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Stan Senner
907/276-7034
ssenner@audubon.org

ANCHORAGE, AK, August 20, 2007 — The federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) today renewed its attempt to drill for oil in one of the most sensitive and important wildlife habitats in the Arctic, by releasing a draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) presenting alternatives for oil and gas leasing in the northeast National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (Reserve), including near Teshekpuk Lake. In its new SEIS, BLM chose the unusual approach of not presenting a preferred alternative.

"Despite overwhelming opposition from scientists, local communities and the general public, the Bush administration has been trying to lease the Teshekpuk Lake area to the oil industry for years," said Stan Senner, Executive Director of Audubon Alaska. "By not selecting a preferred alternative, it would appear that BLM is trying to hide its true agenda, and this should fool no one. There is no point in undertaking this long and expensive agency process but to expand oil drilling in the Teshekpuk Lake area."

"The government's claims that drilling in this wildlife-rich network of coastal lagoons and deep-water lakes will not harm healthy populations of waterfowl and caribou are not supported by sound science," said Eleanor Huffines, Alaska Regional Director of The Wilderness Society.

The move comes at time when many Republicans and Democrats agree that more drilling in Alaska will not solve our nation's energy and climate change crisis.

"We can drill every last acre of wilderness and it won't make the nation any more secure. We can't drill our way to energy independence. Any oil that might come from the shores of Teshekpuk Lake would be a drop in the bucket compared with simple solutions like renewable energy," said Charles Clusen, Director of the Alaska Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

Right now, much of the land in the Reserve that has oil potential is already available for leasing. In fact, 3.8 million acres have already been leased for oil and gas drilling and are actively being explored.

The Teshekpuk Lake area is the only part of the northeast Reserve that — for now — remains closed to drilling. Four Presidents and their Secretaries of the Interior have recognized the importance of this area and acted to protect it. The area around Teshekpuk Lake provides critical molting habitat for up to one-third of all Brant (a marine goose) in the Pacific Flyway, and the 45,000-head Teshekpuk Lake Caribou Herd bears its calves and seeks relief from insects nearby.

Almost a year ago, the U.S. District Court of Alaska struck down a BLM plan to sell oil and gas leases on more than 400,000 acres around the lake. The judge found that the government's environmental analysis violated federal laws by failing to consider the cumulative environmental impact of widespread oil and gas drilling in the Reserve.

The analysis released today attempts to satisfy the court and allow leasing and drilling to move ahead.

"We will continue to fight this plan for sprawling oil drilling and development in sensitive Teshekpuk Lake-area caribou and bird habitats every step of the way," said Pamela A. Miller, Arctic Coordinator at Northern Alaska Environmental Center in Fairbanks.

"The Teshekpuk Lake area is one of the most important wetlands in the entire Arctic, and there is neither need nor justification to open this one part of the vast Reserve to oil development," said Senner. "There is no new science justifying this decision, and BLM's complicated leasing plan will only result in the fragmentation and degradation of critical wildlife habitats."

Audubon is celebrating its centennial year of protecting birds and other wildlife and the habitat that supports them. Our national network of community-based nature centers and chapters, scientific and educational programs, and advocacy on behalf of areas sustaining important bird populations, engage millions of people of all ages and backgrounds in positive conservation experiences.

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