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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of the Secretary

Contacts:  Stephanie Hanna, 202/208-6416 or Gene Terland, 907/271-3344
For immediate release -- August 6, 1998

Babbitt Presents Biologically Based NPR-A Plan That Balances Protection for Wildlife Habitat with Oil and Gas Development

Click here to view the Northeast National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska Integrated Activity Plan/Environmental Impact Statement

Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt today announced a proposal for managing the 4.6 million acre northeast quadrant of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A). The announcement comes after a comprehensive 18-month planning effort, led by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), that involved several other Department of the Interior agencies, the State of Alaska, and the North Slope Borough.

The plan will prohibit surface disturbance on sensitive wildlife habitat comprising almost one-third of the planning area. At the same time, taking into account the oil and gas industry's ability to reach some reserves through directional drilling, the plan makes 87 percent of the northeast quadrant of NPR-A available for leasing. The 580,000 acre area barred from leasing encompasses a zone of shallow lakes and tundra where thousands of geese molt each year and where the Teshekpuk Lake caribou herd calves in most years. In addition, 900,000 acres would be available for oil and gas leasing, with a prohibition on all surface activity, or would allow only exploratory drilling and essential road and/or pipeline crossings. Special stipulations would protect subsistence hunting and fishing and provide protection for the resource values found in the planning area.

"This is a good plan, based on sound science and a very public outreach process," Secretary Babbitt said. "Will everyone get what they want? No, they won't. We have barred, or limited oil and gas development in the key environmentally sensitive areas around Teshekpuk Lake and the Colville River. At the same time, we will be allowing oil and gas development on almost four million acres. A great deal of hard work went into the planning process and I believe the Department has complied with the law and the intent of Congress when it designated this region a National Petroleum Reserve," he said.

Under the preferred alternative, the BLM will make nearly all of the shallow lakes area north and east of Teshekpuk Lake unavailable for oil and gas leasing. This area is heavily used by geese during molting season. It also includes important calving and insect relief areas for caribou. Similarly, the plan would prohibit permanent oil and gas surface occupancy on Teshekpuk Lake and other locations important for fish and subsistence use. Altogether nearly one-third of the study area will bar surface development of oil and gas.

The plan would also:

• prohibit oil and gas surface facilities around specific rivers and streams important for subsistence or raptors (with exceptions for essential pipelines and road crossings)

• establish procedures so the people of the North Slope would be consulted before activities that may affect them could be conducted

• establish a subsistence advisory panel

• establish an interagency research and monitoring team made up of federal agencies, the State of Alaska, the North Slope Borough and others to coordinate research and monitor the effectiveness of stipulations on surface resources

• develop a new management plan for the Colville River area and its resources

• limit road construction to drilling areas

• establish one-mile facility setbacks (other than pipelines and roads) around cabins and campsites.

BLM will accept comments from individuals or organizations through September 8, 1998. Following the comment period, the plan will become effective with the signing of a Record of Decision. Comments can be sent by mail or electronically to the following address:

Copies of the plan are being mailed to selected libraries throughout Alaska and can be obtained from BLM offices in Alaska and Washington, D. C. An eight-page summary can be obtained from the BLM by calling (907) 271-5960.

"This plan merges the best science, the best technology and a fully open process to produce good management for this area," says BLM Alaska State Director Tom Allen. "We would like to thank all the people who have helped us develop the plan. We have benefited greatly from the many thoughtful comments we have received at public meetings and in writing from hundreds of individuals and organizations," he said.
-DOI-

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