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Teshekpuk Lake
Audubon Helps Save Ecological Jewel in Alaska from Oil Drilling
Teshekpuk Lake in northern Alaska is a fragile wilderness that is home to an incredibly diverse variety of migratory shorebirds, waterfowl and wildlife. Part of the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska, or NPR-A, the vast network of wetlands surrounding Teshekpuk Lake has been recognized since 1977 by Congress and by three prior Interior Secretaries as a 'special area' for its importance to wildlife. In 2006, the Bush administration attempted to open the area to oil drilling that would have devastated the region but was thwarted by a concerted campaign by conservationists and sportsmen that included a legal challenge brought by Audubon and other groups. Today, Teshekpuk Lake is once again safe.
This remote area has deep-water lakes that offer high quality forage and refuge for flightless geese to escape predators. These attributes attract up to 37,000 Pacific Black Brant and 35,000 Greater White-fronted Geese, as well as thousands of Canada and snow geese, for their annual molt. In addition, the 45,000 head Teshekpuk Lake Caribou Herd returns to this habitat each year to bear its calves. Inupiat Natives, who have lived in this region for thousands of years, depend on the caribou as a food source.
How Teshekpuk Was Saved
In January 2006, the Bureau of Land Management reversed its history of protecting the area and opened every single acre of the Teshekpuk area to petroleum leasing. This decision ignored more than 200,000 public comments, expert opinions from biologists and wildlife managers, objections from many Alaska Natives on the North Slope, and the wisdom of four US Presidents. Only an 11th hour federal district court ruling-the result of a suit brought by Audubon and other conservation groups-halted the lease sale in September 2006, days before the scheduled sale. The court ruled that BLM failed to consider the cumulative environmental impacts of development in NPR-A. In August 2007, the BLM released a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in an attempt to satisfy the court and allow oil drilling development to move ahead. The draft drew widespread criticism in public comments on the proposal. By May 2008, the Administration had relented and issued a revised EIS that deferred any oil leasing in the area for 10 years.
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