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Issues & Action
Action Alerts!
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© Gerrit Vyn, The Macaulay Library of the Cornell Lab or Ornithology
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TESHEKPUK LAKE IS AT RISK!
The federal Bureau of Land Management (or BLM) is looking to open additional lands in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska for oil and gas development, and Teshekpuk Lake is at stake.
Teshekpuk Lake is in the Northeast section of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (or NPR-A for short), and it is one of the most important wetlands in the Arctic, providing habitat for tens of thousands of molting geese, threatened species like the Spectacled Eider, and the 45,000-head Teshekpuk Lake Caribou Herd.
Teshekpuk Lake is too precious to sacrifice when 87 percent of the Northeast NPR-A is open for leasing and nearly 1.5 million acres are already leased and actively explored. Audubon does not oppose petroleum development in much of NPR-A, so long as the most important wildlife habitats—like the areas north and east of Teshekpuk Lake—are protected.
More than 125,000 Audubon members, scientists, Alaska Natives, hunters, and conservationists across the country urged the BLM this fall to spare Teshekpuk Lake from oil and gas leasing. Although the official public comment period is over, we need to tell the BLM and our Congressional leaders - again and again - to protect this unique place.
Write to Congress and the Secretary of the Interior
Background
What Makes Teshekpuk Lake So Special?
Ways to Help
Learn More
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Background
The NPR-A is located on the North Slope of Alaska’s western Arctic. At 23.5 million acres in size, it is our nation's single largest block of public land. Since 1976, the Department of the Interior has managed NPR-A "to meet the energy needs of the Nation," while providing "maximum protection" for fish and wildlife, as mandated by Congress.
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Teshekpuk Lake, © Steve Zack, Wildlife Conservation Society
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The NPR-A has been explored for its oil and gas potential for decades, but a small part of the Northeast Planning Area around Teshekpuk Lake has always been protected because of its extraordinary importance to wildlife. Secretaries of the Interior from Cecil Andrus under President Carter to James Watt under President Reagan to Bruce Babbitt under President Clinton have recognized the necessity of balancing development and conservation in NPR-A and prohibited oil and gas leasing in this most critical habitat.
But in January 2006, under President Bush, the BLM reversed this history of protection, opening 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.
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What makes Teshekpuk Lake so Special?
For starters, geese and caribou. Lots of them.
The area around the lake is the primary annual calving ground for the Teshekpuk Lake Caribou Herd, an estimated 45,000 animals. The herd is a key subsistence resource for Alaska Natives on the North Slope. Thousands of caribou converge near Teshekpuk Lake each May and June, seeking calving grounds with few predators, low levels of disturbance, and abundant, high-quality forage. After calving, the caribou typically move to the coast north of the lake, looking for relief from insects.
The Teshekpuk Lake area is also one of the most important goose molting habitats in the circumpolar Arctic. When geese molt, they replace old, worn flight feathers, becoming flightless and vulnerable to predators and human disturbance. The areas north and east of Teshekpuk Lake provides ideal conditions for molting geese: a remote location that’s free of development, large lakes where flightless birds can escape from predators, and tender sedges to fuel their high energy demands. It is no accident that geese gather annually near Teshekpuk Lake by the tens of thousands; as many as 35,000 Greater White-fronted Geese and 37,000 Brant molt at Teshekpuk Lake, plus thousands of Canada and Snow Geese.
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Spectacled Eiders, © Milo Burcham
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The geese are not alone. More than a dozen Alaska WatchList species nest, molt, or stop near Teshekpuk Lake during migration, including threatened Spectacled Eiders, Long-tailed Ducks, King Eiders, Red-throated Loons, Dunlins, and Buff-breasted Sandpipers. Of special concern is the Yellow-billed Loon, which nests on deep, fish-bearing lakes in the area and is under consideration for listing under the Endangered Species Act.
The birds summering around Teshekpuk Lake have international connections. For example, Brant spend their winters in Mexico, Greater White-fronted Geese in Texas, Tundra Swans in North Carolina, Buff-breasted Sandpipers in Argentina, Bar-tailed Godwits in New Zealand, and Yellow Wagtails in Asia.
Teshekpuk Lake may no longer be safe haven for caribou and waterfowl. In response to the September 2006 court decision, the BLM has released a draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) on the impacts of oil and gas leasing and development in Northeast NPR-A. Alternative A, the so-called No Action Alternative, is the only alternative that would protect all land north and east of Teshekpuk from leasing. The SEIS does not offer a specific "preferred alternative" for future activity, but BLM makes it clear that the purpose of the process is "to address the Nation's need for production of more oil and gas through additional leasing in the northeast portion of NPR-A." The threat is that the Bush Administration will open the critical area north and east of Teshekpuk Lake area to leasing and hold a lease sale as early as Summer 2008.
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Ways to Help
It's not too late to raise your voice! Write an email to your Congressmen/women and to the Secretary of the Interior, and tell them why our nation should permanently protect Teshekpuk Lake for generations to come.
Donate now to Audubon Alaska to help us protect Teshekpuk Lake, promote a balance to oil and gas development in the Western Arctic, and conserve important bird and wildlife habitats across Alaska.
Join the Audubon Action Alert Network to receive periodic email alerts on urgent issues for Teshekpuk Lake, NPR-A, Alaska, and the nation. Click here to sign up or click here for more information.
Still motivated? Write to your newspaper editor about why the BLM should balance oil and gas development on the North Slope with conservation of important wetlands and wildlife hot spots.
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Learn More
Oil or Birds? We don’t have to choose! Listen to Stan Senner, Audubon Alaska’s Executive Director, talk about Teshekpuk Lake on Living on Earth, a nationally syndicated radio show.
Birds of the North Slope: Listen to recordings of Red-throated Loons, Semipalmated Sandpipers, and Yellow-Billed Loons with Cornell biologist Gerrit Vyn.
Fall of the Wild: Read about Alaska’s North Slope in National Geographic Magazine, and check out their interactive map and Sights and Sounds online feature.
The Ducks of Teshekpuk Lake: Check out the slideshow of Teshekpuk waterfowl on Field and Stream’s website, and sign a petition at the end of the show.
Read the Audubon NPR-A and Teshekpuk Lake Canon:
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Caribou, © Gary Braasch
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