior under President Bill Clinton announced a plan to lease 87 percent of the north-eastern section of the area to oil companies. 800,000 acres of the most ecologically sensitive areas, mostly around Teshekpuk, was reserved as a wildlife reserve. In January 2005, the George W. Bush administration decided to eliminate the reservations for the most sensitive areas. This decision has been challenged by lawsuits. On September 7, 2006, the US District Court in Anchorage temporarily suspended the leases of 600,000 acres of wetland around the Teshekpuk Lake area.