National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska
Due to the proximity of Inuit communities, drilling on the NPRA has sparked controversy revolving around the economic, ecological, and cultural importance of the land.
The highest concentration of grizzly bears in Alaska's Arctic, as well as wolverines, and wolves prey on the abundant caribou.
[5] The NPRA was created by President Warren G. Harding in 1923 as Naval Petroleum Reserve Number 4 during a time when the United States was converting its Navy to run on oil rather than coal.
[2] The NPRPA also contains provisions that apply to any exploration or production activities within areas "designated by the Secretary of the Interior containing any significant subsistence, recreational, fish and wildlife, or historical or scenic value".
[12]: 5–6 Based on this authority, the Secretary in 1977 designated three Special Areas within the NPRA in which all activities were to "be conducted in a manner which will assure the maximum protection of such surface values to the extent consistent with the requirements of this Act for the exploration of the reserve."
The Utukok River Uplands Special Area was created to protect critical habitat for caribou of the Western Arctic Herd.
The Secretary of the Interior enlarged the Teshekpuk Lake and Colville River Special Areas in the Northeast NPRA Record of Decision of 1998.
[12] Between 1944 and 1981, the US government drilled and then abandoned about 137 wells in the reserve as part of an exploratory oil and gas program in order to obtain estimates and locations of reservoirs.
[3] On March 13, 2023 the Biden Administration approved the Willow Project, allowing leases for oil company ConocoPhillips to drill on the NPR-A.
[9] Willow Project development will include the construction of a gravel mine, hundreds of miles of roads, pipelines, and a facility for processing the oil.
[9] Due to the disruption to the North Slope environment, it has incited a legal battle from environmental groups opposing drilling.
[9] Local communities including the Utqiagvik have faced impacts from petroleum spills such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination.
[23] Nuiqsut mayor Rosemary Ahtuangaruak expresses concern with oil extraction in the North Slope and how “communities in the Arctic are left to contend with the health impacts of pollution as well as the devastation that comes from dramatic changes to the land like sea ice melt, permafrost thaw, and coastal erosion.”[22] Drilling has also sparked controversy from environmental groups due to its ecological impacts.
