Leadership for protecting important public lands in Alaska’s Western Arctic
The Conservation Lands Foundation worked hard to ensure that the Obama administration moved forward with the strongest management plan possible for the 23-million acre National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska—the largest contiguous piece of public land in the U.S. On December 19, 2012, Secretary Salazar announced the final plan for the National Petroleum Reserve and it was a strong conservation plan.
The balanced approach protects roughly 11 million acres of the Reserve as “Special Areas,” of high ecological and subsistence values off limits to oil and gas drilling. These areas include the Utukok River Uplands, Teshekpuk Lake, the Colville River, Peard Bay and Kasegaluk Lagoon. The final plan was a great step forward in the effort to find a balanced approach toward conservation and oil and gas in Alaska’s North Slope.
