WASHINGTON – Interior Secretary Gale Norton signed off on a plan Thursday for managing 8.8 million acres of Alaska’s North Slope and opening most of the acreage to oil and gas development
Some of the drilling could occur in areas important for migratory birds, whales and wildlife.
The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management will use the plan to manage a northwest portion of the government’s 23.5 million-acre National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. Geologists believe the reserve may contain 6 billion to 13 billion barrels of oil.
It is located just west of the 1.5 million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which President Bush also wants to open to drilling as one of his top energy priorities. The Senate, in debating a massive energy bill, has rejected drilling there.
Environmentalists said the management plan threatens the health of Arctic tundra, ponds and lakes that are home to wildlife and migratory birds and provide a vital subsistence hunting and fishing ground for native Alaskans.
The plan makes 7.23 million acres available for energy leasing, but will defer leasing the other 1.57 million acres for a decade to see if more environmental studies are needed, Interior Department officials said.
The Interior Department proposed the management plan in January 2003. With few changes, the plan includes creation of a 102,000-acre Kasegaluk Lagoon Special Area fenced off from leasing. It is considered particularly sensitive, as it is home to beluga whales, spotted seals and the black brandt, a migratory wild goose.
Environmentalists said the management plan rewards Bush administration friends in the oil and gas industry.
”This decision certainly gives big oil and gas plenty to be thankful for,” said Eleanor Huffines, regional director in Alaska for The Wilderness Society.