At 23 million acres, Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve (Reserve) is the largest single unit of public land in the United States with spectacular opportunities for recreational river runners to explore this wilderness landscape. Flowing through the Reserve, the Colville River drains a remote region north of the Brooks Range. River travelers can float more than 300 miles of river, one of North America's longest arctic river trips.
The Reserve was originally established in 1923 by President Harding when the navy was converting its fleet to run on oil instead of coal. In 1976 Congress transferred ownership to the Department of Interior and directed the Secretary to manage this expansive landscape for resource extraction and the protection of the Reserve’s special environmental values.. While areas within the Reserve have been opened for oil and gas leasing, much of the landscape remains largely undeveloped.
Last month, Secretary Salazar signed a Record of Decision for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska Integrated Activity Plan. This first ever-comprehensive management plan for the Reserve establishes an important balance between resource extraction and the need for protection of natural resources.
Among the protections for rivers, the plan commits the BLM to protect the free flow, water quality, and outstandingly remarkable values of the rivers and river segments identified as eligible for wild and scenic designation. As stated in the Decision, "this plan decision does not recommend these rivers for Wild and Scenic River designation, but by committing the BLM to protect the rivers, it preserves Congress’s option to pursue Wild and Scenic River designation in the future."
Rivers identified for protection include the upper watersheds of the Colville and Utukok Rivers that includes the following: Awuna River, Carbon Creek, Colville (headwaters downstream in which the river and both banks are within the Reserve), Driftwater Creek, Etivluk (downstream from confluence with Nigu), Ipnavik, Kiligwa, Kokolik (within the Reserve), Kuna, Nigu (within the Reserve), Nuka, and Utukok (within the Reserve).
In addition, the Decision includes management language to minimize the direct loss of arctic peregrine falcon nesting habitat and to protect nest sites in the Colville River Special Area. It modifies the Colville River Management Plan by widening the setback to two miles. Other rivers within the Reserve are recognized as biologically sensitive areas with limitations on facility development within the river corridor.
While the plan stops short of a formal recommendation for Wild and Scenic designation, the Decision makes it clear that the BLM must maintain a commitment to protection of the rivers that flow through this incredible landscape. The benefits of this action will be enjoyed by those who journey to this globally significant landscape to paddle the rivers as well as those who call it home and depend on the natural resources of the river corridor for subsistence. We are pleased with Secretary Salazar's decision to balance resource extraction with resource protection.
Photo from the Kokolik River courtesy of Nick Jans