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                                              NORTH SLOPE BOROUGH
                                                  P. 0. Box 69
                                                Barrow, Alaska 99723
                                               Phone: (907) 852-2611

                                    MAYOR               Eben Hopson, Sr.

                                    ASSEMBLY            Jacob Adams, President
                                                        Lennie Lane, Jr.
                                                        Edward Hopson, Sr.
                                                        Nelson Ahvakana
                                                        Joseph Akpik
                                                        Arnold Brower, Sr.
                                                        Alice Solomon'

                                    PLANNING COMMISSION Billy Nashoalook
                                                        Riley Morry
                                                        Amos Lane
                                                        Warren Matumeak
                                                        Annie Brower

                                    PLANNING DIRECTOR   Herb Bartel

                                               ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

                                    The time and information contributed to this report by many
                                    individuals, industries and government agencies are gratefully
                                    acknowledged.

                                    The cover photographs are courtesy of Sohio-BP Alaska.

                                                            US Department of Commerce
                                                      NOAA Cca--taJ Services Center Library
                                                             2234 South klGbson Avenue
                 COASTAL ZONE                                Charleston, SC 29405-2413
                 WORMATiON CENVO

                                                           NORTH SLOPE BOROUGH

                                           COASTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

                                                        PRUDHOE BAY AREA

                                                                  prepared for the

                                                    N 0 R T H      SLOPE BOROUGH

                                                                          by

                                                ALASKA CONSULTANTS, INC.

                                                                    JUNE 1978

                                        The preparation of this report was financed in part by funds from the
                                        Alaska Coastal Management Program and the Office of Coastal Zone
                                        Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U. S.
                                        Department of Commerce, administered by the Division of Commuity
                                        Planning, Department of Community and Regional Affairs.

                                               TABLE OF CONTENTS                                                   B.     LOCAL PLANS AND ORDINANCES                    ......  35
                                                                                              Page                        1.      North Slope Borough Land Use Plans         .  .35
                           1.      INTRODUCTION           ..........................              1                       2.      Zoning Ordinance      .................       35
                                   A.     ALASKA COASTAL MANAGEMENT                                                       3.      Subdivision Regulations      ............     36
                                          PROGRAM        ...........................              1                       4.      Building Codes     ...................        36
                                   B.     NORTH SLOPE BOROUGH COASTAL                                                     S.      Flood Hazard Ordinance        ...........     36
                                          MANAGEMENTPROGRAM                  .............        1                       6.      Capital Improvements Program          ......  37
                                   C.     PRUDHOE BAY AREACOASTAL                                                  C.     COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS                  ..........    37
                                          MANAGEMENTPROGRAM                  .............        4                       1.      Cooperative Management Agreement            ..37
                                                                                                                          2.      Coordinated Permit and Project
                           11.     BOUNDARIES         .............................               5                               Review Procedure      .................       38
                                                                                                                   D.     LAND OWNERSHIP             ...................        38
                           111.    ASSESSMENT OF PLANNING ACTIVITIES                                               E.     I NDUSTRY/130 ROUGH COOPERATION                    ... 38
                                   AND NEEDS         ..............................               9                F.     BOROUGH COMMENT AND
                                                                                                                          CONSULTATION             ....................         39

                           1 V.    COASTAL MANAGEMENT ISSUES                   ............     13

                           V.      CLASSIFICATION OF LANDS AND WATERS                       ... 17         VI 11.  PRUDHOE BAY COASTAL AREA INVENTORY .41
                                   A.     CONSERVATION AREAS                ..............      17                 A.     CLIMATE        ...........................            41
                                   B.     SEASONAL CONSERVATION AREAS                     ....  19                        1.      Temperature     .....................         41
                                   C.     AREAS WHICH MERIT SPECIAL                                                       2.      Wind   ...........................            41
                                          ATTENTION          .........................          20                        3.      Precipitation   .....................         41
                                   D.     SENSITIVE HABITAT             .................       20                 B.     PHYSICAL SETTING             ..................       42
                                   E.     ZONE OF PREFERRED DEVELOPMENT                       ..21                        1.      Geomorphology and Stratigraphy           .... 42
                                                                                                                          2.      Soils  ...........................            42
                           VI.     OB)ECTIVES, POLICIES AND STANDARDS                     ....  23                        3.      Permafrost    ......................          42
                                   A.     BACKGROUND           .......................          23                        4.      Surface Water     ....................        45
                                   B.     OBJECTIVES        .........................           25                        5.      Coastal Erosion and Relief      ..........    46
                                   C.     POLICIES       ...........................            25                        6.      Waves, Currents and Tides       ..........    48
                                          1 .     Siting of Major Public and Private                                      7.      ice   ............................            48
                                                  Facilities  ............                      26                 C.     VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE                 ..........    51
                                          2.      Management of Valuable Commercial,                                      I .     Vegetation    ......................          51
                                                  Recreation, and Subsistence Resources         27                        2.      Wildlife  .........................           53
                                          3.      Intergovernmental Coordination . . . . . 30                                     a.     Fish   ......................          53
                                   D.     STANDARDS           ........................          32                                b.     Land Mammals        .... * * ' * * ' * * * *54
                                                                                                                                  C.     Furbearers and Small Game          .... 56
                           VII. IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES                      ............     33                                d.     Marine Mammals         ............    57
                                   A.     FEDERAL AND STATE CONSISTENCY                                                           e.     Birds  ......................          59
                                          WITH LOCAL PLANS AND ORDINANCES .33                                      D.     PETROLEUM RESOURCES                 .............     61

                            E.      RECREATION AND CULTURAL                                                               b.      Pt. Thomson and Flaxman Island . .102
                                    RESOURCES        .........................            64                              C.      Additional State Acreage       ........   103
                                    1 .     Cultural Significance    ..............       64                       3.     Pipelines   ..........................            103
                                    2.      Recreation Resources     ..............       66                              a.      Natural Gas Pipeline     ............     103
                                    3.      Scenic Resources     .................        67                              b.      National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska
                            F.      POPULATION AND ECONOMY                 ..........     71                                      Pipeline    .....................         104
                                    1.      Past Population Trends     .............      71                              C.      Arctic National Wildlife    Range
                                    2.      Population Composition      ............      72                                      Pipeline    .....................         104
                                    3.      Employment Composition         ..........     73                       4.     Subsistence    ........................           104
                                    4.      Unemployment and Seasonality of                                        5.     Recreation and Tourism       ..............       105
                                            Employment      ....................          74               B.      LAND CAPAB I LITY          .....................         105
                                    5.      Recent Trends and Changes        .........    74                       1 .    Land Availability     ...................         105
                                    6.      Income Levels     ...................         75                       2.     Waterfront Access       ..................        105
                            G.      LAND USE AND PUBLIC FACILITIES                                                 3.     Development Resources        ..............       107
                                    AND SERVICES         ......................           80                              a.      Water   .......................           107
                                    1 .     General Land Use Patterns      ..........     80                              b.      Gravel   .......................          107
                                    2.      Facilities and Services  ..............       81                       4.     Availability of Oil and Gas
                                            a.    Public Safety     ...............       84                              Transportation Facilities      .............      108
                                            b.    Health    ....................          85                              a.      Trans-Alaska Pipeline Capacity      ....  108
                                            C.    Recreation     .................        86                              b.      Trans-Alaska Pipeline Availability .      .109
                                            d.    Communications        ............      86                       5.     Fish and Wildlife Resources       ...........     109
                                            e.    Transportation     ..............       86                       6.     Recreation and Tourism       Resources     .....  109
                                            f.    Utilities  ...................          88               C.      POTENTIAL IMPACTS            ...................         log
                                                                                                                   1.     Consumption of Habitat       ..............       109
                    1 X.    USE POTENTIALS, CONSTRAINTS                                                                   a.      Population    ...................         109
                            AND CONFLICTS          ......................                 91                              b.      Pipelines   .....................         110
                            A.      OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT                ........       91                              C.      Facilities  .....................         110
                            B.      RECREATION AND TOURISM                 ..........     94                       2.     Disruption of the Environment and
                            C.      MINING     .............................              96                              Environmental Pollution        .............      III
                            D.      FISH AND WILDLIFE          ..................         97                              a.      Construction     .................        fl]
                                                                                                                          b.      Water Usage     ..................        III
                    X.      FORECAST OF DEMANDS,                                                                          C.      Gravel Usage    ..................        I]]
                            CAPABILITIES AND IMPACTS               ...............        99                              d.      Noise   .......................           112
                            A.      DEMANDS       ...........................             99                              e.      Obstacles to Migration     ..........     112
                                    1.      Offshore Exploration and Development]00                                3.     Competition for Fish and Wildlife
                                            a.    Prudhoe Bay-Large      ...........      100                             Resources    .........................            113
                                            b.    Canning-Camden       ............       101
                                    2.      Onshore Exploration and    Development 102
                                            a.    Kuparuk River     ..............        102       BIBLIOGRAPHY                                                            114

                                                                                                                                                                            iii

                                                     TABLES                                       Figure 13     Prudhoe Bay Unit Area     .................      82
                                                                                      Page        Figure 14     Deadhorse Airport Land Use     .............     83
                          Table I   Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment                    Figure 15     Land Tenure   .........................         106
                                    Distribution, Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse Area,
                                    July 1977   ..............................          76
                          Table 2   Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment
                                    Distribution, Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse Area, 1976 76
                          Table 3   Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment
                                    Distribution, North Slope Borough, 1976       ..... 77
                          Table 4   Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment
                                    Distribution, Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse Area
                                    and State of Alaska, 1976-1977       ............   77
                          Table 5   Average Monthly Wage, Alaska Census
                                    Divisions, 1976   ..........................        78
                          Table 6   Average Monthly Wage by Industry Sector,
                                    Barrow-North Slope Division, 1975-1977       ...... 79

                                                 ILLUSTRATIONS

                                                                                      Page

                          Figure   I   North Slope Borough Coastal Management
                                       Phases   ..............................            2
                          Figure   2   Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area     ...............       7
                          Figure   3   Classification of Coastal Lands and  Waters  ... 18
                          Figure   4   Surficial Geology   ......................       43
                          Figure   5   Soils  ................................          44
                          Figure   6   Coastal Classification  ...................      47
                          Figure   7   Coastal Relief and Currents   ..............     49
                          Figure   8   Coastal Fast Ice   .......................       50
                          Figure   9   Biologically Sensitive Areas  ..............     55
                          Figure 10    Oil and Gas Leases    .....................      63
                          Figure I I   Sites of Historic and Subsistence Importance . 65
                          Figure 12    Areas of Scenic Importance    ..............     69

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                                                                                                                                                     Introduction

                                         1. INTRODUCTION                                       (OCM) recognized the need for local participation and an
                                                                                               expanded local role in the coastal management planning
                    In recent years, coastal areas of the United States have                   process. In 1977, the OCM made a commitment to meet this
                    experienced burgeoning populations and continued develop-                  need by providing local governments an opportunity to
                    ment. The results have been reflected in continuing and                    develop local coastal management programs tailored to their
                    magnified conflicts among alternative land uses, especially                own particular circumstances and needs. Grant money was
                    between those of a business and industrial nature and those                made available through the Alaska Department of Communi-
                    of an open space, recreation and conservation nature.                      ty and Regional Affairs on a matching basis for coastal
                    In response to these and other overwhelming coastal develop-               planning and management program development.
                    ment activities throughout the United States, Congress passed              Concomitantly, the Alaska Coastal Management Act of 1977
                    the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972. The Act estab-                    established broad State policy for the development of the
                    lished a system for providing guidance and assistance in                   overall State management program of which the district
                    developing coastal planning and management programs. Con-                  programs comprise a significant part. The Act provides that
                    gress placed responsibility with the various coastal states,               the district programs are to be developed under the guidance
                    working with local governments and the public and Federal                  of the Alaska Coastal Policy Council according to guidelines
                    agencies, to prepare precise plans and actions that would lead             and standards developed by the Council and approved by the
                    to logical and intelligent uses of coastal areas.                          Legislature. The Standards of the Alaska Coastal Management
                                                                                               Program and Guidelines for District Coastal Management
                    A. ALASKA COASTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM                                       Programs were developed in 1977, subject to review and
                    The State of Alaska initiated its own coastal management                   comment by local governments and residents in public
                    program in 1974. The process of coastal program develop-                   hearings around the State, and submitted to the Legislature
                    ment began in the Alaska Department of Environmental                       for approval early in 1978.
                    Conservation and focused on the uses of technical informa-
                    tion to promote wiser management decisions. This effort was                B.   NORTH SLOPE BOROUGH COASTAL MANAGE-
                    designed to assist the formulation of resource plans within                     MENTPROGRAM
                    departments, to assist permit review processes, to provide a               In the North Slope Borough, the conflicts that originally
                    basis for making State decisions on resource allocation and to             engendered Federal and State coastal management programs
                    serve as a foundation for resource management policy.                      are exemplified by the Prudhoe Bay experience. just over 10
                    As work proceeded, however, it became apparent that many                   years ago, the Prudhoe Bay area was, for all practical
                    additional activities, primarily involving coordination of the             purposes, one of America's last great wildernesses used by the
                    many Federal, State and local government agencies involved                 indigenous Eskimo residents for subsistence fishing and hunt-
                    in coastal matters, were needed for the coastal management                 ing activities. Since that time, the country's largest domestic
                    program formulation process. With this in mind, the Gover-                 reserve of oil and gas has been discovered in the area, a road
                    nor, in 1975, transferred responsibility for the coastal man-              has been built connecting Prudhoe Bay to the rest of North
                    agement program to his Division of Policy Development and                  America, and a multitude of oil industry support activities
                    Planning.                                                                  have been located in the area. The prospect of new discov-
                                                                                               eries of petroleum offshore in Prudhoe Bay and adjacent
                    At its inception in 1975, the Office of Coastal Management                 areas and the possibility of opening the Haul Road to the

                                                                                                                                                                  I

           North Slope Borough Coastal Management Program Phases

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                  public pose the very real possibility of additional develop-            Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, discussed its rele-
                  ment and degradation of the coastal environment. These                  vance to the State and the Borough, and advanced a series of
                  actions could prove detrimental to the lands and waters of              recommendations to involve the Borough in a far-reaching
                  the coastal area and threaten the subsistence resources which           program of the management of its coastal area. It was
                  are the basis of the age-old Inupiat culture and economy.               considered particularly crucial that this program be develop-
                  Because of these circumstances, the North Slope Borough has             ed at the local level inasmuch as the Borough's position and
                  long recognized the need for a coastal management program               actions on a variety of issues affecting its coastal lands and
                  and has actively participated in the Alaska Coastal Manage-             waters transcend the concerns of Congress and sometimes the
                  ment Program since its inception. It was represented at the             State. The Borough often conceives itself as being in an
                  Association of Coastal Mayors Workshop, convened by the                 obverse position in which it fears a wise and balanced use of
                  Department of Community and Regional Affairs in 1976 to                 the land and water of the coastal area may not be exercised
                  consider OCM rules and regulations for the Coastal Energy               by the Federal and State governments.
                  Impact Program and other coastal management issues, and it              The issue paper recommended that because of the size,
                  is represented on the Alaska Coastal Policy Council. The                complexity and importance of coastal management to the
                  Borough planning staff has worked closely with the Depart-              North Slope Borough, the development of the coastal man-
                  ment of the Interior's Beaufort Sea OCS program and with                agement program be considered in four interrelated phases.
                  the NPR-A study team to ensure that Borough coastal                     The first phase would focus on the Prudhoe Bay area, that
                  management concerns are adequately represented.                         part of the Borough coast lying between the National
                                                                                          Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) on the west and the
                  The North Slope Borough's concern with the coastal environ-             Arctic National Wildlife Range on the cast. This is the coastal
                  mentextends beyond Borough, State and national boundaries.              area that roughly coincides with imminent State and Federal
                  In response to oil and gas operations offshore Greenland,               offshore lease sales and therefore is under the most immedi-
                  Canada, the Soviet Union and the U. S., the Borough in 1976
                  set out to organize the circumpolar Inupiat community to
                  work toward a single set of rules for all Arctic shelf
                  operations as a means of protecting the environmental securi-
                  ty of the people of the Borough. The first meeting of the
                  Inuit Circumpolar Conference was held in Barrow in June
                  1977. The primary focus of this conference was Arctic
                  conservation and environmental protection, with a view
                  toward developing an international Arctic policy. An ICC
                  Interim Committee is writing a charter which will be ratified
                  at the next Circumpolar Conference.

                  In 1976, in anticipation of the availability of State grant
                  assistance for the development of a district coastal manage-
                  ment program, the Borough Planning Department developed
                  an issue paper addressing coastal management in the North
                  Slope Borough. This paper reviewed pertinent sections of the

                                                                                                                                                         3

                        ate pressure from future development. Phase 11 would include            Management Program. Primary contacts within the various
                        the Arctic National Wildlife Range and adjacent offshore                agencies are also identified. In addition, this chapter identi-
                        areas and would be based partly on data beingdeveloped by               fies areas that require further study.
                        the State and Federal governments in preparation for the                Chapter IV enumerates and briefly analyzes local issues
                        joint Federal-State OCS Beaufort Sea lease sale. Phase III              pertinent to coastal management in the North Slope Bor-
                        would include the NPR-A and offshore areas and would
                        depend heavily on material developed by the Department of               ough. In Chapter V, lands and waters of the Prudhoe Bay
                        the Interior's NPR-A land use study. Phase IV would com-                Coastal Area are classified according to their importance to
                        prise the remainder of the western area of'the Arctic coast             the preservation of fish and wildlife resources and habitat and
                        not included in Phase 111. In developing its coastal manage-            their suitability for development. Chapter VI, Objectives,
                        ment program, the North Slope Borough has adopted this                  Policies and Standards, sets forth the objectives of the North
                        approach.                                                               Slope Borough in the management of the Prudhoe Bay
                                                                                                Coastal Area, proposes policies or plans of action for imple-
                        C.   PRUDHOE BAY AREA COASTAL MANAGEMENT                                menting these, and describes in general terms existing Feder-
                             PROGRAM                                                            al, State and local government standards available to effectu-
                                                                                                ate North Slope Borough policies for the conduct of activities
                        Phase 1, the Prudhoe Bay Area Coastal Management Program,               in the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area. Strategies for implementing
                        has been undertaken prior to legislative approval of "Stan-             the Prudhoe Bay Area Coastal Management Program are
                        dards of the Alaska Coastal Management Program" and                     described in Chapter VI I.
                        "Guidelines for District Coastal Management Programs." An
                        attempt has, been made to monitor changes in the draft                  Chapter VII 1, Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area Inventory, describes
                        standards and guidelines and to reflect these in the Prudhoe            the natural and man-made environment of the study area and
                        Bay Area Coastal Management Program. However, in the                    identifies traditional and current use of the land and its
                        absence of definitive standards and guidelines, the elements            resources. In Chapter IX, the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area is
                        contained in the Prudhoe Bay Area Coastal Management                    analyzed for its potential to accommodate several different
                        Program have been based largely on policy guidance contain-             uses-oil and gas development, tourism and recreation, min-
                        ed in the 1977 Coastal Management Act and the Scope of                  ing, and fish and wildlife. Constraints and conflicts related to
                        Services governing conduct of the study effort and thus differ          each potential use are also identified.
                        somewhat from what might be expected from the standards                 Chapter X, Forecast of Demands, Capabilities, and Impacts,
                        and guidelines. Following is a brief description of the Prud-           discusses the demands that potential uses would place on the
                        hoe Bay Area Coastal Management Program.                                lands and waters of the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area, assesses
                        Chapter 11 sets forth the North Slope Borough's rationale for           the capability of the lands and waters to accommodate these
                        determining coastal management boundaries and delineates                demands, and describes the impacts that are likely to occur as
                        the specific boundaries for the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area.               a result of each potential use.
                        Chapter 111, Assessment of Planning Activities and Needs,
                        describes various studies being undertaken by the Federal,
                        State and North Slope Borough governments that are rele-
                        vant to the Borough's Coastal Management Program and
                        relates these specifically to the Prudhoe Bay Area Coastal
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                                                                                                                                                                                                        Boundaries

                                            11.  BOUNDARIES                                      climate on the land. The State of Alaska's standards and
                                                                                                 guidelines for coastal management program boundaries in-
                      The Federal Coastal Zone Management         Act of 1972 defines            clude the zone of direct interaction and the zone of direct
                      the coastal zone as "the coastal waters     (including the waters          influence but exclude the zone of indirect influence.
                      therein and thereunder), strongly influenced by each other
                      and in proximity to the shorelines ... and includes islands, in            The North Slope Borough has extended these State-establish-
                      transitional and interticlal areas, salt marshes, wetlands, and            ed boundaries southward to include that area encompassed
                      beaches. The zone extends ... to the international boundary                by the natural physiographic province of the Arctic Coastal
                      between the United States and Canada and, in other areas          '        Plain. This province provides essential habitat to the region's
                      seaward to the outer limit of the United States territorial sea.           fish and wildlife which range widely over the Arctic coastal
                      The zone extends inland from the shorelines only to the                    plain during various phases of their life cycle. Because of the
                      extent necessary to control shorelands, the use of which have              potential impact on these resources from development, the
                      a direct and significant impact on the coastal waters."                    southern boundary has been extended to encompass as much
                                                                                                 as possible of their essential habitat.
                      The Alaska Coastal Policy Council has adopted initial       coastal        In connection with the development of the Arctic Coastal
                      area boundaries, which may be modified locally by           coastal        Management Program, there should be undertaken an investi-
                      resource districts such as the North Slope Borough. In                     gation of both the North Slope Borough's and the State of
                      establishing initial coastal boundaries, the Coastal Policy                Alaska's authority offshore beyond the three-mile limit.
                      Council considered work conducted by the Alaska Depart-                    Nevertheless, it is essential that efforts be made to assure that
                      ment of Fish and Game's Marine and Coastal Habitat Manage-                 Borough and State offshore boundaries coincide for purposes
                      ment Program which divided the coast into three zones based                of taxation and the enforcement of regulations relating to
                      on biological and physical factors: the zone of direct inter-              development.
                      action, the zone of direct influence and the zone of indirect
                      influence. The first zone, that of direct interaction, has both            I
                      a landward and seaward limit. The landward limit comprises
                      the backshore regions influenced by saltwater intrusion,
                      including the extent of intrusion up river channels. The
                                                                                                           'of
                      landward limit of this zone averages 2 to 3 miles inland but
                      extends 60 miles up the Colville River channel. The seaward
                      limit of the zone of direct interaction encompasses the area
                      of shorefast ice and the shear zone. In the zone of direct
                      influence, the boundary includes optimum waterfowl and
                      shorebird nesting habitat and polar bear clenning habitat up
                                                                                                                                          X'
                      to 25 and 30 miles inland. Offshore, the zone of direct
                                                                                                                  J,
                      influence extends into the pack ice to a yet undetermined
                      distance. Consequently, the offshore extent of the indirect
                      coastal zone influence includes all watersheds of rivers flow-
                      ing into the Beaufort Sea as well as the extent of anadromous
                      fish spawning and the primary influence of a maritime

                                                                                                                                                                    5

                        Phase I of the North Slope Borough Coastal Management
                        Program focuses on the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area, that part
                        of the Borough coast lying between National Petroleum
                        Reserve-A)aska @NPR-A) on the west and the Arctic National
                        Wildlife Range on the east. The eastern boundary of NPR-A
                        is currently disputed by the State of Alaska and the U. S.
                        Department of the Interior. In 1972, the U. S. Navy which
                        then had jurisdiction over the Reserve asserted that the
                        boundary encompassed the right bank of the Colville River.
                        The State, however, contends that the eastern boundary
                        commences at the peak at the head of the northernmost of
                        the two eastern forks of Midas Creek and runs true north
                        approximately 70 miles until it intersects with the western or
                        left bank of the Colville River, whereupon it follows the left
                        bank via the Nechelik Channel until it intersects with the
                        Arctic Ocean. For the purpose of this program, the western
                        boundary of the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area will coincide with
                        the State- recogn i zed eastern boundary of NPR-A.

                        6

                                                                                        Prudhoe Bay Coastal Zone

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         III. Assessment of Planning Activities and Needs

                               111. ASSESSMENT OF PLANNING                                others from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service have been the
                                    ACTIVITIES AND NEEDS                                  source of information relating to fish and wildlife habitat. In
                                                                                          addition, Mr. Robert Worl has been the contact for informa-
                  The exploration and development of Prudhoe Bay petroleum                tion of a mote general nature relating to North Slope
                  resources and the extremely high potential for additional               Borough participation and the overall progress of the study.
                  major oil and gas development in the Arctic have engendered             The Alaska OCS Socioeconomic Studies Program conducted
                  a wide variety of planning studies by the Federal, State and            by the Bureau of Land Mangement's Alaska Outer Continen-
                  North Slope Borough governments. Because petroleum devel-               tal Shelf Office is directed toward predicting and evaluating
                  opment is so intricately interwoven with coastal management             the effects of Alaska OCS petroleum development upon the
                  in the North Slope Borough, these studies are particularly              physical, social, and economic environments within the State.
                  relevant to the Borough's Coastal Management Program.                   The analysis addresses the differing effects among various
                  These studies have provided much of the data from which the             geographic units: the State as a whole, the regions within
                  Prudhoe Bay area inventory and analysis have been develop-              which oil and gas development is likely to take place, and the
                  ed.
                                                                                          various communities within these regions. The Beaufort Sea
                  The Federal government is currently involved in two major               Regional Study is currently in progress, and, when completed
                  planning efforts on the North Slope-the land use study and              will provide the basis for the Federal Environmental State-
                  plan for the development of oil and gas resources within the            ment relating to Beaufort Sea OCS lease sales. Information
                  National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) and the Alaska                developed in the course of this program has contributed to
                  OCS Socioeconomic Studies Program. The Naval Petroleum                  the discussion of the demands, capabilities and impacts of
                  Reserve Production Act of 1976 directed the Secretary of                future development activity in the Prudhoe Bay area, the
                  Interior to "conduct a study to determine the values of, and            cultural, recreation and historical significance of the land and
                  best uses for, land contained in the Reserve." This study is to         to the discussion of land and water classification. Primary
                  take into consideration the Natives who live or depend on               contacts in the Alaska OCS Office have been Mr. William
                  such lands, the scenic, historical, recreational, fish and wild-        Civish, Mr. Dean Yoesting, and Mr. Wink Hastings.
                  life, wilderness values, mineral potentials and other values in         State regulations require the completion of a Social, Econom-
                  the Reserve and must be completed before any development                ic and Environmental Analysis (SEEA) prior to major oil and
                  can take place. The study is being conducted by a study team            gas lease sales. The SEEA for the joint Federal-State Beaufort
                  composed of personnel from the Department of the Interior,              Sea lease sale scheduled for December, 1979 is being coordi-
                  the State of Alaska, and the North Slope Borough. Close                 nated by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources which
                  coordination has been maintained throughout the develop-                is charged with the administration of State mineral lease
                  ment of the Prudhoe Bay Area Coastal Management Program                 sales. The SEEA will contain input from the State Depart-
                  with the NPR-A study effort. A number of people involved                ments of Community and Regional Affairs, Environmental
                  with this study have been particularly helpful. Mr. William             Conservation, Fish and Game, and Health and Social Ser-
                  Thomas from the Cultural Heritage and Recreation Service                vices. Material developed by Community and Regional Af-
                  has provided input on wilderness, recreation and scenic                 fairs for inclusion in the SEEA has provided the basis for the
                  values; Mr. William Schneider from the National Park Service            physical inventory of the Prudhoe Bay-Deadhorse area and
                  has been the contact for information relating to subsistence            the demography and economy of the study area. Mr. George
                  and cultural and historical values; Mr. Wayne Pichon and                Cannelos of Community and Regional Affairs and Mr. Patrick

                                                                                                                                                          9

                         Dobey of Natural Resources have been the points of Contact                 Program, State agencies are involved in identifying geophysi-
                         for information relating to this effort.                                   cal hazard areas and existing facilities and potential needs for
                                                                                                    a wide variety of activities: recreation, energy, transportation
                         The Petroleum Development Study, North Slope Alaska,                       and utilities, fish and seafood processing, timber harvesting
                         conducted by the Department of            Natural Resources, is            and processing, mining and mineral processing, subsistence
                         scheduled for completion in the summer of 1978. In the                     and cultural resources. The Geological and Geophysical Sur-
                         course of this study, several petroleum development scenarios              vey Division of the Department of Natural Resources (James
                         have been run on a computer model that varies a number of                  Riehle) developed the material on geophysical hazard areas
                         parameters including amount, location and timing of oil                    which has been incorporated in the Borough's Coastal Man-
                         discoveries, and outputs information such as yearly oil                    agement Program. The fish and wildlife inventory and infor-
                         production, work force requirements for each phase of                      mation relating to habitat rely heavily on work done by
                         development, and total water and grave) needs. Data from                   ADF&G as part of the Alaska Coastal Management Program.
                         this study have been used to estimate petroleum resources in               In connection with this effort, ADF&G has identified poten-
                         the study and adjacent areas and to determine demands and                  tial critical habitat areas on the North Slope and delineated
                         impacts on the land and resources given certain levels of                  biophysical processes and their boundaries. In addition, the
                         petroleum development. Mr. Robert Klein, Department of                     fish and wildlife of the North Slope have been inventoried in
                         Natural Resources, has been the main contact point for                     detail. Primary contacts in connection with this work were
                         material relating to this study.                                           Mr. Rich Cannon, Ms. Debra Clausen, Mr. Ed Klinkhart and
                         Also in connection with proposed lease sale activity in the                Mr. Robert McClain.
                         Prudhoe Bay area the Alaska Department of Fish and Game                    Through the development of the Prudhoe Bay Area Coastal
                         (ADF&G) is conducting an environmental survey of the Pt.                   Management Program related efforts being undertaken by the
                         Thomson area. This survey includes on-site analysis and                    North Slope Borough Planning Department have been closely
                         discussions with local residents and the managers of the                   monitored.
                         Arctic National Wildlife Range. The study will identify ice
                         hazards and the fish and game resources of the area and
                         man's relationship to them. The work will provide the basis
                                                                                                               Y. . . . . .
                         for Fish and Game's position vis-a-vis the Pt. Thomson lease
                         sale and lease tract stipulations. In addition, Fish and Game
                         Habitat Protection personnel are involved in the development
                         of lease stipulations for the joint Federal-State Beaufort Sea
                         lease sale. Coordination with these activities has been through
                                                                                                                                                           f7w
                         Mr. Lance Trasky and Ms. Debra Clausen of ADF&G's
                         Habitat Protection Division.

                         The Office of Coastal Management, which administers the
                         Alaska Coastal Management Program, is charged with the
                         responsibility of coordinating the activities of the various
                         State agencies participating in the Coastal Management Pro-
                         gram. Under the aegis of the Alaska Coastal Management

                         10

                   The Beaufort Sea Study, Historic and Subsistence Inventory:             relevant to coastal area management which, because of the
                   A Preliminary Cultural Resource Assessment by Jon M.                    lack of available information warrant further study. Fore-
                   Nielson identified historic and subsistence sites, and wildlife         most among these are the barrier islands which lie offshore of
                   populations and migrations. Material contained in this report           the Beaufort Sea coast between the Canning and Colville
                   provides the basis for the identification of areas of subsist-          Rivers. Long known as important habitat for bird nesting,
                   ence and cultural importance within the Prudhoe Bay Coastal             feeding and resting, polar bear denning sites and as a
                   Area.                                                                   protection against coastal erosion from high wave action and
                                                                                           ice movement, very little else is known about their function
                   The Borough Planning Department has done several studies                or their vulnerability to development. Some oil exploration
                   of the North Slope Haul Road which are reflected in the                 has already taken place on Flaxman Island, and the industry
                   Prudhoe Bay Area Coastal Management Program. The first,                 is apparently looking to other islands in the chain as possible
                   North Slope Borough: Legal Powers and Options on the Haul               support bases and drill sites for future offshore activity.
                   Road and Adjacent Federal and State Lands, analyzes the                 Detailed inventory and analysis are required to determine
                   Borough's choices regarding the Haul Road. A second Bor-                what impact, if any, such activity would have on the islands
                   ough planning effort, relating to the Haul Road inventories             and the surrounding ecology.
                   cultural and historical sites in the Haul Road corridor.                Water and gravel are critical resources on the North Slope.
                                                                                           Both are required in large quantities for oil and gas develop-
                   A week-long Elders Conference sponsored by the Planning                 ment and both are essential habitat for fish and wildlife.
                   Department brought elders from North Slope villages to                  Gravel resources throughout the North Slope Borough should
                   Barrow to gather historical and cultural information. Material          be identified and their extent measured. In addition, analysis
                   concerning migration patterns of the bowhead whale which                should be undertaken to identify possible impacts on fish
                   came to light as a result of this conference has been reflected         habitat, in particular, from industrial exploitation of the
                   in the Coastal Management Program. Additional information               resource. Exploitation of water sources used by fish for
                   on wildlife resources and migration patterns and traditional            overwintering could lower water levels to such a degree that
                   land use was obtained during a March 1978 meeting of the                the water would freeze to the bottom and kill the fish. To
                   Borough Planning Commission in Barrow and a public hear-                ensure that wildlife and industrial use of water do not
                   ing held in Barrow in February to discuss proposed guidelines           conflict, additional studies should be undertaken to identify
                   and standards for the Alaska Coastal Management Program.                fish wintering spots, on the one hand, and the amount of
                                                                                           water that can safely be taken, on  the other.
                   The North Slope Borough's Arctic Coastal Zone Management                There is presently only limited     commercial fishing on the
                   Newsletter published monthly has identified a number of                 Arctic coast. In its inventory of   fish and game resources of
                   coastal management issues which are addressed in the Pro-               northern and western Alaska, the    Alaska Department of Fish
                   gram. Issues Overview and Coastal Zone Management Pro-                  and Game identified a commercial whitefish operation on the
                   gram Considerations prepared for the Borough by Alaska                  Colville River delta which harvests approximately 3,000
                   Consultants, Inc., have also contributed to the identification          broad and 1,000 humpback whitefish during the summer and
                   of coastal management issues and considerations.                        20,000 least and 40,000 arctic cisco annually in the fall.
                   All these studies notwithstanding, there remain several issues          Almost all of these are marketed locally. According to the

                        University of Alaska's Environmental Information and Data                                                                                ------
                        Center there appears to be a potential for expanding com-
                        mercial  fishing in the region. Significant additional study will
                        be required, however, to determine the economic feasibility
                        of an expanded commercial operation.

                        The bowhead whale is the single most important element in
                        the Arctic coastal Eskimo subsistence culture. Bowhead
                        populations are thought to have dwindled to such a degree in
                        recent years that there is a threat to the continued existence
                        of this species. Although there has been a great deal of local,
                        national, and international attention focused on the bowhead                                                          &Oak-
                        recently, relatively little is actually known about population
                        levels or bowhead behavior. While there is little whale
                        hunting east of Point Barrow according to local hunters, the              r-
                        bowhead migrates along the coast in the study area beyond
                        the 6-meter (20-foot) isobath and apparently feeds and calves
                        in the Colville River Delta. Development of a detailed data               that require further   investigation. Located generally in the
                        base on bowhead population and behavior is seen as an                     area between  Howe and Narwhal Islands off the mouth of the
                        essential prerequisite for effective resource management.                 Sagavanirktok River, these have been designated by the
                        Effective management will be necessary to ensure the preser-              USGS as the "Narwhal Island Boulder Field." This is a large,
                        vation of this important subsistence resource.                            unique substrata boulder field which appears to have a
                                                                                                  different species composition from the rest of the Beaufort
                        There are two distinct caribou herds on the North Slope, the              Sea shelf. Scientists are not certain of the biologic impor-
                        Porcupine which generally occupies the area from the Can-                 tance of the field to the restof the area and feel that it should
                        ning River east to the Canadian border, and the Western herd              be studied further.
                        found west of the Colville River. Although the Porcupine
                        population is currently high and stable, the Western herd has
                        decreased alarmingly in recent years. Relatively isolated as
                        they are from human impact other than subsistence hunting,
                        these herds provide an excellent opportunity to study why
                        and how large caribou populations become depleted. By
                        monitoring the Porcupine and Western herds carefully, it may
                        be possible to learn how population recovery can be facil-
                        itated.

                        During the course of surveys with side-scan sonar, high
                        resolution seismic profile, and the fathometer, the U. S.
                        Geological Survey has delineated a large number of locations
                        on the Beaufort Sea shelf in the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area

                        12

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 q

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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     E-V

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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             IV.                                                                                                                                                                                                   Coastal Management Issues

                            IV. COASTAL MANAGEMENT ISSUES                                 the North Slope Borough with revenues from Prudhoe Bay
                                                                                          oil and gas property taxes.
                   The exploration and development of North Slope petroleum               The opportunity for local employment stems the outflow of
                   resources have raised a number of issues pertinent to coastal          young people from the region, a serious problem in the past.
                   management. Primary among these is the conflict between                Although some older Borough residents might deplore this,
                   use of the land for development purposes, on the one hand,             the opportunity for local employment for cash wages also
                   and its use for the production of wildlife resources, on the           provides a buffer when hunting and fishing are lean.
                   other.

                   The entire North Slope is prime fish and wildlife habitat and          D-2 land designations are currently only tentative and depend
                   harbors a variety of land and water species. For centuries,            upon the decision of the U. S. Congress. The status of other
                   these have provided the basis for the subsistence economy              land within the Borough is also undecided at this time. Under
                   and culture of the Inupiat people who inhabit the coastal              AS 29.18.190, a borough or city may select 10 percent of the
                   region. From the point of view of local residents, it is               vacant, unappropriated, unreserved State land located within
                   imperative that fish and wildlife resources and their essential        its boundaries. Thus far, the State and Borough have been
                   habitat be protected.                                                  unable to resolve the question of just which State land is
                                                                                          available for selection, and the Borough has received none of
                   Petroleum development has had both positive and negative               its entitlement. The status of several Native allotments within
                   impacts. On the negative side is the direct consumption of             the Prudhoe Bay area is also subject to question: The State
                   wildlife habitat by petroleum associated facilities and struc-         leased the land on which these contested allotments are
                   tures. Indirectly, the consumption of water and gravel re-             located to oil companies for exploration and development,
                   sources also may disrupt or destroy habitat. Furthermore, the          ignoring their existence. Allotment holders believe that they
                   intrusion of large numbers of people into the region has               can supply proof of occupancy sufficient to satisfy the law
                   resulted in increased sport hunting and fishing, thus increas-         and establish their ownership.
                   ing pressure on wildlife resources.

                   The introduction of a development culture into the North
                   Slope has raised social and cultural issues as well. There is
                   fear on the part of some older residents that with increased
                   cash income, dependency on subsistence hunting and fishing                                                             W_ M_
                   will lessen. With the need to hunt and fish removed, the old
                   skills required to conduct these activities will be lost, thus
                   destroying the basis of the Inupiat culture.

                   However, Prudhoe Bay development has brought positive
                   benefits as well. One direct benefit has been the creation of
                   new employment opportunities for Borough residents in the
                   Prudhoe Bay complex. Less obvious but of considerably
                   greater impact are the expanded services and facilities and
                   new employment within traditional communities provided by

                                                                                                                                                        13

                        Access to the land has long been a hotly contested issue on               countries. An oil spill in the Mackenzie River delta, for
                        the North Slope. On the one hand, there is a whole series of              example, would not only have serious impacts on the Alaskan
                        issues raised by the possibility of opening the Haul Road to              arctic coast and its wildlife resources but could also have
                        public usage. North Slope Borough residents feel that public              wide ranging impacts on wildlife in other parts of the world if
                        usage of the road and the influx of large numbers of people               sea mammal and bird habitat were affected.
                        associated with it will put unendurable pressure on habitat
                        and fish and wildlife resources. Borough officials also fear
                        that open access will necessitate the provision of extensive
                        facilities and services by the Borough and will become an
                        economic burden.

                                                                                                                                          f
                        While North Slope residents are not in favor of opening the
                                                                                                                                                               M
                        Haul Road to the public, they are concerned about access to
                        subsistence hunting and fishing grounds. Several of the
                        proposed D-2 classifications preclude subsistence hunting and
                        fishing. Furthermore, the establishment of "national inter-
                        est" enclaves may serve to cut local residents off from
                        traditional subsistence grounds if access through them is not
                        provided.

                        Finally, there is the issue of local control and participation in
                        Federal and State government actions affecting the North
                        Slope Borough. Centuries of life in the Arctic have made
                        Borough residents eminently knowledgeable in matters con-
                        cerning the land and its resources, yet the opinion of the
                        Borough is rarely solicited by either the State or Federal
                        governments in important decisions involving the North
                        Slope. Local zoning has been largely ignored by other
                        government agencies and therefore has not been effective.

                        Many fish and wildlife species inhabiting the North Slope are
                        migratory in nature and spend portions of their life cycle in
                        other regions of the State or in other parts of the world. This
                        is particularly true of birds and sea mammals such as the seal,
                        walrus and whale and some land mammals as well. Since
                        political boundaries are meaningless to migrating species,
                        management according to these lines is ineffective at best. In
                        the polar region, policies and actions of one country vis-a-vis
                        natural resource management or development can have sen-
                        ous impacts on the resources and habitat of neighboring

                        14

                   Consistent or at least compatible policies on the part of those              habitat for two endangered animal species: the peregrine
                   countries bordering the Arctic Ocean would greatly enhance                   falcon and the bowhead whale. The bowhead is important to
                   the ability to monitor and manage the region's wildlife                      local residents because it forms the mainstay of their diet and
                   resources and habitat. The agreement on the Conservation of                  the basis of their subsistence culture.
                   the Polar Bear is a step in this direction, but it is limited to             Although increased cash has enabled the Eskimo to make
                   one species, the polar bear. It is the policy of the North Slope             modern substitutions for many of the traditional items
                   Borough that the entire Arctic Ocean should be similarly                     historically obtained from the bowhead, for example, fuel,
                   managed on an international scale.                                           and modern technology has significantly altered hunting
                   Proposals under Section I 7(d)(2) of the Alaska Native Claims                techniques, subsistence hunting of the whale and other sea
                   Settlement Act of 1971 presently under consideration by the                  mammals remains an integral element in the culture of the
                   U. S. Congress raise a number of coastal management issues.                  region.
                   The legislation proposes a variety of land classifications
                   within the North Slope Borough: wild and scenic river,                       Both the bowhead whale and the peregrine falcon, because of
                   wildlife refuge, national park, national preserve, wilderness                the precarious state of their existence, have international
                   area. Each of these is associated with a different and                       significance. In this context, the potential impact of petro-
                   sometimes conflicting habitat management philosophy. The                     leum development becomes even more serious and raises the
                   wild and scenic river classification is designed to preserve                 question whether any development should be allowed. Cer-
                   waterways in their primitive condition, thus no habitat                      tainly if development is allowed, the protection of endanger-
                   enhancement of any kind is allowed. (interestingly enough,                   ed species must be assured.
                   the designation of rivers within the study area as wild and
                   scenic would in a sense accomplish just the opposite of'the
                   goal. The rivers are wild and scenic, but classifying them as
                   such would attract numbers of boating enthusiasts and thus
                   destroy their virgin character.) Similar provisions against
                   habitat enhancement apply to wilderness and national pre-
                   serve classifications.

                   On the    other hand, habitat enhancement is allowed in
                   national parks and wildlife refuges. Development of tourist
                   facilities and services is also allowed in national parks.
                   Resource development is allowed under certain conditions in
                   a wildlife refuge. If these classifications become fact, adjoin-
                   ing lands will be managed with entirely different policies:
                   Habitat enhancement will be precluded in some, encouraged
                   in others. Human usage will be stimulated in some, discour-
                   aged in others. Furthermore, each classification is the man-
                   agement responsibility of a different government agency,
                   sometimes with conflicting goals and objectives.
                   The coastal area of the North Slope Borough is seasonal

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                                                                          Classification of Lands and Waters

                       V. CLASSIFICATION OF LANDS AND WATERS                                which is appropriate for permanent, long-term facilities and
                                                                                            services and petroleum development zones which appear
                   The purpose of the Coastal Management Program from the                   appropriate for more temporary support activity required for
                   perspective of the North Slope Borough is to safeguard its               oil and gas exploration and development.
                   interests as comprehensively as possible. Of primary interest
                   to the Borough are the fish and game resources on which the
                   subsistence economy and culture of the local residents                   A.    CONSERVATION AREAS
                   depend. Thus, the overall thrust of the Coastal Management               Conservation areas are areas of particular environmental
                   Program is to protect these resources. Aside from the overall            importance in which development of any kind, except pipe-
                   policy of protecting the region's fish and wildlife however,             line crossings and activities of overriding national interest,
                   there is substantial benefit to be gained by the Borough from            would be entirely inappropriate. However, stream clearing
                   the development of the region's petroleum resources. Petro-              and wildlife enhancement activities will be encouraged in
                   leum development provides a tax base which enables the                   these areas. Within the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area, those lands
                   Borough to provide its residents with important facilities and           and waters classified as conservation areas include the entire
                   services and at the same time to increase local employment.              reach of the Colville and Canning Rivers and their associated
                   Therefore, petroleum development will be allowed but only                delta systems and Howe Island at the mouth of the Saga-
                   where it does not threaten important subsistence resources               vanirktok River.
                   and their habitat.                                                       The Colville and Canning Rivers provide important fish
                   To ensure that development takes place with the least                    spawning and overwintering habitat and are thus susceptible
                   possible impact on fish and wildlife resources and habitat,              to severe degradation from water and gravel removal and
                   lands and waters in the study area have been classified into             from snow cover removal during winter. The Colville River
                   areas according to their importance to the preservation of               delta is perhaps the most productive bird habitat on the
                   these resources, on the one hand, and their suitability for              entire North Slope. Because it is one of the first ice-free
                   development, on the other hand. Within the study area lands              water bodies in spring, it serves as an important bird staging
                   and waters fall into four classifications depending upon their           area during spring and fall migration. Both the Canning and
                   importance as wildlife habitat: (I) conservation areas where             Colville deltas provide important bird nesting habitat and are
                   habitat is of such sensitivity that no development is allowed;           used heavily by anadromous fish for summer feeding. In
                   (2) seasonal conservation areas where habitat is extremely               addition, these two deltas have been identified by wildlife
                   vulnerable during the ice-free season and therefore is protect-          experts as prime polar bear clenning habitat. The Colville
                   ed from development during that time; (3) areas which merit              delta, and to a lesser extent the Canning River delta, may also
                   special attention within which development activity is allow-            serve as whale and seal feeding and calving grounds.
                   ed with utmost concern for wildlife habitat; and (4) sensitive           Located at the mouth of the Sagavanirktok River between
                   habitat which is generally not as productive as in preceding             Heald Pt. and Foggy Island, Howe Island is a little more than
                   classifications but nevertheless important to protect the                a mile long and 300 yards wide. It is completely tundr,-
                   region's overall ecosystem.                                              covered and contains a number of small ponds. Until 1971,
                   Areas which seem suitable for petroleum development have                 Howe Island was apparently used sparingly as a nesting spot
                   been designated the zone of preferred development. These                 by lesser Canada geese, pintails, old squaw, eiders, and a few
                   fall into two classifications: the industrial development zone           shorebirds. Beginning in 1971, however, the island has been

                                                                                                                                                            17

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                                            CONSERVATION AREAS
                                            SEASONAL CONSERVATION AREAS
                                            AREAS WHICH MERIT SPECIAL ATTENTION

                                            SENSITIVE HABITAT
                                                                                              7

                                            PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT ZONES
                                            INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ZONE

                               Figure 3

                   the chosen nesting habitat for a colony of snow geese. This is          B.    SEASONAL CONSERVATION AREAS
                   the first snow goose colony recorded in the area and the only           Many species of fish and game found on the North Slope are
                   one identified in the entire State of Alaska. For this reason,          migratory in nature, and thus certain habitats are extremely
                   the island is considered appropriate for the special protection         sensitive seasonally. Primary among these are the complexes
                   afforded by classifying it a conservation zone.                         comprised of the nearshore barrier islands, their associated
                   Land use on the North Slope has traditionally revolved                  lagoons, and the mainland coastal wetlands adjacent to them.
                   around the availability of subsistence resources. Thus, it is           From break-up to freeze-up, roughly May to October, these
                   not surprising that heavy concentrations of sites with historic         provide the nesting, moulting and post-breeding habitat for a
                   and cultural significance have been identified in thosf,, areas         wide variety of migratory bird species. Anadromous fish from
                   where fish and game resources are most abundant and                     the region's major streams feed in the protected lagoon
                   accessible. Within the study area, graves and the remains of            systems during the season of open water, and seals and
                   cabins, sod houses and ice cellars are particularly prevalent           whales feed and calve there. Local whalers have identified an
                   along the Colville River and two main channels of the delta,            additional bowhead feeding and calving ground offshore from
                   the Nechelik and the Kupigruak. Sites of historic and cultural          the Colville River delta beyond the 6-meter isobath. The
                   significance will be protected from disruption from structures          U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service locates peregrine falcon
                   or development activity by specified distances of separation.           nesting habitat generally east of the Kuparuk River 15 to 20
                   Historic and cultural sites within the study area continue to           miles inland from the coast. As they are intensely used only
                   be heavily used today for subsistence hunting and fishing               seasonally, consonant with the time of open water, these
                                                                                           lands and waters have been classified as seasonal conservation
                   purposes.                                                               areas. During the time when these are critical wildlife habitat,
                                                                                           no development activity should be allowed.

                                                                                           The seasonal conservation areas abound with sites of historic,
                                                                                           cultural, and subsistence significance. As in the conservation
                                                                                           zones, these sites will be protected from intrusion at all times
                                                                                           by a specified distance of separation.

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                       C. AREAS WHICH MERIT SPECIAL ATTENTION                                D. SENSITIVE HABITAT
                       Although fish and game habitats are most sensitive in those           Although not currently highly productive for fish and game
                       lands and waters classified as conservation and seasonal              or heavily used for subsistence hunting and fishing, the area
                       conservation areas, river drainages, coastal wetlands, near-          classified as sensitive habitat does apparently harbor a resi-
                       shore waters and the barrier islands throughout the Prudhoe           dent caribou population and at certain times of the year is
                       Bay Coastal Area provide important nutrient input for the             used by wolves, grizzly bears, ptarmigan and other coastal
                       entire area and thus are considered "areas which merit special        plain animals which spend significant portions of the year in
                       attention." Within the areas designated areas which merit             the northern foothills of the Brooks Range. Relatively speak-
                       special attention, utmost concern for habitat protection              ing, however, human activity is likely to have less impact on
                       should be exercised.                                                  fish and game populations and traditional land use in this
                       The Colville, Canning and Sagavanirktok River drainages               area than in any other in the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area.
                       provide overwintering and spawning habitat for fish and the
                       willow vegetation common to these same drainages supports
                       a small moose population. Coastal wetlands of the study area
                       are used to some extent as nesting, feeding and moulting
                       grounds by large numbers of migratory birds. Nearshore
                       waters associated with the mainland coast and the barrier
                       islands are feeding grounds for migratory birds. The coastal
                       area between the Canning and the Colville Rivers, including
                       the barrier islands, is apparently prime clenning habitat for
                       polar bears.

                       Underwater surveys by the U. S. Geological Survey have
                       identified a large number of locations in the area between
                       Howe and Narwhal Islands off the mouth of the Sagavanirk-
                       tok River that require further investigation. Designated by                                                                . .....
                       the U.S.G.S. as the "Narwhal Island Boulder Field," this is a
                       large, unique substrata boulder field which appears to have a
                       different species composition from the rest of the Beaufort
                       Sea shelf. Scientists are not certain of the biologic impor-
                       tance of the field to the rest of the area and feel that it
                       should be studied further.

                       Although not as important culturally or historically as areas
                       designated as conservation or seasonal conservation zones,
                       the areas which merit special attention include some sites of
                                                                                  fo r
                       historic and cultural significance and continue to be used
                       subsistence purposes. These should be protected from devel-
                       opment activity on a site specific basis.

                       20

                   E. ZONE OF PREFERRED DEVELOPMENT
                   The zone of preferred development has been chosen on the
                   basis of its compatibility with fish and wildlife resources and
                   subsistence land use, the location of existing oil and gas
                   development, and anticipated future demands for facilities
                   and services insofar as these can be determined at this time.
                   These are areas within which oil and gas development would
                   seem likely to be most appropriate and within which such
                   development should be encouraged. Zones of preferred devel-
                   opment fall into two classifications-the industrial develop-
                   ment zone where long-term, permanent development is allow-
                   ed and the petroleum development zone within which only
                   temporary structures and support facilities are allowed.

                   The industrial development zone is synonymous with the
                   existing Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse complex and the Pipeline/
                   Haul Road utility corridor. In order to minimize additional
                   impact and to avoid the unnecessary duplication of facilities
                   and services, permanent development within the Prudhoe Bay
                   Coastal Area should be limited to this already developed area.

                   The petroleum development zones are much larger in area
                   than the industrial development zone and are designed to
                   accommodate temporary activity related to anticipated new
                   petroleum development. No permanent development will be
                   allowed in these areas except such essential structures as
                   platforms, pipelines, and pump houses.

                                                                                                                                                        21

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                                                            VI. Objectives, Policies and Standards

    	VI. OBJECTIVES, POLICIES AND STANDARDS

    A. BACKGROUND

    There can be little question that the life supporting habitat		considered permanent residents of the North Slope Borough.
    and the subsurface resources are the critical elements in the		Most governmental employees providing services on the
    development of coastal management objectives, policies and			North Slope remain a limited number of years.  Those
    standards within the North Slope Borough generally and the			associated with the military either directly or by contract
    Prudhoe Bay area in particular. The habitat, of course,			normally are rotated after a year or two at their station on
    supports the fish and wildlife populations. The populations			the North Slope.  Individuals in the scientific community
    provide subsistence for the resident Inupiat and the process		generally remain only on a project basis or until their field
    involved in the Inupiat's susbsistence pursuits forms the basis		data are collected or, in other instances, seasonally migrate to
    of Inupiat culture. On the other hand, the subsurface re-			the north for research of limited duration.  And the employ-
    sources have resulted in petroleum development. This devel-			ees of the oil and gas industry on the North Slope are rotated
    opment provides jobs, business opportunities and tax reve-			from their base camp outside the North Slope on a still
    nues for North Slope Borough residents. These revenues are			shorter basis.
    imporvements are carried out by resident Inupiats who
    recieve income for their labor. This process, in turn, results in		During the last population estimate on July 1, 1977, for
    a higher standard of living for the North Slope Borough			Alaska State revenue sharing, there were 9,163 people in the
    permanent resident population. Therefore, the basis of			Borough.  Of this number an estimated 3,612 lived in the
    Inupiat culture and the means for the Inupiat to subsist and		permanent Borough communities.  The total population of
    prosper are vested in the prudent management of the lands			the Borough on July 1, 1976 was estimated at 12,614 with a
    and waters of the Borough and the resources therein.				total of 3,630 residing in the permanent communities.  A
    												Borough population count during September 1973 listed
    Regarding the people of the North Slope Borough, the only			3,333 residents within the permanent communities.  Thus,
    permanent long-term residents have been the Inupiat. There			during the period of Prudhoe Bay petroleum development,
    are residents other than Eskimos, however, these residents are		the Borough communities grew at an average rate of approxi
    essentially transient and can be classified within four broad		mately 2.5 percent per year.  This is a modest rate of growth
    categories. The first are residents whose purpose for being			considering that the Prudoe Bay petroleum-related employ-
    within the Borough is associated with providing services to			ment counted as population increased from an estimated 253
    the local Eskimo population. Employment-produced income			in September 1973 to 8,801 in July 1976.
    which supports these residents is forthcoming principally
    from Federal, State and local government units and to a			The community composition is approximately 85 percent
    lesser extent the Native corporations.  The second group is			who are essentially life-long Inupait residents and 15 percent
    associated with military complexes.  The third group is the			other residents who are generally white people who have
    scientific community who is studying the Arctic.  And the			moved to the Borough for employment in the public service
    fourth group is associated with natural resource extraction			area.  This immigration to the Borough communities has
    principally of oil and gas resources.						resulted in large parts from the Boroughs assumption of new
    												areawide powers in recent years, the upgrading of health
    Although considered residents, few of these people can be			services in this area and the increase in Arctic research as s
    												result of national interest in petroleum production.  Overall
    												however, the community population in the Borough is quite
    												stable with only a relatively small amount of growth.

                       The cultural base of the I nupiat of the North Slope is largely          quantities of subsurface resources beyond those discovered
                       vested in the subsistence pursuits of the people. It is impor-           and in the process of development in the Prudhoe Bay area
                       tant to recognize that the incomes of the people of the North            such as other petroleum resources, coal, phosphates and
                       Slope are supplemented by subsistence activities. In many                other minerals. However, despite this storehouse of mineral
                       cases this is not essential from the perspective of obtaining            resources, the costs associated with development are extreme-
                       sufficient nutrition. However, subsistence is essential if this          ly high. Therefore, the discovery of major deposits is required
                       Inupiat culture is to survive. The esteem accorded the captain           at this time before production is considered or deposits of a
                       for his skill and bravery; the sharing of the catch on a                 smaller scale must be located close to existing transportation
                       community basis; the provisions for the old, the infirm, the             systems thereby reducing costs before production would be
                       ill and the needy from the catch; the camaraderie and                    contemplated. Even drastic increases in value over time due
                       brotherhood fostered in the hunt; the passing of legends from            to increased scarcity may not result in the development of
                       generation to generation; and the total reliance upon )nupiaq            the resources if costs of production increase at a similar rate.
                       as the language of the hunt; are all basic to the Inupiat                Furthermore, substitutes for these resources may be develop-
                       culture which prizes the abilities of people to survive in the           ed and employed. Technology, in general, becomes a two-
                       Arctic and from this evolves the sophisticated personal                  edged sword in this case. It may serve to reduce costs of
                       relationships, the generous sharing of time and property and             development in the Arctic, permitting commercial develop-
                       other elements appreciated in so-called "village living."                ment on the one hand. On the other hand, it may provide
                       The economic base of the Inupiat of the North Slope                      substitutes for these Arctic resources. For example, in 1978,
                       Borough is vested in the natural resource extraction       indus-        there is no development of the Beluga coal fields which are
                       tries, principally the petroleum industry in the Prudhoe Bay             large, quality subbituminous deposits at tidewater near
                       area. This industrial sector has provided the residents of the           Anchorage. The increased demand for coal is being filled
                       Borough with greater opportunity for employment and with                 through increased production of the established eastern coal
                       increased business opportunities both through village and                region and the open pit mining of new western deposits. The
                       regional corporation enterprises and as individual entrepre-             potential supply from these areas certainly looks as though it
                       neurs. It has also provided a source of tax revenues which in            will extend in time to a point where alternate sources of
                       turn create employment and business opportunities whJe                   power may be developed and provide reasonably low-cost
                       providing needed facilities and services to the people.                  energy.
                       As a result of natural resource extraction, the Borough has              Given this admittedly pessimistic scenario, it would be sheer
                       been afforded the opportunity of raising the level of living of          folly to impose policies which would prohibit development
                       its people. And this industry sector can only be considered              of the few potential commercial deposits which may exist
                       basic to the continued improvement of future living condi-               aside from the present Prudhoe Bay field. Therefore, a
                       tions in this harsh environment. Threats to the continuation             policy is mandated that will enable the exploration, designa-
                       of natural resource development in the North Slope Borough               tion and development of what in all likelihood will be a
                       are threats to the social and economic well-being of the                 relatively small number of commercial deposits of nonrenew-
                       people of the North Slope Borough.                                       able petroleum resources. These resources are scarce in the
                                                                                                quantities, at the grades and in the locations which make
                       Estimates by Federal and State agencies concerned with the               them commercial. And in terms of the most complete
                       assessment of natural resources indicate the existence of large          commercial extraction only relatively small amounts of the

                       24

                   land's surface will be disturbed and temporarily occupied.              B.   OBJ ECTIVES
                   Nevertheless, this does not imply either rapid development or           The North Slope Borough objectives in the management of
                   uncontrolled development. Unquestionably, no development                the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area are as follows:
                   should take place in areas such as those of irreplaceable               1 .  To value and have valued by others the long-term needs
                   habitat, extremely scenic and aesthetically pleasing areas,                  of fish and wildlife above all competing uses.
                   historic sites and other such areas of concern within the               2.   To enforce sound management of all fish and wildlife
                   Borough. However, regarding natural resource development                     resources and the environment upon which the fish and
                   in most of the remainder, it is more a question of enforcing                 wildlife and man depend.
                   standards resulting in development of the highest quality               3.   To effect management on the basis of total ecosystems.
                   with concern for the environment in the broadest sense.                 4.   To use Borough regulatory powers, to enter into agree-
                   On the other hand, it is well understood by the permanent                    ments and to generally promote the protection of fish
                   inhabitants of the North Slope Borough that the fish and                     and wildlife habitat regardless of jurisdiction.
                   wildlife and the environment required for their maintenance,            5.   To compel management plans and actions to perpetuate
                   and hopefully their enhancement, must be protected to                        and enhance the habitat to obtain optimum fish and
                   insure a perpetual harvest for subsistence uses and the                      wildlife populations.
                   maintenance of the Inupiat culture.
                   This has become an increasingly formidable task since the               6.   To insist upon the protection of endangered and threat-
                   Inupiat is expected to exercise the utmost prudence not only                 ened species.
                   to insure his own perpetual taking but to insure the con-               7.   To preserve the traditional Inupiat lifestyle and culture
                   tinued maintenance or enhancement of fish and wildlife for                   by maintaining unimpaired subsistence use and access to
                   the remainder of the United States as well as other nations.                 all lands and waters and the fish and wildlife which
                                                                                                inhabit them and by preserving the historic resources of
                   Since the basis of the Inupiat culture is vested in subsistence              the Inupiat culture.
                   gathering activities his claim to this renewable resource must          8.   To permit competing uses only when assured that the
                   be of a higher order than any other user. However, despite                   effects will neither result in decreased productivity of
                   this legitimate primary claim to the resource, it is fully                   fish and wildlife resources within the ecosystems nor the
                   realized that no one will gain with the deterioration of the                 loss of endangered or threatened species.
                   stocks or with extinction at the extreme. Therefore, it is of
                   great interest to the Inupiat and a policy of the North Slope           9.   To support competing uses only to the extent that they
                   Borough to insure a safe environment for the optimum                         contribute to the health and well-being of the perma-
                                                                                                nent residents of the North Slope Borough and fulfill
                   propagation of the fish and wildlife for subsistence uses as                 the intent and spirit of self-determination as embodied
                   well as for the benefit of other peoples. At the same time,                  in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
                   there must be allowances for prudent development of petro-
                   leum resources under strict regulation. No longer will the              C.   POLICIES
                   Inupiat bear the burden of fish and wildlife conservation
                   through a return to the nonclevelopment policies which were             The  policies or plans of action in the Prudhoe Bay Coastal
                   replete with poverty and privation for many if not most. The            Area for carrying out the objectives of the Coastal Manage-
                   call is for prudent multiple use development of excellence.             ment Program are tailored toward the perpetuation and
                                                                                                                                                        25

                        enhancement of wildlife and wildlife habitat, while at the                         as the Prudhoe Bay production and the upcoming gas
                        same time recognizing the existence of competing uses and                          pipeline should be the top priority use in the Haul Road
                        the necessity of accommodating these in the future. How-                           utility corridor. Uses such as tourism facilities, sport
                        ever, policies relating to competing uses call for outright                        hunting and fishing resorts and remote subdivisions
                        avoidance, severe limitation, stringent requirements and regu-                     should definitely be discouraged at this time.
                        lation and actions to overcome their effects. Since the
                        following policies have broad effects in most cases, it should                     Future related energy development such as that contem-
                        be understood that their influence extends beyond the                              plated in the Beaufort Sea area, NPR-A and regional
                        categories in which they are placed.                                               corporation lands should also be considered a prime use
                                                                                                           for the Haul Road. However, such development should
                        I .   Siting of Major Public and Private Facilities                                continue to pay its own way as far as road development
                                                                                                           and maintenance are concerned.
                        �     The location of all facilities will be on a      site specific               In keeping with its policy to minimize land use through
                              basis by permit so as to avoid unnecessary dispersal of                      the joint use of facilities and the concentration of
                              facilities as well as to provide a means of protecting                       development, the Borough policy is to limit access to
                              areas meriting special attention such as archeological                       the land. This position is critical regarding ingress and
                              and historic sites, hunting and fishing camps and                            egress along the Pipeline Haul Road. It is the Borough
                              grounds, and areas of exceptional habitat.                                   policy that all traffic should pass through the Borough
                        �     Sand and gravel borrow pits must be located on a site                        with an absolute minimum of stops or impact on
                              specific basis. This mining should not take place during                     adjacent lands and resources within the Prudhoe Bay
                              portions of the year when there would be substantial                         Coastal Area.
                              harm to   the environment such as the silting of rivers and                  Solid waste disposal on the barrier islands, artificial
                              streams.  Mining should not take place on the beaches or                     islands or at sea should not be permitted nor should
                              offshore unless no alternatives exist and only then                          there be any disposal in the rivers or lakes which
                              when it  can be demonstrated that the shoreline dynam-                       support or are capable of supporting fish and wildlife.
                              ics are not to be altered.
                        �     Transportation facilities should be multimodal to the                        Any major lease sales resulting in the addition of
                              maximum extent possible thus enabling utility and                            facilities in the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area should submit
                              transportation modes to be placed in a single corridor.                      a plan of such activities with the proposed optimum
                              The number of corridors should be minimized through                          location of facilities prior to any development.
                              cooperative long-term planning efforts.                                      Archeological and historic sites and sites of cultural
                        �     Airports and helicopter pads should be located so that                       significance such as fishing and hunting camps are to be
                              there is a minimum of impact upon migrating wildlife,                        avoided in the siting of any facilities. No activity is to be
                              breeding grounds and nesting areas. Furthermore, air                         permitted in known sites and a thorough investigation
                              routes and altitudes should be designated and maintain-                      of proposed sites for any proposed development should
                              ed to minimize disruption of wildlife.                                       be undertaken prior to construction. These sites are
                                                                                                           generally small and present little problem in working
                        �     It is the Borough position that energy development such                      around them.

                        26

                         It is Borough policy that the joint use of sites and                      landing areas and service bases will be confined to
                         facilities, including existing facilities, should be encour-              Prudhoe Bay. Safety of offshore personnel is deemed by
                         aged to the maximum extent possible. Included in the                      the Borough as the only exception meriting considera-
                         facilities under consideration should be the shore-based                  tion for shoreline locations. The prime areas of consider-
                         production facilities, pipelines, freshwater storage areas,               ation in this regard are viewed as being the DEW Line
                         material sites, airfields, roads, disposal sites, and trans-              stations which are no longer in use.
                         portation corridors.                                                      Upon consideration of flooding, soils, and other charac-
                         Although areas subject to flooding as a result of a                       teristics, there shall be a concentration of facilities in
                         100-year flood have not been precisely identified, there                  the Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse area sufficient to take
                         appears to be little question that the Prudhoe Bay/                       advantage of the economics of utilities such as piped
                         Deadhorse complex is in the floodplain of the Saga-                       sewer and water, power and other infrastructural
                         vanirktok River. In order to promote the public health,                   elements such as existing roads and communications.
                         safety and general welfare of the Borough and to
                         protect the environment, the loss of life and property,              2.   Management of Valuable Commercial,
                         the disruption of commerce and governmental services                      Recreation, a d Subsistence Resources
                         and the impairment of the tax base, facilities shall in                   Since the entire offshore area nominated for oil and gas
                         location, design, construction and operation be protect-                  leasing has been classified by the Borough Coastal
                         ed against flood damages.                                                 Management Program as an area which merits special
                         No permanent residential settlement or new towns                          attention, severe use restrictions should be established
                         should be located in the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area. The                    on a seasonal basis for all tracts leased.
                         practice of maintaining camps for employees who are                       The Borough has a vital interest in preserving from
                         shuttled into the area for work periods then outside to                   destruction or detrimental impact those sites or areas of
                         their permanent residence is viewed by the Borough as                     historic, architectural, archeological and general cul-
                         the best means of limiting the impact of people upon                      tural significance identified in Beaufort Sea Study-
                         the environment. Permanent residential development                        Historic and Subsistence Site Inventory. Many of the
                         would increase the consumption of wildlife habitat,                       sites shown on USGS 1:250,000 maps in this report
                         pollution and competition for limited subsistence re-                     could meet National Register criteria. However, many
                         sources. The major private and public facilities created                  sites require interpretation in far greater detail to guar-
                         by this activity should be confined to the Prudhoe                        antee that historic preservation and environmental re-
                         Bay/Deadhorse area.                                                       quirements are completely met. Especially important to
                         Long-term structures or facilities for administration,                    the coastal Inupiat and the North Slope Borough are the
                         operations or residence should be located in the Prud-                    barrier islands from Thetis Island to Icy Reef. If there is
                         hoe Bay/Deadhorse area. No long-term facilities other                     to be compatible development offshore, these sites must
                         than pipelines, pump houses, and other structures or                      be held inviolate. Therefore, identification, study and
                         facilities absolutely necessary to the operations of petro-               interpretation of these sites in detail must be carried out
                         leum fields should be located outside this area.                          prior to lease sales so that conflicts will be avoided.

                         Major shoreline use and facilities such as docks, barge                   Areas deemed irreplaceable habitat which support abun-

                                                                                                                                                              27

                            clant fish and wildlife populations and which should be                for Native Allotment claims and where provided for
                            totally removed from surface use are Colville River and                under the terms of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement
                            its delta, the Canning River and its delta, and Howe                   Act, the Borough desires that no land be sold or
                            Island which is a part of the Sagavanirktok River delta.               conveyed in fee to private parties in this area.
                            The Colville River delta is the most productive water-                 To further strengthen local control of development in
                            fowl area on the North Slope, an anadromous fishery                    the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area, the North Slope Bor-
                            and a site of polar bear denning. The Canning River
                            delta is also an important area for waterfowl and                      ough has actively pursued land selections in the immedi-
                            anadromous fish. And Howe Island is the only identified                ate vicinity of Prudhoe Bay and Deadhorse.
                            snow goose breeding ground in Alaska. Not only should                  Aggressive management of fish and wildlife and their
                            there be no surface use in these areas but a sufficient                habitat should not be abandoned simply because petro-
                            buffer area should be maintained to exempt these areas                 leum development exists in the area. The Borough
                            from other forms of disturbance such as noise pollution.               believes that management and programs of habitat
                            In addition, no activity should be permitted in known                  improvement should be more intensive during this
                            sites of archeological and historic importanceor in sites              period of habitat consumption and fish and wildlife
                            of cultural significance such as fishing and hunting                   disruption.
                            camps.
                                                                                                   Petroleum   development producing a nonrenewable re-
                            The area from the Colville River delta to Egg Island                   source will perhaps occupy portions of lease sale areas
                            which includes Simpson Lagoon and Gwydyr Bay is an                     for only a relatively short period of time. Although this
                            important seasonal feeding ground for anadromous fish                  period may be a substantial part of our lives, it is still
                            and whales, a polar bear clenning area and a waterfowl                 temporary. Therefore, the permanent long-range values
                            area. It is unquestionably an area of exceptional habitat.
                            The Borough recommends that this area not be consid-
                            ered for oil and gas leasing until safe development is
                            demonstrated in other offshore areas and then only on a
                            seasonal basis.

                            The area enclosed by the Maguire Islands and Flaxman
                            Island is also an important seasonal feeding ground for
                            anadromous fish, whales and some waterfowl. This is an                                           X" i@
                            area of exceptional habitat and the Borough recom-
                            mends that it not be considered for oil and gas leasing                                                    AN&
                            until safe development is demonstrated in other off-
                            shore areas and then only on a seasonal basis.

                            The Borough views public land ownership as being an
                            extremely important means of avoiding and mitigating
                            undesirable impacts. Lease agreements may provide
                            controls unavailable by other means. Therefore, except

                      28

                          of the area should receive emphasis.                                      carbons. If allowable means of transporting petroleum
                     0    All lands upon termination, cancellation or abandon-                      from offshore fields as written or implied in lease sale
                          ment of leases should be returned as closely as possible                  contracts are later barred for environmental reasons,
                          to their natural state. This would include artificial                     claims would undoubtedly be filed by lessees. Or,
                          islands, causeways and roads which should be removed                      environmental objections would be subjugated by eco-
                                                                                                    nomic considerations. Therefore, it is viewed by the
                          after their use has ended.
                                                                                                    Borough as being extremely important that the means
                     0    The quantities of land or the number of tracts to be                      of transporting petroleum to shore or from offshore
                          leased during lease sales should be capable of being                      loading systems and the effects of these transportation
                          closely monitored. The areas should be of the scale to                    modes be thoroughly investigated prior to sales.
                          allow the responsible authorities to thoroughly enforce                   Despite extensive experience in petroleum exploration,
                          and manage the stipulations of lease sale contracts and                   development, production and transportation in the
                          general authorities under law.                                            Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area, many new considerations
                     0    Lands beyond the barrier islands except those capable                     are posed by proposed offshore activities. The Borough
                          of being explored and produced from the barrier islands                   views increased knowledge of the following factors as
                          should not be leased at this time. The technology                         being critical to successful petroleum exploitation with
                          required to safely explore, develop and produce from                      a minimum of environmental disruption: barrier reefs or
                          artificial islands, drillships, rigs or platforms beyond the              former barrier islands, the so-called Narwhal Island
                          barrier islands needs to be demonstrated before such                      boulder field, underwater permafrost, the effects of oil
                          risk-taking ventures should be allowed.                                   spills in the cold Beaufort Sea waters and an oil spill
                                                                                                    contingency plan considering these effects, the effects
                     0    Exploration, development and           production drilling                of artificial islands and causeways upon the marine
                          should be permitted to locate only on a site specific                     environment, effects of this environment upon subsea
                          basis onshore and on the barrier islands and from                         pipelines, especially new methods such as installation of
                          artificial islands. Thus, potential spills or blowouts at                 casing by directional drilling for emplacement of carrier
                          the wellhead would result in the oil flowing upon the                     pipe, and the effects of subsea gravel mining on the
                          surface (land, ice or snow) where it could be impounded                   marine environment.
                          and cleaned up rather than chancing a spill in the
                          Beaufort Sea. By reason, the danger of subsea or                          A thorough set of stipulations dealing with noise pollu-
                          underwater escapement of oil is simply not worth the                      tion, erosion, silting, gravel extraction, water usage and
                          chance, especially where endangered marine species are                    waste disposal should be included in lease sale stipula-
                          involved. A spill could conceivably destroy food sources                  tions. The Borough considers strict regulation in these
                          of the bowhead whale and other endangered species. If                     matters to be invaluable to the protection of the
                          no alternate habitat or source of food was available, the                 Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area environment.
                          consequences could be tragic.                                             Although not promulgated by the State of Alaska, the
                          A separate plan of operations should be submitted for                     studies as required in the Oil and Gas Pre-Leasing
                          development/production phases. However, implicit in                       Procedures (I I AAC 81.210-430) regarding social, eco-
                          lease sale contracts is the intent to produce hydro-                      nomic and environmental analyses of proposed lease

                                                                                                                                                               29

                              sales is viewed by the Borough as being essential prior to                   of quicker recovery from environmental loss or damage.
                              any lease sale by the State. I I AAC 81.040 permits the                      Lands consumed in the conduct of petroleum explora-
                              Director of the Division of Lands or his designee to                         tion, development,        production     and transportation
                              exempt the proposed joint Federal/State Beaufort Sea
                              lease sale from any and all requirements of sections                         should be valued as to the loss of fish and wildlife
                              210-430. Considering the complexities involved in this                       habitat. Funds compensating the State or Federal gov-
                              frontier area and the presence of endangered species, the                    ernment for this loss should then be expended within
                              Borough believes an exemption of these studies not to                        the region for habitat improvement, thereby mitigating
                              be in the best interest of the Borough And the State.                        the loss of habitat. The Borough views this as a deter-
                                                                                                           rent to unnecessary consumption of space (habitat) as
                        �     Environmental training in the broadest sense should be                       well as a means of avoiding the loss of fish and wildlife
                              undertaken in all areas. In addition to archeological,                       resources.
                              geological and biological considerations, the program                        The existence of habitat which is capable of producing
                              should consider the historic, social, and cultural aspects                   plentiful wildlife is essential to the preservation of
                              of the North Slope and its residents. In this way a                          Inupiat subsistence economy and culture. Since the
                              greater appreciation and respect for the Inupiat and                         maintenance of these is of paramount importance to the
                              their values may be gained by those working for the                          people of the Borough, it is Borough policy to strictly
                              petroleum industry on the North Slope and in the                             limit any activities which would inhibit habitat produc-
                              Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area in particular.                                      tion. Conversely, the Borough believes that whenever
                        �     The Borough considers a field training program as                            possible habitat enhancement programs should be
                              required by 18 AAC 75.310 Contingency Plans to be of                         strongly encouraged.
                              great importance. Borough staff observations of recent
                              oil spills indicate that failures in techniques and equip-                   Recreation and tourism are both activities whose devel-
                              ment could have been detected and corrected as a result                      opment directly infringes on wildlife supporting habitat
                              of field training exercises prior to actual oil spills.                      and which threaten to compete for subsistence re-
                        �     An inventory should be undertaken quantifying the life                       sources. To minimize their adverse impact, facilities and
                              of the coastal habitat including the number of marine                        services supporting these activities should be confined to
                              organisms and the amount of biomass prior to a lease                         already developed areas.
                              sale. Furthermore, dollar values should be estimated.                        It is Borough policy to discourage land classifications
                              Also included should be the fair market value and                            such as Wild and Scenic River and National Park which
                              utility/rent value of beach and shoreline property and                       would serve in the long run to encourage increased
                              the shoreline properties of the estuaries. These quan-                       tourist and recreation use of the land.
                              tities and values agreed upon by the lessees and the
                              lessors and should then be included in the stipulations                3.    1 ntergovern mental Coordination
                              of the lease sale contract to provide a basis for calcula-
                              tions of environmental loss or damage which might                            The Borough views participation in all governmental
                              occur. This is looked upon by the Borough as a                               activities directly affecting the lands and waters of its
                              deterrent to careless practices resulting in pollution, as                   coastal area as a primary means of attaining its goals. It
                              spurring clean-up actions if a spill results, and as a means                 is the policy of the North Slope Borough to actively and

                        30

                          willingly participate in planning, policy development                   required by lease sale contracts, Federal and State laws
                          and regulatory activities within the North Slope Bor-                   and local ordinances, a joint office should be established
                          ough. Thus, the North Slope Borough calls for the                       to coordinate and expedite the processing of all govern-
                          fullest opportunity allowable under law to participate                  mental permits and project reviews. Such a "one stop
                          and coordinate activities with other governmental en-                   shopping center" concept is seen by the Borough as
                          tities.                                                                 providing a more coordinated, responsive and empirical
                          The North Slope Borough policy in regard to       fish and              approach to the management of lands and waters after
                          wildlife management can be summed up as one of active                   lease sales. From the industry's viewpoint, it would
                          participation in a cooperative management system of                     serve to avoid duplication and time and effort consumed
                          excellence with an overriding priority for subsistence                  in locating and dealing with numerous seemingly auton-
                          uses. The Borough views the Alaska Eskimo Whaling                       omous governmental units. Furthermore, this approach,
                          Commission as a beginning. Although this Commission                     which would be a part of the lease sale stipulations, is
                          was formed for the local self-regulation of a single                    seen as being more logical if extended to include
                          endangered migratory subsistence species, its formation                 existing and potential petroleum basins or petroleum
                          was encouraged by the Federal government and it is                      provinces rather than individual lease sales. The entire
                          actively cooperating with State and Federal officials in                Beaufort Sea area both onshore and offshore and both
                          the management of this vital resource.                                  Federal and State lands and waters appear amenable to
                                                                                                  this approach.
                          Since the petroleum industry, especially in its offshore                The Borough views agreements among the circumpolar
                          operations, is extremely complex with innumerable
                          variables presented during the exploration of each lease                nations regarding the environmental protection of the
                          sale area and during the development and production                     Arctic Ocean to be in the best interest of all nations.
                          phases after the location of commercial quantities, the                 Thus, the Borough will continue its efforts toward the
                          Borough views a close working relationship between                      realization of an Arctic Oceans policy with other gov-
                          industry and government as a means of satisfactory and                  ernmental units.
                          mutually beneficial site location and protection of the                 The exploration and development of energy resources
                          environment. The Borough realizes that severe limita-                   both onshore and offshore in the frontier Arctic areas of
                          tions exist in planning where the location of the petro-                Alaska, Canada, Greenland and the Soviet Union are
                          leum finds are not known. Thus, once the deposits are                   viewed by the North Slope Borough as being potentially
                          defined, the development of plans must begin anew with                  detrimental to the fragile Arctic environment. As a
                          a whole series of alternate means of developing, produc-                means of environmental protection, the Borough will
                          ing and transporting the product. Most often this in-                   attempt to effect intergovernmental coordination result-
                          volves the consideration of adjacent and nearby finds.                  ing in an international Arctic coastal management pro-
                          Thus once lease sale contracts are entered into, there                  gram and a cooperative environmental impact assess-
                          must be a degree of flexibility during the production                   ment protocol.
                          and development phases. To assure maximum protec-
                          tion of the environment, the Borough must maintain a                    It is the North Slope Borough's view that rules of
                          close, ongoing relationship with the industry.                          operation for the exploration, development and produc-
                          In order to facilitate the sound environmental practices                tion of petroleum of neighboring Arctic Ocean nations

                                                                                                                                                           31

                            be at least as stringent as those in Alaska. To insure the        although embodying in part the Borough's policies, are not
                            safe development of petroleum resources in the Arctic, a          structured to attain Borough goals. It is the standards
                            common set of rules for onshore and offshore develop-             developed at the local level which must guide Federal and
                            ment must be formulated and agreed upon. Coordinat-               State regulatory and enforcement authority toward the at-
                            ed, unified intergovernmental activity is viewed as being         tainment of local goals.
                            necessary to initiate such an agreement.                          The development of reasonable, yet effective standards in the
                      D.    STANDARDS                                                         Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area is not an easy task due to the
                                                                                              nature of the petroleum industry whose land uses and
                      The standards or the rules to be applied in carrying out the            activities overshadow all other effects upon the environment.
                      North Slope Borough policies for conducting activities on the           This is a large, dynamic and complex industry which as it
                      lands and waters of the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area cannot be              moves offshore poses even greater threats to the environ-
                      formulated prior to the development of the basic tools of               ment.
                      implementation. Although the coastal management program
                      enables the formulation of goals and policies, the develop-             To counter these threats to the environment, codes and
                      ment of standards requires carrying out a basic program of              ordinances are required which prevent surface development
                      comprehensive planning culminating in the enactment of                  in specific areas, limit development on a seasonal basis in
                      codes and ordinances in which the standards are embodied.               other areas, and severely regulate activities in all areas where
                      Or Borough standards can evolve through agreements with                 development is allowed. This requires the legal enforcement
                      other units of government where standards are jointly devef-            of standards based upon contingency plans and these plans
                      oped  . However, if the North Slope Borough is to develop               and the standards to be applied must have a degree of
                      confidence in and understanding of its position regarding               flexibility which makes them amenable to changes or unfore-
                      standards and their enforcement, it must go through the                 seen occurrences.
                      process of developing standards independently prior to nego-            Even during limited lease sales, vas    .t areas are leased for
                      tiations.                                                               exploration. Within these areas, the location of commercial
                      It should not be interpreted that there are no standards being          petroleum deposits, if any, are unknown. Speculation as to
                      applied to development in the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area. A               quantities and locations can be made and contingency plans
                      wide range of standards in the form of regulations are being            can be drawn. However, if commercial finds are realized and
                      applied by Federal agencies such as the Environmental                   defined, changes in the development plan may be required.
                      Protection Agency, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the             Quantities and location may force the consideration of
                      U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Office of Pipeline Safety,           alternate means of developing, producing and transporting
                      the Occupational -Safety and Health Administration, and                 the product. The alternative may prove to be more or to be
                      many others, while State agencies such as,the Department of             less environmentally damaging or disruptive. Or new tech-
                      Environmental Conservation, the Department of Fish and                  nologies may provide environmental safeguards unknown in
                      Game, the Department of Transportation and Public Facil-                the past. Thus, the standards drawn must be rigid enough to
                      ities, the Department of Natural Resources, and others have             effectively control the use of the lands and waters of the
                      their own standards which overall vary from those applied by            Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area yet they must be sufficiently
                      the Federal government.                                                 flexible to respond to change.
                      However, it is reasonable to assume that these standards,

                      32

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                                                                        VII. Implementation Strategies

                             VII.    IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES                                  successful undertakings were legislative when, for example,
                                                                                                the Borough played a major role in the transfer of NPR-A
                    During the formative years of North Slope Borough         organiza-         from Navy to Interior with strong regulatory, study and
                    tion and development from its inception on July 1, 1972 to                  classification requirements designed to protect the environ-
                    date, the Borough has depended in large part on Federal and                 ment. In the area of archeological, historic, and cultural sites,
                    State agencies' pursuing the legislative mandate of numerous                the Borough has provided invaluable identification and infor-
                    pieces of legislation tailored to protect the environment.                  mation for the protection of these sites. These policies and
                    Borough actions were reserved to investigation of particularly              the adoption of a zoning ordinance for the Haul Road
                    damaging or disruptive events as reported by inhabitants of                 provide a basis for the control of development along this
                    the Borough and to intercession in behalf of       these residents          route. The Borough Capital Improvements Program for the
                    with State and Federal officials in an attempt     to rectify such          Prudhoe Bay area seeks to consolidate development of major
                    situations. As development activities increased    with the trans-          private and public facilities and to connect them to one
                    Alaska pipeline construction, the Prudhoe Bay oil field                     common utility system. Borough/State cooperation in study
                    development, the exploration of areas adjacent to the Prud-                 efforts such as the Social Analysis of the Beaufort Sea Lease
                    hoe Bay field and the accelerated exploration of NPR-A,                     Sale welcomed Borough input.
                    reports of environmental damage and disruption increased                    However, despite the individual efforts of some Federal and
                    dramatically.                                                               State agencies, the North Slope Borough feels largely ignored.
                    The Borough witnessed a large consumption of productive                     Decisions are often made which directly affect the Borough
                    habitat, the disruption of fish and wildlife migrations,                    without even notification being sent to the Borough or
                    damage to overwintering fish populations and other impacts                  without a solicitation for its inputs. Borough reports, some
                    of oil and gas exploration and development. Blowouts while                  compiled almost exclusively from local sources, are often
                    drilling offshore from the Mackenzie River delta in Canada                  ignored. Borough ordinances directly applicable to land use
                    heightened the concern for the environment in the North                     and development are often dismissed. In summary, except in
                    Slope Borough. And announcements of proposed lease sales                    rare circumstances, the North Slope Borough finds itself a
                    in the Beaufort Sea were seen to threaten the very existence                foreign party to much planning, policy development and
                    of the bowhead whale which is an endangered species and                     regulation within its own corporate limits and the Borough
                    paramount to the subsistence and          culture of the coastal            does not see the tangible results as being development of
                    Inupiat of the North Slope Borough. Furthermore, not to be                  excellence with the utmost concern for the environment.
                    omitted by this general plight is        the inland Inupiat of
                    Anaktuvuk Pass who along with their coastal relatives foresee               A.   FEDERAL AND STATE CONSISTENCY
                    the opening of the Haul Road to the general public as being                      WITH LOCAL PLANS AND ORDINANCES
                    damaging and disruptive to the wildlife resources. They are                 The State's police power delegated to the North Slope
                    especially concerned with the disruption of the caribou herds               Borough extends to all lands within the Prudhoe Bay Coastal
                    and fear increased direct competition for this scarce subsist-              Area. This includes Federal and State lands as well as
                    ence resource.                                                              privately owned properties. However, the extent of control
                    Clearly, the protection of the environment by the local                     may be limited.
                    governmental unit, the North Slope Borough, was mandated                    In the area of land use development and environmental
                    by the permanent residents of the Borough. Perhaps the most                 protection, local control and planning have been relied upon

                                                                                                                                                                  33

                        by the State and Federal governments throughout the nation.               Subsections 307(c)(1) and (2) provide assurances that all
                        This is especially evident within the realm of public welfare             Federal activities including development projects directly
                        where such Federal legislation as the National Environmental              affecting the coastal area are undertaken in a manner consist-
                        Policy Act of 1969 and the Environmental Quality Improve-                 ent to the maximum extent practicable with approved State
                        ment Act of 1970 recognize the importance of both State                   coastal management programs.
                        and local governments. Furthermore, the primary responsibil-              Thus, with local representation on the     Alaska Coastal Policy
                        ity for the enhancement of the national environment through
                        control of pollution, water and land resources, transporta-               Council charged with the    development of standards and with
                        tion, and economic and regional development is seen to rest               the approval of district management programs, the local
                        with State and local governments.

                        Of course, Federal authority over its lands is well established.
                        It may be proprietary or legislative in nature and stems from
                        the "Property Clause" of the U. S. Constitutio      n, Article 1,
                        Section 3, Clause 2, and the Supremacy Clause, Article VI,
                        Clause 2, respectively. However, in particular cases courts
                        have held that States and local units of government delegated
                        State authority may exercise control over Federal lands to
                        the extent that regulation would not be inconsistent or
                        clearly frustrate Federal policies and programs.

                        Federal jurisdiction over Federal property in laws enacted by                         M,
                        the Congress may be determined by express or      implied intent
                        to allow or not to allow State or local laws      to be applied.
                        Recent legislation such as the Federal Land Policy and
                        Management Act of 1976 calls for public and State/local
                        government consultation and participation in BLM's develo
                                                                                        p-
                        ment of land use plans for public lands. This legislation
                        further calls for the land use plans of the Secretary to be
                        consistent with State and local plans to the maximum extent
                        he finds consistent with Federal law and the purposes of the
                        Act. However, although the extent of consistency with local
                        plans is not well spelled out, it is clear that local authority
                        has not been totally preempted.

                        Somewhat differently than the Federal Land Policy and
                        Management Act of 1976, the Coastal Zone Management Act
                        of 1972, as amended (16 USC 1451 et seq.) seeks consistency
                        for Federal activities with States and their local governmental
                                                                                                                                   41
                        units while excluding Federal lands from the coastal area.

                        34

                     governmental unit is afforded the opportunity to have Feder-            detailed plans for each separate community to be undertaken
                     al and State actions and activities in the coastal area consist-        as demanded.
                     ent with local government management plans.                             This basic document is needed to assemble, inventory and
                     The Alaska Statutes, Section 35.30.020, more clearly calls              analyze basic information regarding traditional use, fish and
                     for consistency with local government plans and ordinances              wildlife, economic, financial, cultural and other data. Pur-
                     as follows: "A department shall comply with local planning              suing one factor may be at the cost of others, thus there are
                     and zoning ordinances and other regulations in the same                 inherent conflicts which may require alternative plans or the
                     manner and to the same extent as other landowners."                     clear establishment of priorities. This plan is required as a
                     Although this provision is applicable to all State-owned land           basis for zoning both by State law and North Slope Borough
                     in the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area, department means only the              code (19.04.010) and will be completed as soon as possible.
                     Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and the              Since a major portion of the Borough comprehensive devel-
                     University of Alaska.                                                   opment plan must necessarily be concerned with oil and gas
                     The North Slope Borough is committed to undertaking the                 activities and facilities, a comprehensive land use plan for the
                     development of plans and ordinances to exercise the powers              Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse area will be undertaken concurrently
                     of land use planning and control required by the State of               with the Borough comprehensive development plan. Al-
                     home rule boroughs and required to implement the Prudhoe                though comprehensive in intent, the plan would emphasize
                     Bay Coastal Area Management Program. However, since well                the means of obtaining a more concentrated development of
                     in excess of 90 percent of the lands and waters of the                  facilities and uses in the Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse area so that
                     Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area are in the ownership of the State              common roads, utilities, airports and other facilities could be
                     and Federal governments, the Borough plea for adherence to              realized without substantially reducing wildlife habitat in the
                     local plans and ordinances must be by virtue of the doctrine            area. This plan will then form the basis for a zoning and
                     of Federal and State consistency.                                       floodplain ordinance, subdivision regulations, and building
                                                                                             codes in the Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse area.
                     B. LOCAL PLANS AND ORDINANCES                                           2.   Zoning Ordinance
                     The basis for the development of reasonable and effective               If the objectives of the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area Manage-
                     standards in carrying out the policies set forth by the                 ment Program regarding the siting of facilities in an orderly
                     Borough to attain its objectives in the Prudhoe Bay Coastal             manner and the prudent use of lands and waters are to be
                     Area is vested in the traditional land use controls of local            carried out, zoning provides a princip;@; means of implemonta-
                     government.                                                             tion.
                     I .  North Slope Borough Land Use Plans                                 Given the objectives and the policies of the North Slope
                     As a part of its planning program, the Borough will develop a           Borough's Coastal Management Program for the Prudhoe Bay
                     comprehensive development plan which will consider a range              area and the Boroughwide elements of:
                     of physical, social and economic factors and which will
                     include plan elements for land and water use, facilities and            1.   a relatively stable permanent community population
                     transportation. This comprehensive plan will be a structure                  composed in large part of indigenous peoples with lands
                     plan (a general regional plan) for the Borough with the                      set aside for any conceivable community expansion,

                                                                                                                                                           35

                      2.   the basis of the Inupiat culture of the North Slope                those activities which have been conducted on the lands and
                           Borough being vested in subsistence pursuits,                      waters of this area since the arrival of the Eskimo would be
                      3.   natural resource extraction providing the present and              encouraged to continue. The extraction of oil and gas, on the
                           future economic base for an improved standard of living            other hand, would require permits from the Borough based
                           and,                                                               upon the fulfillment of specified conditions. Tourism and
                                                                                              recreation and related development would also require per-
                      4.   the need for environmental safeguards to protect the               mits from the Borough based upon the fulfillment of speci-
                           habitat nurturing subsistence resources,                           fied conditions.
                      the following zoning scenario is envisioned.                            3.   Subdivision Regulations
                      Outside of the village selections under Section 12(a) of the            North Slope Borough subdivision regulations are to be ap-
                      Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, the only pertinent land            plied to the Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse area. In order to foster
                      uses within the North Slope Borough are either related to               efficient development requiring minimum road lengths and
                      mineral resource extraction (petroleum) or subsistence gath-            utility linkages and thus habitat consumption, any further
                      ering activities (hunting and fishing). Within the Section              subdivision of this area should be regulated by subdivision
                      12(a) village selection areas are a variety of land uses                ordinance. However, subdivision regulations as with zoning
                      normally associated with small Alaska communities. But,                 ordinances and building codes must consider the effects of
                      since population growth in the permanent Borough commun-                flooding and thus a flood hazard ordinance dealing with
                      ities is not a major factor and lands available through the             floodplains.
                      Al.aska Native Claims Settlement Act are sufficient to accom-
                      modate any conceivable population growth, it is doubtful                4.   Building Codes
                      there will be encroachment of the villages upon the remaining           The Uniform Building Code with amendments will be adopt-
                      Borough lands outside the village selections.                           ed and applied immediately to the Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse
                                                                                              area where construction has proceeded to date without the
                      Therefore, the Borough envisions that all lands (and waters)            assurance of sound construction for all facilities. Unquestion-
                      within the North Slope Borough, inc(uding the Prudhoe Bay               ably, most facilities which are intended to be used through-
                      Coastal Area, with the exception of the village selections              out the period of petroleum production are built to high
                      under Section 12*(a) will be zoned by the Borough as a                  standards. However, facilities exist that would not meet any
                      wildlife enhancement zone. The uses allowed in this zone                code and this is viewed as a threat to the public health, safety
                      would be all activities contributing to the perpetuation and            and general welfare especially where flooding is a possibility.
                      enhancement of wildlife and wildlife habitat and subsistence            Of course, the Uniform Building Code must be severely
                      activities. Uses allowed on a conditional basis and requiring a         amended to take into consideration the needs and the
                      conditional use permit to insure sound environmental loca-              difficulties involved in Arctic construction and possible flood
                      tion and practices would be oil and gas extraction and related          conditions.
                      activities and tourism and recreation.
                      This zoning would allow subsistence hunting and fishing                 5.   Flood  Hazard Ordinance
                      without impairment. No permits would be required and                    Within the  Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area, there are areas subject
                      access would not be limited as to time and route. In essence,           to periodic flooding. These areas could potentially cause

                      36

                     serious damage to property, disrupt communications and                  nance for adoption by the Borough Assembly.
                     government services, result in extraordinary public expendi-
                     tures, impair the local and State tax base and cause wide-              C.   COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS
                     spread pollution. Foremost among the areas of concern must              If the Borough does not reinforce or in some cases establish
                     be the floodplain of the Sagavanirktok River. Some petrol-              its presence, it will abdicate its powers to the State and
                     eum-related development has taken place within the known                Federal governments in the areas of planning, policy develop-
                     floodplain. However, the extent of this floodplain during a             ment and regulation of its lands and development thereon.
                     so-called "100-year flood" is unknown. Thus, it appears to be           Thus, the Borough will have little assurance of meeting its
                     a prudent act to undertake a hydrological study of the                  objectives. Although the Borough must establish this standing
                     Sagavanirktok River to determine the extent and intensity of
                     flooding in the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area, especially the                with land use policies and controls over development through
                     Deadhorse area. If flooding which would cause damage were               the use of its police powers as well as taxation, spending and
                     forecast to take place there, the area then would be desig-             eminent domain, the ultimate means of attaining Borough
                     nated as a flood hazard area and a flood hazard ordinance               goals could be through cooperative agreements.
                     would be developed and enacted by the Borough. Such an                  1.   Cooperative Management Agreements
                     ordinance would assure that safe construction would take
                     place in the future. As an alternative, the ordinance could be          The Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area with the Arctic National
                     tied to any of the ordinances in the affected area such as the          Wildlife Range abutting to the east, NPR-A recommended as
                     ordinances dealing with zoning, subdivision and building                the North Slope Wildlife Refuge in current Section 17(d)(2)
                     codes.                                                                  legislation adjacent to the west and the proposed Borough
                                                                                             zoning point toward a cooperative management agreement as
                     6.   Capital Improvements Program                                       the most effective means of attaining Borough goals in the
                     The North Slope Borough Capital Improvements Program is                 Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area as well as throughout the Borough.
                     an ordered, long-term schedule for acquiring and building               The proposed Borough zoning would undoubtedly be facili-
                     public facilities deemed to be needed by the Borough. in the            tated by a cooperative management agreement among the
                     Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area the Capital Improvements Program               Federal government, the State of Alaska, the North Slope
                     has been used to overcome water, sewer and waste disposal               Borough and the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation as the
                     problems in the Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse area. However, the                largest private landowner in the North Slope Borough. Ad-
                     current Capital Improvements Program calls for thecomple-               ministratively, such an agreement would have toguarantee the
                     tion in 1978 of a complex consisting of a solid waste                   participants a voice in the planning, policy formulation and
                     incinerator and sewage treatment plant and a water reservoir            regulation of these lands and waters.
                     to accommodate foreseeable future demands.
                                                                                             Of course, such a cooperative management agreement could
                     This program is in keeping with Borough policies regarding              not be realized without significant effort and substantial
                     the concentration of facilities permitting common piped                 accord on such matters as subsistence priorities and oil and
                     utilities in the Deadhorse area. Should other projects of               gas extraction. Then, upon reaching an agreement on substan-
                     environmental protection be identified requiring outlays of             tive issues, the assignment of responsibilities and the develop-
                     public capital, they will be included in the Capital Improve-           ment of procedures for actively administering the substance
                     ments Program and the Capital Improvements Program ordi-                of the agreement would have to be worked out.

                                                                                                                                                            37

                         It is within the context of such an agreement that the                      development. Therefore, this single office would be the focal
                         Borough believes the people of the North Slope can play a                   point of govern ment- i nd ustry contact for permits and project
                         significant role. The participation of local residents in the               review for the entire Beaufort Sea area, both onshore and
                         processes of inventorying wildlife, improving wildlife habitat,             offshore.
                         monitoring the effects of development and regulating actions
                         on the lands and waters would be a distinct asset to all groups             D.   LAND OWNERSHIP
                         concerned.                                                                  The ownership of lands        by a local public authority can
                         There can be little question that the Alaska Eskimo Whaling                 provide controls unavailable by other means. And barring
                         Commission developed and successfully implemented a regu-                   maladministration of these public lands, leasing policies
                         lAtory program to enforce the quota on bowhead whales                       provide an effective way of avoiding or mitigating undesirable
                         established by the International Whaling Commission. With-                  impacts while enforcing safe, well planned development. But,
                         out the accord developed by local whaling captains for village              since the lands in the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area are almost
                         quotas and their self-imposed regulatory procedures, it is                  exclusively owned by the State and Federal governments, this
                                                                                                     option is not currently open to the Borough and any
                         doubtful the prudence and restraint exhibited by the Eskimo
                         whalers during this past spring whaling season would have                   Borough control on these lands would depend upon the
                         been forthcoming. This provides an example to regulatory                    exercise of Federal and State consistency.
                         agencies of the virtue and the value of direct local participa-             However, the North Slope Borough has selected State lands
                         tion.                                                                       in the more intensely developed Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse area
                         2.   Coordinated Permit and Project Review Procedure                        under Section 29.18.190 of the Alaska Statutes. This section
                         The  North Slope Borough foresees the establishment of a                    allows the Borough to select 10 percent of the vacant,
                         formal office to coordinate and expedite the processing of all              unappropriated, unreserved State land within its boundaries.
                         governmental permits and project reviews as being essential.                Although this portion of the Borough land selection was
                         If the sound environmental practices required in lease sale                 denied by administrative discretion, legal action brought by
                         contracts, Federal and State laws and local ordinances are to               the Borough is pending before the State Superior Court. The
                         be facilitated, then a single Federal, State and Borough office             conveyance of this State land to the Borough would provide
                         is required. Such a "one stop shopping center" concept is                   an added dimension in controlling future development in this
                                                                                                     most densely developed area. And it is the Borough intention
                         seen as providing a more coordinated, responsive and empiri-                to pursue gaining title to this land.
                         cal approach to the management of lands and waters after oil
                         and gas lease sales.                                                        E.   IN DUSTRY/130 ROUGH COOPERATION
                         However, this approach which should be a part of the lease                  The North Slope Borough has sought the advice of the
                         sale stipulations is seen as being more logical if the coordinat-           petroleum industry in the Prudhoe Bay area regarding
                         ed permit and review procedure would be extended to                         Borough planning and development activities. It has also
                         include the whole of an existing and/or potential petroleum                 informed the petroleum industry regarding its plans and
                         basin or petroleum province. Thus, the Borough recommends                   programs and it has received similar information from the
                         this approach be implemented not only for the proposed                      industry. This mutual exchange of information and render-
                         joint Federal/State Beaufort Sea Lease Sale, but that it be                 ings of assistance which has somewhat languished lately will
                         implemented immediately to facilitate ongoing onshore                       be intensified.

                         38

                    It is fully recognized by the Borough that if plans and
                    standards of performance are to be required and ordinances
                    developed and enacted for the Prudhoe Bay area, a close
                    working relationship will be required with the petroleum
                    industry to assure that the regulations developed are reason-
                    able and effective, not punitive and unworkable. Thus, it is
                    the intention of the Borough to more fully utilize the
                    knowledge and expertise available through the Industrial
                    Representatives Advisory Committee to the North Slope
                    Borough Planning Commission.

                    F. BOROUGH COMMENT AND CONSULTATION
                    A variety of Federal and State programs will be beyond the
                    direct control of local ordinances or the degree of control
                    possible through local ordinances will be limited. However,
                    comments or consultation of leasing or permit issuing agen-
                    cies is often required or sought from the Borough. This
                    process provides the Borough with the opportunity to obtain
                    information regarding proposed development or activity and
                    it also provides the Borough the opportunity to advance its
                    views.

                    Although there can be no guarantee that Borough views will
                    influence the decision-making, well reasoned, well prepared,
                    timely responses reflecting Borough goals based upon Bor-
                    ough plans, programs and ordinances can contribute toward
                    influencing agencies and attaining Borough objectives. The
                    Borough views the information it receives and its responses as
                    being extremely important where petroleum or petroleum-
                    related activities or development are concerned since the
                    dynamics involved in this industry's operations require con-
                    stant reappraisal.

                                                                                                                                                      39

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                                                      VIII. Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area Inventory

                       Vill. -PRUDHOE BAY COASTAL AREA INVENTORY.                             2. Wind
                                                                                              The most striking characteristic of the wind on the Arctic
                     The Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area inventory describes the                     coast is its persistence. At Barrow, according to the U. S.
                     natural and man-made environment of the Prudhoe Bay                      Weather Service, there is a no-wind condition only 1.3
                     Coastal Area and traditional and current use of this by local            percent of the time. A calm condition is present 4.4 percent
                     residents, industry and nonresident visitors. Particular empha-          of the time at Barter Island to the east of the study area.
                     sis has been placed on identifying subsistence resources and             Wind decreases appreciably inland from the coast. At Umiat,
                     habitat that are susceptible to impact from development.                 90 miles from the coast on the Colville River, there is no
                                                                                              wind about 18 percent of the time.
                     A.   CLIMATE                                                             At Barter Island, from May to December, the prevailing
                     The climate of   the Arctic coastal plain differs significantly          winds are east-northeast and average from 10.6 to 19.5 knots
                     from other parts of the State. Temperatures are relatively               per hour (12.2 to 22.5 miles per hour). From December to
                     colder both summer and winter and an almost constant wind                April there is a secondary prevailing wind from the west
                     produces a chill factor which makes the temperature lower                averaging from 15.4 to 19.5 knots per hour (17.7 to 22.5
                     than that registered on the thermometer. Although lakes and              miles per hour). At Barrow, the year-round prevailing wind is
                     streams cover the coastal plain, the annual precipitation is             from the east-northeast and averages from 12.4 to 17.5 knots
                     sufficiently low to classify the zone arid. From November to             per hour (14.3 to 20.2 miles per hour).
                     January cold temperatures and wind, combined with con-                   As has been mentioned previously, the chill factor created by
                     tinual darkness, often make outdoor activity difficult and               wind is an extremely important consideration for human
                     sometimes impossible.                                                    beings living and working on the Arctic coastal plain. It also
                                                                                              plays a crucial role in determining the navigability of the
                     1.   ILELerature                                                         Chukchi and Beaufort Seas during their short ice-free season.
                     For nine months of the year, from September to June,                     If an easterly wind prevails from August to October when the
                     temperatures in the region are below freezing. February is the           Chukchi and Beaufort Seas are normally open, the ice is
                     coldest month with an average daily temperature of -1 2'F at             moved away from the coast and maritime traffic is possible.
                     Barter Island and Barrow, the two stations closest to the                A prevailing westerly wind during these same months moves
                                                                                              the ice toward shore and can seriously impede or prevent
                     study area. July and August, which have average daily                    shipping operations.
                     temperatures of about 45*F, are the two warmest months;
                     however, even during these two months, there are days with
                     temperatures below freezing. Of more significance to humans              3.   Precipitation
                     than the air temperature, however, is the wind chill tempera-            With an average annual precipitation of from 4 to 6 inches,
                     ture. A body that is warmer than the air will lose heat until            the Arctic Slope is considered an arid zone. In general, April
                     the body and air temperature are equalized. The rate of loss             is the driest month at Barrow and Barter Island. Barrow
                     of body heat is dependent on barriers to heat loss such as               receives, in April, an average of 0.17 inches of its total
                     insulation and clothing. If heat is lost at a rate greater than          precipitation and Barter Island receives just 0.11 inches
                     the body can replace it, hypothermia can result. Wind                    during this same month. August, on the other hand, is the
                     accelerates this process at a measurable rate.                           wettest month at both stations. Barrow receives nearly an

                                                                                                                                                             41

                      inch or 21 percent of its 4.89-inch average annual precipita-           vegetation, topography, drainage and time. The parent mate-
                      tion in August, and slightly more than an inch or 14 percent            rial is the rock or unconsolidated deposits which determine
                      of Barter Island's average annual precipitation of 7.05 inches          the chemical and mineral composition of the soil. The
                      falls during August.                                                    weathering of the parent material and the action of climate
                                                                                              and plant and animal life slowly change the parent material
                      B.   PHYSICAL SETTING                                                   into soil. On steep slopes, a portion of the rainfall runs off
                      1.   Geomorphology and Stratigraph                                      leaving less to support plant life. However, the gently sloped
                      The area encompassed by the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area is                 lands found in the study area have more water and promote
                      located within a physiographic province, the Arctic Coastal             better plant growth. If lowlands are poorly drained, then
                      Plain. The Arctic Coastal Plain is generally featureless,               swamps will form. In the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area, most
                      tundra-covered terrain rising gradually from the Arctic shore           soils are formed under poor drainage. The wet soil of the
                      to a maximum elevation of 600 feet along its southern                   Arctic Coastal Plain thaws to a maximum of 18 inches in the
                      boundary with the Arctic Foothills province. The area is                summer and the underlying permafrost prevents good drain-
                      covered by thousands of lakes, meandering rivers and streams            age. The texture of the soil, whether it be sandy, loamy, or
                      and numerous permafrost features.                                       clayey, depends upon the parent material and is determined
                                                                                              by the proportion of different sized particles in the soil.
                      Quaternary and recent consolidated deposits such as silt,               3.    Permafrost
                      clay, sand and gravel up to 45 meters thick comprise most of
                      the Beaufort Sea coastal plain. These deposits overlie late             Permafrost is any earth material that remains frozen over
                      Mesozoic sediments, conglomerate and shale and Tertiary                 several years. A layer of permafrost as much as 1,800 feet
                      beds of conglomerate, sandstone and siltstone. Paleozoic                (550 meters) thick underlies the entire Prudhoe Bay Coastal
                      rocks thin out from the Brooks Range and are deposited                  Area. Between the ground surface and the permafrost is a
                      conformably against the Barrow Arch which runs approxi-                 shallow layer of earth that thaws to a maximum of 18 inches
                      mately parallel to the Beaufort Sea coast in the study area. In         in summer and freezes completely during the winter. Called
                      addition, Mesozoic rocks (the Jurassic and Triassic beds)               the active layer, this earth accumulates water from rain and
                      which also thin out from the Brooks Range were deposited                snow and ice melt. The underlying permafrost prevents the
                      conformably on top of these. On the north side of the Arch,             infiltration of water and forces surface drainage creating a
                      the older rocks forming the Arch were truncated by erosion              liquid environment. This, in turn, promotes the development
                      prior to the deposition of the Cretaceous.                              of the marsh and tundra typical of the region. This vegetative
                      Many widespread fault systems and an angular unconformity               mat insulates and preserves the permafrost and increases its
                      truncate progressively older rock units. These stratigraphic            depth. Disruption to the vegetative mat impairs its insulative
                      and structural conditions created favorable traps along the             effect and causes the permafrost to thaw which results in
                      Barrow Arch for development of oil and gas. The producing               subsidence and erosion.
                      oil field at Prudhoe Bay is atop the Barrow Arch which is               Permafrost also underlies much of the sea floor in the
                      8,000 to 10,000 feet deep at that location.                             Beaufort Sea shelf although its eastward extent and distribu-
                                                                                              tion are not known. However, on the basis of bathymetry,
                      2.   Soils                                                              general subsea permafrost distribtuion can be estimated. In
                      Soil formation is affected by the parent material, climate,             areas of grounded fast ice, usually associated with less than 2

                      42

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                     meters (6 feet) of water depth, ice-rich permafrost will be             prior to river ice break-up, melted water overflows the ice,
                     found. Offshore Prudhoe Bay, thick unboncled (nonice-rich)              sometimes for several miles on each side of the frozen
                     layers of permafrost have been recorded in water depths                 channel bed. If river ice break-up occurs after the period of
                     greater than 2 meters (6 feet). Since the entire Alaskan                peak flooding, ice jams may significantly increase the height
                     Beaufort Sea shelf was exposed during the last glacial age and          of the water and cause extensive flooding. Local flooding
                     was susceptible to permafrost formation, relict ice-bonded              may also occur during the winter when water from rivers or
                     permafrost probably exists out to the 90-meter (290-foot)               springs bursts through the surface of the ice and overflows
                     isobath. It should be noted that these estimates are very               the channel. When this overflow freezes, aufeis, which resem-
                     rough. The actual extent of the permafrost is unknown.                  bles an ice mound or thick ice sheet, is formed. When it
                                                                                             occurs, aufeis buildup can disrupt river crossings such as
                     4.   Surface Water                                                      roads, bridges or pipelines.
                                                                                             There are two types of lakes in the Arctic region: glacial lakes
                     Although the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area is covered by                     and thaw lakes. Glacial lakes, formed from melting glaciers,
                     numerous rivers, streams, takes and marshes, continuous                 are generally found in foothills and mountains close to the
                     permafrost and ice resulting from the cold winter tempera-              source of the glacier, consequently there are few lakes of this
                     tures severely limit the availability of surface water on a             type in the study area. Thaw lakes, however, are quite
                     year-round basis. Surface water is readily available during the         common in the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area. These are pro-
                     region's short summer both for human and industrial use         *       cluced by the pooling of melted snow and ice in slight
                     The only sources of water during the region's long winter are           depressions, augmented during summer by the thaw from
                     melted ice and snow or the few large rivers such as the                 underlying permafrost. As this process continues over time,
                     Canning, Colville, and Sagavanirktok which are fed by                   the lake deepens and widens. The larger thaw lakes      (0.62 to
                     groundwater wells and maintain flows year-round and the                 1.2 miles in surface area) tend to be elongated and oriented
                     deeper lakes which do not freeze to the bottom. These same
                     rivers and lakes are used by fish for overwintering.

                     The major rivers of the study area are the Canning, the
                     Kavik-Shaviovik, the Sagavanirktok, the Kuparuk-Toolik,
                     and the Colville. With a drainage area of 24,000 square miles
                     and a length of approximately 400 miles, the Colville is the
                     largest of these. The Sagavanirktok drains an area of 5,546
                     square miles and extends approximately 166 miles; the
                     Kuparuk drains 3,649 square miles and is 183 miles long; and
                     the Canning River drains 2,256 square miles and is U 7 miles
                                                                                             F=_
                     long. Although most rivers and streams in the Prudhoe Bay
                     Coastal Area are frozen to the bottom from December to
                     May, the Colville, Sagavanirktok and Canning Rivers maintain
                                                                                                                                           47-
                     limited flows during these months.

                     The extent of flooding depends upon the amount of accu-
                     mulated snow and the time of melting. Floods occur when,

                                                                                                                                                            4S

                      10 to 15 degrees west of true north. Thaw lakes shallower                  near-shore barrier islands facing them. They are formed from
                      than 6 to 8 feet usually freeze to the bottom during winter.               river deposits accumulated over years. River deposition coasts
                      Although the larger lakes may not freeze entirely, they                    extend the shoreline seaward and generally have low relief (0
                      usually contain impurities from frozen layers and thus are                 to 4 meters).
                      not potable.                                                               Wave erosion coasts are exposed directly to the open ocean
                      The permafrost of the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area prevents                    and consist of bedrock sea cliffs or poorly consolidated
                      subsurface drainage and thus severely limits the availability of           permafrost. The cliffs are wave straightened and have a nearly
                      ground water. The only potential year-round source of                      continuous appearance. They are generally less than I I
                      ground water is the unfrozen alluvium located beneath large,               meters high and are subject to erosion from wave action.
                      deep rivers and lakes which do not freeze entirely during the              Marine deposition coasts are shaped by sea waves and
                      winter. Here, the surface water bodies create a warming                    currents and are in the process of active buildup from these
                      effect which thaws the surrounding alluvium. The alluvium                  forces. In general, these coasts are fronted by nearshore
                      aquifers underlying rivers generally have better quality water             barrier islands and spits roughly parallel to the coast but
                      and greater storage potential than those underlying lakes                  separated from them by a narrow body of water usually less
                      because the movement of the river water continuously                       than 5 kilometers wide. The barriers afford some protection
                      recharges them.                                                            from the ocean pack ice, waves and currents. Marine deposi-
                      5.   Coastal Erosion and Relief                                            tion coasts have a generally low relief of less than 4 meters.
                      A unique feature of the Beaufort Sea coast is that it is frozen            Beaufort Sea coastal relief or sea cliff height can be classified
                      fast and is therefore protected from erosion during 8 to 9                 in three categories. Low coastal relief is less than 2 meters in
                      months of the year. Nevertheless, the shoreline            in the          height; moderate coastal relief ranges from 2 to 5 meters; and
                      Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area is retreating rapidly. The         perma-         high coastal relief is greater than 5 meters in height. Because
                      frost is highly susceptible to thermal erosion effects.     During         of the ongoing coastal retreat process and the generally flat
                      the summer, the soil above the permafrost thaws, making it                 terrain of the area, coastal relief is dependent upon the
                      weak and highly susceptible to slumping. In addition, the                  elevation of the adjacent land surface relative to sea level.
                      surface water has a warming effect on the underlying perma-                Low relief is associated with barrier islands and spits, deltas
                      frost. These two factors in combination with wave and                      of river deposition coasts and sea cliffs along low sections of
                      current action break down the ice bonding in the permafrost                the tundra surface.
                      and undercut coastal banks and bluffs to form "thermo-                     Moderate relief is distinguished by sea cliffs along wave
                      erosional niches." These niches make the overhanging bluff                 erosion coasts and marine deposition coasts. These cliffs
                      increasingly unstable and eventually it collapses. The slumped             contrast with the flat tundra surface and are undergoing
                      soil affords temporary protection from direct wave attack,                 moderate erosion. Some cliffs of moderate relief are steep
                      thus retarding coastal retreat.                                            and uniform in appearance, while others are irregular as a
                                                                                                 result of erosion and permafrost thawing. High relief coasts
                      In 1972, P. V. Sellmann of      the U. S. Army's Cold Regions              generally consist of steep, sheer sea cliffs of relatively
                      Research and Engineering Laboratory developed three differ-                uniform appearance. Normally found along wave erosion
                      ent coastal classifications on the Arctic coast: river deposi-             coasts, these cliffs are subject to only moderate erosion
                      tion, wave erosion, and marine deposition. River deposition                because of the protection afforded by bedrock and large
                      coasts characteristically are river deltas and sometimes have              ramps of snow and ice.

                      46

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                     6.   Waves, Currents and Tides                                           Along the Prudhoe Bay coast, the lunar tides are weak and
                     Wave generation in the Beaufort Sea is significantly limited             have a minor effect on sea level. The mean range of sea level
                     by the almost continuous presence of ice. During the short               from these tides is less than 15 centimeters or 6 inches. In the
                     summer months when the ncarshore areas are ice free, most                absence of strong tides, other factors, such as wind and
                     wave action is from the northeast since that is the direction            atmospheric pressure, become unusually significant. Meteoro-
                     of the prevailing winds. Floating ice and barrier islands                logical tides or storm surges resulting from atmospheric low
                     partially protect the coast from wave action and consequent              pressure and westerly winds, have caused the sea level to rise
                     erosion.                                                                 as much as three meters (10 feet) according to the Coastal
                                                                                              Studies Institute of Louisiana State University.
                     Wave size is dependent upon wind velocity and the extent of
                     open water for the wind to blow across. Heaviest wave action
                     occurs in September and October when wind is strongest and               7.   Ice
                     the nearshore area is usually free from ice. In the Beaufort             The  Beaufort Sea is icebound for at least nine months of the
                     Sea, waves generally have a duration of from two to three                year, but break-up and freeze-up vary greatly from season to
                     seconds and are less than 50 centimeters or 20 inches high.              season. Break-up has been observed as early as June 13 but
                     During severe storms, however, waves of one to three meters              generally occurs early in August. Freeze-up has occurred as
                     and lasting from five to ten seconds have been recorded by               late as October 25, but the average freeze-up is the first week
                     the Coastal Studies Institute of Louisiana State University.             in October.
                     Sensitivity of coastal areas to storm surges and waves is                Leads in the Beaufort Sea are associated with break-up.
                     directly related to coastal relief. Areas with low relief (less          Beginning in June, there are scattered leads along the Arctic
                     than 2 meters in height) are vulnerable to frequent storm                coast from Cape Lisburne to Barrow. At about this same
                     surges and frequent flooding from waves. Zones of moderate               time, a lead begins to form at the mouth of the Mackenzie
                     relief, from 2 to 5 meters in height, are subject to infrequent          River and extends westward along the Alaskan coast to about
                     storm surges and quite frequent storm wave flooding. The                 the Colville River delta by mid- or late July. These are the
                     zone of high relief (from 5 to 8 meters in height) is                    routes used by whales and seals migrating northward and
                     vulnerable only to infrequent high storm waves of three                  eastward. The area of coast from Barrow eastward to the
                     meters or more. The zone of very high relief (greater than 8             Colville delta is normally the last to break up because of the
                     meters) is free from storm surge or wave flooding danger.                prevailing wind flow.
                     Shallow water, the ice pack and barrier islands limit currents           The existence of open water in the Beaufort Sea is dependent
                     in the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area. The Beaufort Sea gyre, an               upon the winds. Easterly and southerly winds hold the ice
                     anticyclonic (clockwise) gyre centered midway between the                pack offshore, while northerly and westerly winds force the
                                                                                              floes in the direction of the shore. Even when the main body
                     Arctic coast and the North Pole dominates the surface                    of ice recedes from the coast, however, drifting floes and
                     current of the Beaufort Sea. This current carries the ice pack           bands of fast ice occur in the inshore waters.
                     in a westerly direction along the continental shelf at the rate
                     of from three to ten kilometers a day. Nearshore, between                Beaufort Sea ice can be classified in three major zones:
                     the barrier islands and the coast, the current is wind related           grounded fast ice, generalized fast ice, and pack ice. Ground-
                     and therefore highly variable over short periods of time.                ed fast ice, which extends from the shore seaward to the 30-

                     48

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                         Figure 8

                     to 60-foot isobath and reaches a maximum depth of 6 feet by              of Arctic regions. Much of the tundra of the Arctic Coastal
                     the end of winter, is seasonal and relatively little deformed.           Plain resembles grassland, and except for willows and birch
                     Its extent seaward depends upon the shoreline configuration,             found along some river and stream banks, never grows above
                     water depth, the time of year and pressure exerted by pack               a foot tall. Depending upon moisture and slope, the species
                     ice. Near shore, where water is less than six feet deep, the             composition varies. The tundra which dominates the study
                     freezing continues into the sediments of the ocean bottom,               area is generally described as wet. Moist tundra characterizes
                     thus binding the ice to it. It is nearly static throughout               the foothills region of the Brooks Range, and alpine tundra
                     winter.                                                                  occurs in the mountainous areas or along well-drained rocky
                     Generalized fast ice extends from the outer limit of the                 ridges. Wet tundra covers nearly 80 percent of the Arctic
                     grounded fast ice to the shear zone which separates it from              Coastal Plain, while moist tundra comprises the remaining 20
                     the pack ice. Generalized fast ice is extremely dynamic. It              percent.
                     constantly produces large, linear leads which freeze and form            Wet tundra soil thaws to about 30 centimeters during
                     new ice susceptible to deformation by pressure from the pack             summer. Because of the impermeability of permafrost, water
                     ice. The area between the generalized fast ice and the pack              from melted snow and ground ice is trapped on the surface in
                     ice, the shear zone, is subject to great stress from penetration         poorly drained lowlands and floodplains and provides a wet
                     by pack ice. This action produces ridges and ice hummocks as             environment in which vegetation thrives. Sedges and moss are
                     high as 13 feet and protuberances which often extend to the              the predominant wet tundra species, but cottongrass, herbs,
                     sea floor and may gouge it as the shear ice moves.                       heather and small willows are also present.
                     Beyond the shear zone is the constantly moving pack ice.                 Moist tundra is characteristic of the southern coastal plain
                     Sixty to seventy percent of the pack consists of large,                  and foothills and the better drained areas within the study
                     multi-year floes from 6 to 12 feet thick. First-year ice,                area. Cottongrass tussocks ranging from 6 to 10 inches (15 to
                     generally less than 8 feet thick, and leads constitute the
                     remainder of the pack.

                     The Beaufort Sea pack ice also contains "ice islands" which
                     have broken off from    Ellesmere Island or other ice shelves in
                     the Canadian Arctic
                                             and have moved westerly with the
                     prevailing winds. Ranging from 30 to 100 meters (96 to 320
                     feet) thick, these ice islands sometimes become grounded in
                     the shallow waters of the Beaufort Sea. When subjected to
                     pressure from the ice   pack, they may gouge the sea bottom.

                     C. VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE
                     1.    Vegetation
                     Terrestrial vegetation throughout the Arctic Coastal Plain is
                     relatively uniform. It consists principally of tundra, a word
                     used to describe the vast, nearly level, treeless plains typical

                                                                                                                                                             S1

                      25 cm) high predominate, and mosses and lichens are found                 by shallow waters formed during spring thaw when meltwater
                      in the moist channels between tussocks. Other plants typical              overflows stream basins or is trapped in vegetated tundra
                      of a moist tundra environment are such small shrubs as dwarf              depressions. I 'n June, these basin depths rarely exceed 10
                      birch and willows and herbs like cloudberry and bistort.                  centimeters in depth; however, by August, surface water is
                      Well-drained gravel, sand, and silt found along the floodplains           absent or only a few centimeters deep. Plants tolerant of
                      of the major rivers in the study area provide appropriate soil            periodic flooding cover all or most of Flooded Tundra.
                      for the growth of high brush. The plants of this community                Class 11, or Shallow-Carex, accounts for 21 percent of the
                      include willows, mosses and lichens and such herbs as dwarf               total wetlands. These are"shallow ponds with a gently sloping
                      fireweed and lupine.                                                      shore zone surrounded by and usually containing emergent
                      The most conspicuous habitat feature of the moist coastal                 Carex-aquatilis with a central open water zone. Water depths
                      tundra  .is the extensive wetlands which cover 50 to 75                   range from 10 centimeters to 30 centimeters in June to
                      percent of the coastal'plain in the study area. In spring, water          considerably less in August.
                      from rapidly melting snow flows over frozen surfaces and fills            Class 111, Shallow-Arctophila, accounts for 4 percent of the
                      numerous shallow thaw lakes and ponds, streams and rivers.                total. These include ponds or pools in beaded streams
                      As summer progresses, standing water disappears from some                 containing Arctophila-fulva in the central zone and shore-
                      depressions, nevertheless, the percentage of surface area                 ward stands of A. fulva or Carex aquatilis. Maximum depths
                      covered by wetlands remains high.                                         of Class I I I wetlands range from 20 to 50 centimeters.
                      Carsen and Hussey (1962) divided the Arctic Coastal Plain                 Class IV, Deep-Arctophila, comprises I I percent of the total
                      into eastern and western sections on the basis of the size and            wetlands. These are wetlands of either large pond or lake size
                      shape differences of thaw lakes, with the Colville River                  that lack emergents in the central zone and contain stands of
                      forming the boundary between the two. In the eastern                      Arctophilia fulva near shore. Maximum water depths exceed
                      section, which includes the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area,                     30 centimeters.
                      wetlands generally range from about 3 meters to rarely more
                      than 1.6 kilometers in length.                                            Class V, Deep-Open wetlands account for 5 percent of the
                      A study of waterbirds and their wetland resources at Storker-             total and are characterized by large deep lakes that have
                      sen Point conducted by Bergan et al (1977) described these                abrupt shores, sublittoral shelves and a deep central zone.
                      wetlands in 8 'classifications on- the basis of size, depth,              The maximum depth of Class V wetlands is 1.1 meters. A.
                      vege.tation and water chemistry. It should be noted, however,             fulva is absent or present in less than 5 percent of the
                      that these do not include incised and braided streams, their              shoreline.
                      deltas and associated nonfluvial wetlands. Although the area              Class VI, Basi n-Complex, accounts for 17 percentof thetotal
                      encompassed by this study does not include the entire                     in the area. They are large, partially drained basins that may
                      Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area, the apparent geological and                     contain nearly continuous water in spring. Later in summer
                      vegetational homogeneity of the coastal plain in this area                water levels recede, leaving a pattern of green Carex-aquatilis
                      would indicate that it is fairly representative of the region.            and open water where Arctophila fulva may grow along the
                      Class 1, Flooded Tundra, comprises roughly 29 percent of the              margins of deeper pools or throughout shallow pools. In late
                      total wetlands in the area. Flooded Tundra is characterized               summer, Class VI wetlands are characterized by stands of

                      52

                     Alopecurus alpinus and Dupontia fischeria growing on a moss                of such species as salmon which migrate from open ocean
                     substrate.                                                                 waters. Rivers are usually free from ice only four or five
                     Class VII, Beaded Stream wetlands account for 5 percent of                 months of the year. During the winter months, all but the
                     the total. These are small, often intermittent streams consist-            largest of the rivers freeze to the bottom, thus limiting
                     ing of a series of channels formed in ice wedges and linked to             suitable spawning and overwintering spots. The shallow lakes
                                                                                                which abound on the Arctic Coastal Plain present similar
                     pools that develop at ice wedge intersections. The relation-               limitations as they also freeze to the bottom during winter.
                     ship between water depths and aquatic plants appears to be                 Consequently, suitable fish habitat is limited to those deeper
                     similar to those in ponds and lakes. In spring, Beaded Streams             lakes which do not freeze to the bottom and to the region's
                     may flood surrounding lowlands, thus creating Class I Flood-
                     ed Tundra, but by mid-July, waterflow is usually confined to
                     stream channels and beads and flow may be intermittent.
                                                                                                                                                              d
                                                                                                                                                Oki*     . ... ... ...
                     Class Vill, Coastal Wetlands, comprises 3 percent of the totat
                     in the study area. These are aquatic habitats that occupy low
                     areas bordering the Beaufort Sea and within a zone directly
                     influenced by sea water. Coastal wetlands vary from lagoons                NONE"_,
                     confluent with the sea to ponds periodically inundated by
                     high wind tides. They are brackish or subsaline and have a
                     characteristic vegetation dominated by Carex subspathacea
                     and Puccinellia phryganodes at basin margins and on adjacent
                     flats.

                     Although the ice-free season is short, wetlands play an
                     extremely important role in the overall ecosystem of the
                     study area. They provide the principal attraction for the
                                                                                                                                        L
                     many water-related birds which visit the area seasonally.
                     According to Bergman et al., the aquatic invertebrates that                     "Sot
                     characterize these wetlands appear to be a major food source
                     for breeding and young waterfowl and to provide an essential
                     nutrient source for laying female ducks and shorebirds.

                     2.   Wildlife

                     a.    Fish
                     The extreme climate of the North Slope region does not
                     provide a suitable environment for many species of fish
                     commonly found in warmer waters of the State. The pres-
                     ence of ice in the Beaufort Sea for nearly nine months of the
                     year and the unpreclictability of break-up limits the presence

                                                                                                                                                                53

                      three major rivers, the Canning, the Colville, and the Saga-            humpback salmon, the Dolly Varden and lake trout, sheefish,
                      vanirktok, which, since they are fed by groundwater springs,            smelt, capline herring, pike, blackfish, sucker, the freshwater,
                      maintain some running water year round.                                 tom, and Siberian cod, the flounder, sculpin, and the stickle-
                                                                                              back.
                      All these factors notwithstanding, the Prudhoe Bay Coastal
                      Area contains large numbers of several fish species. Of these,          There is presently only limited commercial fishing in the
                      the whitefish is the most widely distributed in the region's            Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area. According to the Alaska Depart-
                      rivers and lakes. Five species of whitefish are found here: the         ment of Fish and Game, there is a commercial whitefish
                      round whitefish, the broad whitefish, the humpback, and the             operation in the Colville River delta which harvests approxi-
                      least and arctic cisco. All except the "resident" round                 mately 3,000 broad and 1,000 humpback whitefish annually
                      whitefish are anadromous and outmigrate to summer feeding               during the summer and 20,000 least and 40,000 arctic cisco
                      grounds in the river deltas and nearshore salt water during the         annually during the fall. Most of these are sold locally.
                      summer months, returning to the rivers in early fall to spawn
                      and overwinter.                                                         b.   Land Mammals
                      The arctic char is also widely distributed in the lakes and             The North Slope in general does not provide a suitable
                      rivers of the North Slope. In the eastern Arctic, the Saga-             habitat for most large terrestrial mammals primarily because
                      vanirktok and the Canning Rivers and to a lesser extent, the            the severe coastal climate does not favor the growth of trees
                      Colville River, which provide running water year round,                 and brushy willows on which these animals typically depend
                      appear to provide the most suitable habitat for this fish.              for food. Dependent as they are on the existence of trees and
                      Arctic char are both anadromous and resident. The latter are            larger brushy willows, most large land mammals found in the
                      most often lake dwellers, spawning and overwintering in the             North Slope region are located in the foothills and upper
                      lakes in which they reside. Anadromous arctic char inhabit              reaches of the Brooks Range.
                      the flowing waters of rivers during the freshwater periods of           Only four large land mammals-the moose, the caribou, the
                      their life. They outmigrate during May and June to nearshore            grizzly bear, and the polar bear-are found in appreciable
                      feeding grounds and return to the rivers in September and               numbers on the coastal plain. Although there are two
                      October to spawn and overwinter, typically in gravel-bottom-            significant herds of caribou on the North Slope, according to
                      ed stream beds near groundwater springs.                                the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), the
                      A third widely distributed fish in the study area is the arctic         Western herd typically goes no further east than the Colville
                      grayling. Found predominantly in streams and higher eleva-              River and the Porcupine herd is generally associated with that
                      tion lakes of the North Slope, this fish seldom leaves the              area from the Canning River east to the Canadian border.
                      fresh water although it is found in deltas during break-up              Members of the North Slope Borough Planning Commission
                      when these are primarily fresh water. Arctic grayling spawn             report that the absence of caribou in the study area is a
                      in May and June and fry are reared in the calm shallow                  recent phenomenon and is directly attributable to develop-
                      waters of lakes and flowing systems. They overwinter in                 ment activity at Prudhoe Bay. These same sources recall
                      deeper lakes, deep pools in rivers, and near groundwater                significant caribou population in the region in years past.
                      springs.

                      Other fish identified in the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area but               The Canning, Colville and Sagavanirktok Rivers all provide
                      present in lesser numbers are the arctic lamprey, the dog and           the dense willow vegetation stands required by the moose for

                      54

                                                                                                                 BIOLOGICA

                                                                                                                        B

                                               -------------- - - --------
                                                                                                                        F

                                                                                                        0

                                                                                                                        s
                                                                                                                        L
                                                                                                                     1* F

                                                                                      00

            NPR-A
                OOOONMM-

                      habitat. According to the ADF&G there is a current popula-             the offshore islands, is approximately 50 miles wide and
                      tion of from 1,000 to 1,400 moose in the North Slope region            includes a corridor of land extending about 25 miles from the
                      and almost all of these are found along the Colville and               coast and the strip of adjoining shorefast ice. The shorefast
                      Canning Rivers. Approximately 75 moose are harvested here              ice extends from the shore outward to the moving ice and
                      annually, primarily by sportsmen from outside the region.              includes offshore islands. Some denning also takes place on
                      The grizzly bear is distributed throughout the North Slope.            the drifting sea ice. Dens typically are located in cut banks
                      Within the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area, the grizzly is found in           and gullies where drifting snow accumulates and affords some
                      the spring in the major river valleys where they search for            protection. While pregnant females are denning from Novem-
                      carrion or prey on ungulates. In the summer, they disperse             ber until March, males come ashore in search of carrion and
                      from the valley bottoms to high in the alpine areas. In the            other food. Both sexes return to the ice in spring to feed on
                      fall, if there is a good crop of soapberry, they may again be          seals. Most of this activity is concentrated where currents
                      .concentrated in the willow stands in the river valley. The            keep the ice in motion causing open leads or newly frozen
                                                                                             leads where seals congregate.
                      grizzly breeds from May to mid-J uly and dens from October
                      to April or May. Cubs are born in the den in January or                Since 1972 the Marine Mammal Protection Act has limited
                      February. According to the ADF&G, critical habitat for                 the harvest of polar bear to Natives for subsistence purposes.
                      grizzly bears on the North Slope consists of large areas which         Prior to passage of the Act, hunters took approximately 260
                      are undeveloped and sparsely inhabited. Important habi-                bears annually; since that time, however, only 50 to 60 bears
                      tats are the valley bottom riparian willow stands, poorly              have been harvested annually by Natives. The meat is eaten
                      drained areas where horsetail grows abundantly and the                 and skins are used for garments, mainly as mukluks and
                      riverbeds. Although there are no statistics for the study area         mittens, and as parka ruffs.
                      itself, ADF&G estimates the grizzly population of Unit 26
                      (the North Slope) to be from 500 to 700. This is based on an
                      aerial survey of the Canning River drainage which found an             C.   Furbearers and Small Game
                      average of one bear per SO square miles. The ADF&G                     Of the eleven economically important land furbearers found
                      estimates an annual Unit 26 harvest of up to 35 grizzlies. The         regularly within the State of Alaska, only five are present in
                      sport harvest has averaged 12 bears an nually since 196 1. The         significant numbers on the Arctic Slope. These are the red
                      resident sport use accounts for 20 percent of the harvest,             fox, the arctic fox, the wolf, the weasel, and the wolverine.
                      nonresident guided hunters for 75 percent and domestic or              With the exception of the arctic fox, however, these are
                      local use S percent.                                                   sparse on the coastal plain and are concentrated primarily in
                      There are two distinct populations of polar bear in Arctic             the foothills of the Brooks Range because the topography
                      Alaska. One of these, the north population, numbering about            and permafrost on the coastal plain limit available denning
                      2,500 animals, ranges along the Arctic coast and on sea ice            habitat.
                      north of the coast from the Canadian border to Point Lay.              The arctic fox is the only furbearer on the coastal plain
                      One of the most critical habitats to the welfare of polar bears        which occurs in sufficient numbers to be the subject of
                      is the area used for denning. According to the ADF&G, some             intensive trapping. It is found on the coastline, the open
                      of the most intensive denning on the Arctic coast occurs               tundra, rocky beaches and also, like the polar bear, on the sea
                      from the Colville River cast to the Canadian border which              ice many miles from shore. The arctic fox breeds in spring
                      includes the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area. This area, including            and dens in elevated, well-drained soils found in association

                      56

                       with pingos, riverbanks, sand dunes and old lake shores, all of                extend east of Barrow, the Colville and Mackenzie Rivers
                       which serve as sources for granular fill material for human                    contribute significant nutritional material to the Beaufort
                       use.                                                                           Sea.
                       Arctic foxes feed on rodents (especially the lemming), hares,                  The waters of the Arctic Ocean support a wide variety of
                       and to a lesser extent on birds and eggs. Dependent as they                    marine mammals at some time during their annual cycle.
                       are on lemmings as a food source, the fox population                           Principal among these are the walrus, four species of ice-
                       undergoes extreme fluctuations consonant with the rise and                     associated phocine seals (ringed, bearded, harbor, and ribbon)
                       fall of the lemming population. In off years, when the                         and four whale species-the bowhead, grey, minke and
                       lemming population is low, foxes are forced to depend more                     beluga. To some extent all these are seasonally migratory,
                       heavily on the maritime environment. In these years, in                        usually moving north in the spring in search of food and then
                       particular, the fox depends heavily on beach carrion and                       retracing their path in winter. Although the distribution and
                       leftovers from polar bear kills. Thus, the marine environment                  numbers of marine animals shift continuously, the Bering Sea
                       is also an important habitat.                                                  supports more animals in winter and the Chukchi Sea is more
                       According to the ADF&G, Game Management Unit 26                                intensively used during the summer. The Beaufort Sea is a
                       accounts for roughly 40 percent of the State's average annual                  relatively less productive environment for sea mammals but
                       arctic fox harvest of 2,369. Most of these are trapped by                      nevertheless supports significant numbers.
                       local residents of the coastal villages from Wainwright to                     (1) Whale. Although a number of different whale species
                       Kaktovik and are either sold to local stores, fur buyers or                    have been sighted in Arctic waters, only two, the bowhead
                       tourists or are utilized for subsistence purposes.                             and the beluga, are numerically or culturally significant in the
                       Although small game animals like the squirrel, porcupine, the                  Beaufort Sea. The bowhead, in particular, has been prized for
                       hare and the ptarmigan and grouse are all found on the North                   centuries by the Arctic coastal Eskimo. At the present time,
                       Slope, only the arctic ground squirrel and willow ptarmigan                    there are no quantitative data available on the numbers of
                       are abundant on the coastal plain. The arctic ground squirrel                  bowhead or beluga whales which migrate in shore leads from
                       ranges from sea level to high in the Brooks Range. Its meat is                 the Bering Sea into the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas nor is
                       eaten by local residents and the fur is used for parka ruffs.                  much known about the behavior of these animals once they
                       The willow ptarmigan is found most often in the 2,000 to                       arrive at their summer feeding and calving grounds located
                       2,800-foot elevation of the Brooks Range foothills where it                    there.
                       breeds, but in the fall females move to lower elevations and                   At least two resident beluga populations have been identified
                       become a food source for local residents.                                      in Alaska. One, of approximately 300 to 400 animals, is
                                                                                                      localized in the Cook Inlet. The other is resident in Bristol
                       d.    Marine Mammals                                                           Bay and numbers perhaps 1,000 to 1,500. Belugas begin a
                       The Bering and Chukchi Seas, and to             a lesser degree the            northward migration to Arctic waters in April, traveling in
                       Beaufort Sea, comprise some of the most         biologically produc-           large herds. Once through the Bering Straits, the animals
                       tive areas in the Northern Hemisphere.          Nutrient-rich water            follow open leads along the Siberian and Arctic coasts. By
                       from the Yukon River distributed northward by prevailing                       May and June some of these have reached the eastern
                       currents provides the nutritional support for a myriad of                      Beaufort Sea and the pack ice around Banks Island. Although
                       marine organisms. Although these waters do not usually                         the precise movements of the beluga within the study area

                                                                                                                                                                          57

                      are not known, they are generally believed by local inhabi-             May and have been observed there all summer, but there is no
                      tants to be present seasonally in the entire nearshore reach            precise information on their activity in the western Beaufort
                      from the Colville River to the Canning River. Unlike the                Sea during this time. At a 1978 Elders Conference conducted
                      bowhead which is not found in water depths less than 6                  by the North Slope Borough Commission on History and
                      meters, the beluga is found in extremely shallow water close            Culture held to document traditional land use and subsist-
                      to shore and in river estuaries. The fall return migration              ence values, elders reported an apparent westward movement
                      begins in September preceding freeze-up since belugas cannot            over the past two years of the bowhead breeding habitat. The
                      maintain breathing holes in thick ice and generally do not              elders reported unusual numbers of bowhead breeding and
                      swim long underwater. Belugas are hunted during both the                calving in the area between Kaktovik and Herschel Island, far
                      spring and fall, migrations, but more heavily during the                west of the usual habitat near Banks Island. The elders
                      former. The ADF&G in 1974 estimated that Alaskan                        speculate two possible explanations for this movement: a
                      Eskimos utilized at least 200,000 pounds of beluga annually             population growth or habitat displacement caused by Canadi-
                      and estimates the annual Bering Sea-Arctic Ocean beluga                 an Beaufort Sea oil and gas operations.
                      harvest at from 100 to 300 whales. It is not known, however,            Although very little whaling actually takes place in the study
                      how many of these are harvested in the Beaufort Sea cast of             area, except off Kaktovik during the fall migration, the
                      Barrow.
                                                                                              bowhead migrates through the area beyond the 6-meter
                      The bowhead population was decimated by intensive com-                  (20-foot) isobath. According to local whalers, the bowhead
                      mercial whaling during the nineteenth century and has never             feeds and calves offshore from the Colville River Delta,
                      fully recovered. Although there has been no commercial                  beyond the 6-meter isobath.
                      whaling since 1915 and the species has been protected from
                      all but subsistence hunting by Alaskan Natives by the Marine            (2) Seal. There are three    species of ice-related seals found
                      Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and the Endangered Species                in the study area: the bearded seal, the harbor seal, and the
                      Act of 1973, their numbers apparently remain dangerously                ringed seal. The ringed seal has a high and stable population
                      low. In response to   this situation, the International Whaling         of over one million in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas alone
                      Commission (IWC) in 1977 imposed stiff quotas on the                    and is the most widely distributed ice-inhabiting seal of
                      taking of bowhead    whales. In 1977, the IWC estimated the             Arctic and subarctic Alaska. Most ringed seals inhabit areas of
                      bowhead population to range from 800 to 1,200, with 1,000               shorefast ice in winter and migrate north with the retreat of
                      the most likely figure. However, a population count conduct-            the ice pack in spring and summer. Recently, ringed seal
                      ed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration               harvests by Alaskan hunters have been about 5,000 annually,
                      (NOAA) during the 1978 spring bowheadmigration, counted                 well below the annual recruitment of the population. Al-
                      2,264 bowheads. More than 1,700 whales were actually seen.              though this species is present in the region year round, most
                      Thus, according to NOAA, the bowhead population appears                 hunting takes place in the spring and summer when weather
                      to be in better shape than the IWC estimated.                           conditions are better.
                      Like the beluga, the bowhead whale begins its northward                 The bearded seal rarely ventures far from sea ice, In late
                      migration from the Bering into the Chukchi and Beaufort                 winter and early spring, they @Are found from the southern
                      Seas in April and May. Its arrival at Barrow normally varies            edge of the ice pack in the Bering Sea north to the solid cover
                      by two weeks depending on ice conditions. Bowheads are                  of the polar ice pack. As the pack moves northward in spring,
                      reportedly at Banks Island in the Canadian Arctic by mid-               the bearded seal follows and by late summer is found along

                      58

                       the southern edge of the pack. Fall brings a reversal of this                     residents of Bering Sea villages. Residents of Arctic Alaska
                       process. The total Bering Sea-Arctic Ocean bearded seal                           harvest only about 100 walrus according to the ADF&G. This
                       population is estimated to be relatively stable at 200,000,                       relatively small harvest stems partly from the Arctic Eskimos'
                       and the present annual harvest by Soviet and Alaskan hunters                      preference for whale meat and partly because walrus disperse
                       is about 4,000, approximately 1,500 of these by residents of                      widely in the northern Chukchi and Beaufort Seas and are
                       northwest Alaska.                                                                 not always accessible.
                       Harbor seals are found seasonally along the entire northern                       e.   Birds
                       Alaska coast. Prior to parturition in late winter, the entire                     The Arctic Coastal Area and the adjacent seas are inhabited
                       population occupies the southern edge of the polar ice pack.                      by approximately 163 bird species. Most of these are present
                       As break-up progresses, most follow the ice pack north,                           only seasonally, however. Some species come here specifical-
                       gradually moving toward land, including the offshore islands,                     ly to nest, others to feed, and still others    migrate through the
                       where they rest and feed intermittently. With the approach                        region on their way to and from breeding grounds in other
                       of winter, they usually precede the ice pack south.                               areas of the Alaskan, Canadian and Soviet Arctic. Though
                                                                                                         some few species such as the snow bunting may arrive in the
                       The annual harvest of the harbor seal by Americans and                            region in early April, most do not arrive until early May; fall
                       Soviets is 7,000 or less, about evenly split between the two                      migration begins as early as August, but most do not leave
                       countries. Total population is estimated at from 200,000 to                       until September and some species are known to remain until
                       250,000 animals. About half the harvest occurs during spring                      early November.
                       when the animals are moving north, the remainder during the                       Most waterfowl and shorebird species found in the study area
                       southern migration in September and October.                                      are coastal migrants. As many as one million eiders migrate
                       (3) Walrus. Following a significant decline in population as                      east along the Beaufort Sea coast in early May, and two-
                       a result of heavy commercial hunting during the nineteenth                        th.irds of the species bound for the Canadian Arctic            islands
                       century, the Bering, Chukchi, Beaufort and East Siberian                          migrate along this route as well. As many as one-tenth of the
                       Seas' walrus population has undergone significant regenera-                       world's whistling swans nest within one to five miles           of th e
                       tion over the past half century. Today, the entire population                     Arctic coast; major concentrations of these are found           within
                       is estimated at roughly 200,000 animals, close to its level                       the study area at Prudhoe Bay and at the mouths                 of the
                       prior to the advent of commercial hunting. The walrus                             Colville and Canning Rivers. The only known nesting colony
                       winters in the central and northwest Bering Sea many miles                        of snow geese within the State is found within the study area
                       from the Alaskan mainland. They begin their northern                              on Howe Island in the delta of the Sagavanirktok River.
                       migration in late March and April and reach the northern                          Average densities of 1,400 birds per square mile are found as
                       Chukchi Sea by mid-July. Most then move west to the                               far as 50 to 60 miles inland from the coast, while even greater
                       Siberian coast, but some also disperse along the southern                         densities per square mile of waterfowl and shorebirds occur
                       polar ice cap in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. In September                      along the coast and adjacent inshore waters. Fluctuations in
                       and October they begin moving south again to the Bering                           these densities occur with food availability and weather
                       Sea.                                                                              conditions.

                       The   annual retrieved harvest of walruses by Alaskans has                        The onshore areas provide nesting habitat for most birds in
                       recently averaged about 1,600 animals, most of these by                           the study area but a few species such as the plover, sandpiper,

                                                                                                                                                                               59

                       and eider use the offshore islands. Onshore habitats consist               Twenty-one species have been observed in the offshore areas
                       primarily of the wetlands, coastal sedge meadows, sea                      of the Beaufort Sea. Sixteen of these breed on either tundra
                       beaches, cutbanks along streams and rivers and old beach                   or offshore islands. Eiders, scoters, old squaws, phalaropes
                       lines. Approximately 24 species of birds nest in the onshore               and gulls are the most conspicuous offshore birds, but loons,
                       areas of the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area: eleven of these are                 jaegers, alcids and arctic terns are also common. Although
                       swimming birds such as loons, ducks and geese and four                     birds are sometimes found many miles from shore on the
                       others are species of sandpiper.                                           pack ice, most don't stray beyond 5 miles of the mainland or
                                                                                                  barrier island coast. As a result of studies conducted by the
                       Black-bellied plovers, jaegers, and glaucous gulls occasionally            Bureau of Land Management in connection with the joint
                       use water areas there. Lapland longspurs and snow buntings                 Federal/State OCS lease sale scheduled for December 1979, a
                       are the only songbirds commonly present. Although they                     number of the offshore islands within the study area have
                       don't nest here, common visitors to the onshore area include               been designated as important bird nesting grounds. Pingok,
                       snow geese, common eiders, arctic terns, snowy owls and                    Cross, Niakuk and Duck Islands are considered by the BLM
                       ravens.                                                                    to have high bird nesting importance, while Flaxman, Pole,
                                                                                                  Howe, Egg and Thetis Islands are considered to have medium
                       Brackish inshore waters or lagoons between the mainland and                nesting importance.
                       barrier islands are rich in nutrients and invertebrate orga-               The Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area is the seasonal home of the
                       nisms. These areas are extremely important as a source of                  peregrine falcon, an endangered species. Although Federal
                       food for both onshore and island nesting populations and for               law protecting endangered species does not allow specific
                       the millions of waterbirds which utilize the onshore areas as a            identification of the bird's nesting habitat, U. S. Fish and
                       major migration route in spring and fall. In addition, old                 Wildlife biologists locate these generally east of the Kuparuk
                       squaws and Canada geese depend upon the onshore areas for                  River about 15 to 20 miles inland from             the coast.   The
                       moulting.

                       The coastal islands serve as a barrier to drifting pack ice and
                       provide shallow ice-free feeding and resting areas for water-
                       fowl, gulls and terns. Because they also tend to contain
                       summer coastal runoff, the islands harbor lagoons of varying                       - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
                       salinity and high productivity. With the exception of Cross
                       and the Niakuk Islands, Beaufort Sea barrier islands support                                                                   NOTT/          ,
                       very low numbers of breeding birds. Cross Island has a
                       significant number     of breeding common eiders and the
                       Niakuk Islands have     large concentrations of glaucous gulls.
                                                                                                                       t
                       The greatest use of the islands, however, occurs during the                                     t
                       postbreeding season when many land species move to the
                       coast. Beginning in mid-July, old squaws concentrate in bays
                       near the islands where they feed and moult. Later in the
                       month they are joined by juvenile red phalaropes, juvenile
                       Sabine's gulls, arctic terns and other shorebirds.

                       60

                     peregrine falcon ranges as far as the coast to feed on nesting         selected over 4 million acres on the North Slope, almost all
                     shorebirds. Like most bird species found on the North Slope,           located on the Arctic Coastal Plain between NPR-A and the
                     the peregrine falcon is only a seasonal visitor and spends the         Arctic National Wildlife Range. Significant portions of this
                     winter in South America.                                               have been offered for oil and gas leasing in four sales held in
                                                                                            1964, 1965, 1967, and 1969. It was on land obtained during
                     D.   PETROLEUM RESOURCES                                               the three earliest leases (1964, 1965, and 1967) that Atlantic
                     The single most important factor in the economy of the                 Richfield in 1968 drilled the so-called Prudhoe Bay "dis-
                     Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area is its oil and gas resources.                 covery" well. The 1969 lease sale was held after the an-
                     Although a number of oil seeps on the North Slope were                 nouncement of the discovery.
                     known to Native Eskimos and early arctic explorers, modern             Additional sales are planned in the area in the future. Two of
                     interest in oil and gas in the region dates to 1901 when the           these are offshore leases sales. The first is a joint State/
                     first geologic traverse was undertaken. Sufficient positive            Federal lease sale scheduled for December 1979. This lease
                     data as to potential resources had been acquired by 1923 to            area is located offshore between the Canning and Colville
                     cause President Harding to establish Naval Petro@eum Reserve           Rivers and encompasses most of the area within the three-
                     No. 4. This designation was changed in 1976 to National                mile limit and some adjacent Federal tracts. The second
                     Petroleum Reserve-Alaska or NPR-A when the Department of
                     the Interior took over its management.

                     Following the establishment of NPR-A, the U. S. Geological
                     Survey undertook considerable reconnaissance surveys in the
                     1920's and 1930's. In 1944, spurred by the pressure of World
                     War 11, the Navy began a vigorous exploration and drilling
                     program in NPR-A which, after the war, was continued until
                     1953 under private contract. This effort resulted in the
                     discovery of nine oil and gas fields, none of which contained
                     commercially recoverable quantities.

                     Prior to 1958, Federal land on the North Slope, with the
                     exception of NPR-A, was closed to mineral leasing for many
                     years. Leasing was restored in 1958, however, and in that
                     year 3.4 million acres were offered on a noncompetitive
                                                                                                                                                  44AW
                     basis. Between 1958 and 1966, when the leasing program was
                     suspended because of Native protest, BLIVI leased 5 million
                                                                                                                                of
                     acres of a total 22.3 million acres offered for lease. Although
                     no Federal lands on the North Slope were leased after 1966,
                     the program was not officially terminated until 1969.

                     In 1959 when Alaska became a State, it received title to all
                     tide and submerged lands and, in addition, acquired the right
                     to select about 102 million acres statewide. Thus far it has

                                                                                                                                                          61

                        offshore sale will take place in 1982, but the specific area to                barrels of oil and from 0 to 19.3 trillion cubic feet of gas
                        be leased has not yet been announced. Two onshore sales are                    between the 0 to 200-meter isobaths in the Beaufort Sea
                        also planned. The first is scheduled for October 1978 and will                 from Barrow east to Demarcation Point on the Canadian
                        involve land east of Pt. Thomson on the study area's eastern                   border. However, because of present technological limitations
                        boundary. The second sale is scheduled for April 1981 and                      these estimates must be scaled down to the 20-meter (60-
                        will include previously unleased acreage in the Prudhoe Bay                    foot) isobath. Approximately 60 percent of the Beaufort
                        area.                                                                          province lies within the 20-meter isobath. Estimates of from
                                                                                                       0 to 4.6 billion barrels of oil and from 0 to 11 .6 trillion cubic
                        Since the discovery of the Prudhoe Bay field in 1968, the                      feet of gas are obtained by allocating 60 percent of the
                        Beaufort Sea region has been the subject of heightened                         overall estimates.
                        interest on the part of the petroleum industry. This has been
                        reflected in increased exploration activity both in the study                  Data on petroleum resources in some areas adjacent to the
                        area and also in the adjacent National Petroleum Reserve-                      study area are limited. For example, the U. S. Department of
                        Alaska and the Arctic National Wildlife Range with increased                   the Interior is currently exploring the NPR-A, but estimates
                        demands for additional lease acreage.                                          of the resources there vary greatly. In 1976, the Federal
                        Thus far, this interest has certainly been justified. The main                 Energy Administration estimated the NPR-A to contain 5
                                                                                                       billion barrels of oil and 14.3 trillion cubic feet of gas, but
                        reservoir (Sadlerochit) at Prudhoe Bay is estimated to contain                 current estimates place this closer to only I billion barrels.
                        9.6 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 25 trillion cubic feet              Oil exploration is not currently allowed in the Arctic Nation-
                        of gas, the largest known petroleum reserve in North Ameri-                    al Wildlife Range, but resource experts consider the area to
                        ca. In addition to the Sadlerochit formation, however, other                   have a high hydrocarbon potential. Onshore exploration of
                        pools in the area of unknown extent are apparently capable                     adjacent land would appear to have minimal impact on the
                        of producing oil. Atlantic Richfield Company is currently                      Prudhoe Bay district. All support for NPR-A exploratory
                        undertaking a production test on the Kuparuk River forma-                      activities are contained within NPR-A, and since exploration
                        tion of the Prudhoe Bay field. According to the Alaska                         is not presently allowed in the wildlife range, there will be no
                        Division of Oil and Gas Conservation, this pool is estimated                   impact from this direction at least in the near future.
                        to contain I billion barrels of recoverable oil.
                                                                                                       Future impact on the Prudhoe Bay area from NPR-A or
                        It is difficult to estimate how much additional oil will be                    wildlife range development activity will depend on two
                        discovered in the area. The U. S. Geological Survey in 1975                    factors: The size and location of future discoveries and the
                        estimated that there are from 5 to 16 billion barrels of oil                   route and type of system developed to transport the re-
                        and 14 to 49 trillion cubic feet of gas on the entire North                    sources. The Department of the Interior is in the process of
                        Slope, but these estimates of undiscovered resources are not                   evaluating the best procedures for the development, produc-
                        broken down by area. A study conducted by the Alaska                           tion, transportation and distribution of NPR-A petroleum
                        Department of Natural Resources in 1977 estimated the                          resources. At the same time, a special Interior Department
                        area's undiscovered resources to contain from 0.5 to 1.5                       task force is studying the best use for land within and
                        billion barrels of oil and from 1.5 to 5 trillion cubic feet of                adjacent to NPR-A for such values as subsistence, scenery,
                        gas.                                                                           historic, recreation, fish and wildlife and wilderness. Results
                        The U. S. Geological Survey estimates that the undiscovered                    of these studies will be presented to the Secretary of Interior
                        recoverable oil and gas resources are from 0 to 7.6 billion                    in 1979 and he will, in turn, make a recommendation to

                        62

                                                                                                                                                                           ARCTIC

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                       Congress as to the future use of NPR-A. The impact of                    barrier islands, and the river valleys, particularly the Colville
                       development of NPR-A will depend to a large extent upon                  River. In general, these coincide with those areas where
                       the decision made by Congress as to the disposition of                   subsistence resources have been most abundant. Although
                       NPR-A. Potential impacts from wildlife range development                 these locales continue to be used today on a seasonal basis
                       depend upon if and when it is opened to exploration and                  for their subsistence resource value, subsistence use of the
                       development.                                                             land there is less intense now than it has been in the past.
                       E.   RECREATION AND CULTURAL RESOURCES                                   Within the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area there is one State of
                                                                                                Alaska Historic Site and one entrant in the National Register
                       I    Cultural Significance                                               of Historic Sites. This is the former campsite of explorer/
                       Although there is currently no permanent Native population               geologist Ernest cle Koven Leffingwell located on Flaxman
                       living within the study area, the land has in the past been the          Island off the Canning River delta. Leffingwell mapped the
                       site of numerous temporary settlements and seasonal hunting              Arctic coast from 1907 to 1914 and conducted some of the
                       and fishing camps.      Recent archeological and historical              first significant scientific studies on permafrost. In addition,
                       studies undertaken by the North Slope Borough and the                    he nam,-d the Sadlerochit Formation which has since become
                       Federal government have identified hundreds of old grave                 famous as the main reservoir of the Prudhoe Bay oil field.
                       sites, sod hut and ice cellar outlines, and a wide variety of
                       artifacts which give ample testimony to the historical and
                       cultural significance of the land. These are identified and
                       described at some length in an inventory published recently
                       by the North Slope Borough. Additional inventories in
                       NPR-A and within the study area are being prepared by the
                       National Park Service.

                       A number of cultural and historic sites identified by the
                       North Slope Borough and the Federal government appear to
                       be of sufficient significance to merit National Historic Regis-
                       ter status, and appropriate documentation is being prepared
                       to make a determination of their eligibility. For other
                       identified sites, there are not enough data available to make
                       such a determination and additional study is required. Both
                       "registered" and potentially eligible national historic sites
                       have full protection under Federal law if they are on Federal
                       land or if they may be impacted either directly or indirectly
                       by Federal action. Within the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area,
                       most land is State owned and thus registered historic sites
                       located there are the responsibility of the State.
                       Within the study area sites of historic and cultural signifl     -
                       cance are heavily concentrated along the entire coast, the

                       64

                                                                                                                                                                                     SITES of HISTORIC

                                                                                                                                                                                                        SUBSI-
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                                                                                                                                                                                                        EXISTIN
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                         2.   Recreation Resources                                                      Bay environs. A guide service, located in the Colville River
                         At the present time, there     are no recreational facilities in the           delta about 20 miles north of Nuiqsut, transports sport
                         Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area'outside those provided by the oil                     fishermen to rivers and lakes within the study area in its two
                         industry and NANA at Prudhoe Bay and Deadhorse. The                            planes.
                         absence of facilities does not indicate that the area lacks
                         recreational significance, but rather that the remoteness of                   A task force headed by the Heritage Conservation and
                         the region from major population centers and the limited                       Recreation Service (formerly the Bureau of Outdoor Recrea-
                         facilities and access have kept use pressure at a minimum.                     tion) has expended considerable effort during the past year
                         Even with these limitations, however, there is some existing                   developing the wilderness scenery and recreational potential
                         conventional recreational use of the land both by residents of                 element of the overall NPR-A land use plan. While its findings
                         Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse, the Barter Island DEW Line station,                     relate specifically to the NPR-A, some of these can be applied
                         and nonresidents who fly in from outside. As residents of                      generally to the Arctic Coastal Plain which comprises much
                         Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse are not allowed to possess firearms,                     of the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area. The Heritage Conservation
                         their use of the area's resources is limited to fishing.                       and Recreation Service considers the study area to have
                                                                                                        significant resources available to provide a variety of recrea-
                         According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game                            tional activities. The flat topography and the low vegetation
                         (ADF&G), a number of nonresident hunters and sport fisher-                     prevalent in this region are particularly conducive to sightsee-
                         men visit the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area annually. Data                          ing and wildlife and waterfowl viewing. Although hiking is
                         generated from harvest ticket report forms which are re-                       made difficult in summer by mosquitos and swampy soil
                         quired submittals from "successful" hunters indicate that                      conditions, there is potential for such sports as cross-country
                         there were from 50 to 100 nonresident caribou hunters in the                   skiing and snowmobiling in late winter and early spring when
                         region during 1977. This number would undoubtedly have                         days are longer and temperatures have moderated.
                         been higher had the ADF&G not imposed strict "bag limits"
                         and a permit system in Game Management Unit 26, which
                         includes the study area, as a means of protecting the                          Although the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service
                         dwindling Western Arctic caribou herd. Although moose are                      has not yet assessed the boating potential of any rivers within
                         not generally prevalent on the Arctic Coastal Plain, they are                  the study area, it has studied portions of the Colville and
                         found in some numbers in the Colville River valley, the                        considers the river to have significant wilderness scenery and
                         western boundary of the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area. ADF&G                        recreational potential. Segments of the Colville have been
                         estimates that there were 23 nonresident moose hunters in                      included in the Administration's D-2 proposal as part of the
                         Game Unit 26 during the 1977 moose hunting season. It is                       National Wild and Scenic River System, and H.R. 39 as
                         assumed that most, if not all, of these were in the Colville                   passed by the House of Representatives proposes that all
                         area.                                                                          rivers within NPR-A, including the Colville, be included in
                                                                                                        the Wild and Scenic River System. The Heritage Conservation
                         Although there are no accurate figures on the number of                        and Recreation Service and the State of Alaska will study the
                         sport fishermen using the area, Atlantic Richfield officials                   potential of the Sagavanirktok River during the summer of
                         report that some Prudhoe Bay and Deadhorse residents do                        1978. The State has asked the Service to study the wild and
                         fish in their limited free time, particularly in the Sagavanirk-               scenic potential of the Canning River, but at this time, there
                         tok and Kuparuk Rivers and along the coast in the Prudhoe                      are no definite plans to do so.

                         66

                     3.    Scenic Resources                                                  addition to their scenic value, the Franklin Bluffs contain
                     Probably the greatest attraction of the Prudhoe Bay Coastal             important falcon and hawk aeries. The site is in some
                     Area is its primitive condition and the wide variety of unique          jeopardy due to the proximity of the trans-Alaska pipeline
                     Arctic geological and ecological phenomena that exist there.            and Haul Road.
                     Although oil and gas development and the trans-Alaska                   The White Hills (4) are a 500- to 600-foot plateau so named
                     pipeline have degraded the pristine quality of the Prudhoe              for the white pediment gravel and light-colored bedrock
                     Bay area and the pipeline corridor, the impact of this                  which characterize them. The plateau affords an impressive
                     development has been quite restricted and large portions of             panoramic view of the Arctic Coastal Plain and from the
                     the study area remain untouched by industrial development.              eastern side, some spectacular badland topography. There has
                     In an attempt to ensure protection of the unique ecological             been exploratory drilling for petroleum off the eastern
                     and biological features of the Arctic lowland from intrusion            boundary, and the White Hills themselves are potentially
                     by development, the National Park Service in 1974 initiated a           vulnerable to oil exploration.
                     program to identify unique examples of tundra environment
                     to be included in the Natural Landmark Program.                         The Sagavanirktok River (5) provides a classic example of a
                     In connection with this effort, the Park Service identified 16          braided stream. Included in this 51,840-acre site are three or
                     geographic locations within the study area as appropriate for           four main channels that flow on a three mile wide floodplain
                     nomination as Natural Landmarks. It is the opinion of the               in an intricately braided network. Although the river at this
                     Park Service that all of these contain geological or ecological         location has probably suffered irreparable damage from
                     values of such distinction as to be of national significance.           pipeline and Haul Road construction, the National Park
                     Nine of the proposed landmarks illustrate geological themes             Service, nevertheless, considers it to have a high degree of
                     and the remaining seven represent ecological themes.                    national significance.
                     The Putuligayuk Plains (I) provide an excellent example of a            The Kadleroshilik River (6) is significant as an example of
                     flat interior plain. They are characterized by permafrost               pingo development. This site encompasses more than 30
                     landforms including pingos, high- and low-centered polygons             pingos and numerous closed depressions that will probably
                     and braided streams. As the majority of the plains lie in the           undergo future pingo development, as well as abundant high-
                     trans-Alaska pipeline utility corridor, they are in some                and low-centered polygons, thermokarst lakes and thaw pits.
                     jeopardy because of their proximity to the pipeline.                    This area has a delicate ecological balance and the Park
                                                                                             Service recommends that it be set aside while it is still
                     The I 5,000-acre Foggy Island Bay site (2) illustrates a raised         relatively unspoiled.
                     coastal plain. The land surface is nearly flat, contains thermo-
                     karst and oriented lakes and abundant polygons and ice                  The Toolik River Pingo Field (7) contains approximately 60
                     wedge cracks. The land in the Foggy Island Bay area is owned            pingos in various states of development. Most of these are on
                     by the State of Alaska and has been leased to numerous oil              the alluvial floodplain of the Toolik River with the highest
                     companies, and some exploratory drilling has taken place.               about 100 feet above the surrounding plain. Polygonal
                                                                                             ground, braided streams, thermokarst and oxbow lakes and
                     Rising 500 to 600 feet above the surrounding lowlands,        the       sand dunes are also prevalent. The State of Alaska has leased
                     gravel-covered Franklin Bluffs (3) are a spectacular landmark.          this area for oil exploration. There are exploratory oil wells
                     Composed of exposed bedrock, weathering has created in the              nearby and the pingo field is in some jeopardy from possible
                     bluffs brilliant hues of red, pink, yellow, orange and white. In        future exploratory activity.

                                                                                                                                                            67

                                               LANDMARK                                                      LANDFORM/UNIQUE FEATURES

                               I  Putuligayuk Plains                                            Plains, lakes and lakeshores, permafrost
                               2  Foggy Island Bay                                              Raised coastal plain, permafrost, lakes and lakeshores, sea
                                                                                                and seashores

                               3  Franklin Bluffs                                               Gravel pediment plateau

                               4  White Hills                                                   Gravel pediment and bedrock plateau

                               5  Sagavanirktok River                                           Braided channel

                               6  Kadleroshilik River                                           Pingos, polygons, beaded streams, plain

                               7  Toolik River Pingo Field                                      Pingos, polygons, plains, river systems
                               8  Shaviovik River Pingo Field                                   Pingos, polygons, plains

                               9  Ishukpak Bluff                                                Fold, fault, river system
                               10 Franklin Bluffs & the White Hills                             Tertiary formations, unique flora, microtopography, falcon
                                                                                                aeries

                               I IBeechey Mound Area                                            Coastal topography, waterfowl nesting area, pingos, poly-
                                                                                                gons, oriented lakes

                               12 Colville River Delta                                          Deltas, seashores and islands, lakes and lakeshores, eolian.
                                                                                                Large arctic delta with unique fish populations, waterfowl,
                                                                                                dunes and tidal flats

                               13 Cross Island                                                  Offshore island on Arctic coast, polar bear clenning sites,
                                                                                                waterfowl nesting, marine strands
                               14 Flaxman Island                                                Island, colian. Site of explorer's cabin and camp, location of
                                                                                                erratic boulders, waterfowl

                               IS Kadleroshilik Mound                                           Large mature pingo
                               16 Colville River Bluffs                                         Bluffs along middle course of braided river, falcon aeries,
                                                                                                moose habitat, willow tree growth, coal deposits, Petroleum
                                                                                                Reserve campsite

                         Source: U. S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service.

                      68

                                                                                                                                                                                                                    AREAS of
                                                                                                                                                                                                                     (Potential

                                                                                                                                                        ARCTIC

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                        The Shaviovik River Pingo Field (8) provides additional good                during spring and fall. Although the site has scenic value, it
                        examples of pingos and high- and low-centered polygons and                  may not warrant national significance.
                        has several braided streams in advanced stages of develop-                  The bluffs of the Colville River Delta (12) host major
                        ment.                                                                       concentrations of raptorial birds including falcons, hawks and
                        The Ishukpak Bluff (9) is a noted example of the effect of                  eagles. The river valley's protected willow thickets serve as a
                        the movement of the earth's crust. Black and white beds                     wintering range for some species of birds and the delta's
                        emphasize the folding and faulting of the strata. The bluffs                dunes support a large population of Arctic ground squirrels
                        host falcon and hawk aeries; the river flats are characterized              and foxes.
                        by aquatic and wet sedge tundra and tussock tundra occurs                   Cross Island (13) lies approximately I I miles off the Saga-
                        on the river bluffs.                                                        vanirktok River delta between the Midway Islands to the
                        The Franklin Bluffs/White Hills site (10) includes all or                   west and McClure Island to the east. Although the island does
                        portions of four previously identified sites: Franklin Bluffs,              not support a large resident bird population, it does provide a
                        White Hills, the Sagavanirktok River, and the Shaviovik River               resting place for waterfowl and shorebirds during migration.
                        Pingo Field. In addition to the already described unique                    Polar bear denning sites are also present.
                        features of these sites, this proposed landmark hosts a variety             Located off the Arctic coast in the Beaufort Sea, the
                        of animal life. Falcons and hawks nest on the bluffs, and                   proposed Flaxman Island Natural Landmark (14) lies just
                        golden eagles, swans and jaegers have also been observed in                 west of the mouth of the Canning River. Although the island
                        the area. Caribou move through the area in summer and can                   is a bird nesting site and a refuge for migrating birds, the
                        frequently be seen in small groups on the gravel bars within                primary reason for proposing it as a Natural Landmark lies in
                        the riverbeds. Wolf tracks are abundant and grizzly bears are               its historic significance. As mentioned previously, Flaxman
                        sometime  's seen. The well-drained Franklin Bluffs support a
                        variety of vegetation types which contrast with the uniform
                        sedge tussock tundra predominant on the upland surface of
                        the Arctic lowland. The Park Service considers this potential
                                                                                                                         71,
                        landmark to have a high degree of national significance and
                        deems it extremely vulnerable because of its proximity to the
                        p i p e I i n e.

                        The major features of the Beechey Mound Area (11) are
                        offshore islands, pingos and coastal tundra. The northern-
                        most island of the Return Island group and the ]ones Islands,
                        which are included in the site, are less than 20 feet above
                        mean sea level and present good examples of Arctic beach.
                        Beechey Mound and several other pingos in the area were used
                        by early explorers as navigational aids. The littoral tundra
                        provides suitable habitat for waterfowl. During the summer,
                        swans, loons, and a variety of shorebirds are present and large
                        numbers of eider ducks migrate up and down the coast

                        70

                    Island is the former campsite of explorer/geologist Ernest cle           I
                    Koven Leff ingwell.

                    Located approximately three miles inland from Foggy Island
                    Bay, the Kadleroshilik Mound (15), which stands about 200
                    feet above the surrounding tundra, is one of the largest
                    pingos in the Arctic lowland. The Mound is a roost for
                    predatory birds and has a small population of ground squir-
                    rels. There are no apparent dangers to the integrity of the
                    site.

                    The  Colville River Bluffs (16) are unique for both biological
                    and geological reasons. The bluffs contain large aeries of such
                    rare raptorial birds as peregrine falcons and rough-legged
                    hawks. Also within the bluffs there are numerous coal
                    exposures. The river valley supports a relatively large moose
                    population, the only moose in significant numbers in the
                    North Slope region. This site also includes the lshukpak Bluff           ed  lagoon systems are also rated by the public as           high
                    described previously. The site's integrity is in no apparent             resource areas and have thus been designated "Scenic Arctic
                    danger.                                                                  Barrier Island and Lagoon Systems." At the present time,
                    In addition to the 16 Natural Landmarks within the study                 these designations are solely for resource identification pur-
                    area proposed by the National Park Service, the State                    poses and have no legal connotations; however, they may
                    Division of Parks has proposed the establishment of the                  possibly receive some legislative consideration in the future.
                    Arctic Coast State Monument. Located to the west of                      F.   POPULATION AND ECONOMY
                    Prudhoe Bay on State-owned property, the proposed Monu-
                    ment would afford visitors access to view the natural features           1.   Past Population Trends
                    and abundant waterfowl of the area in concert with petro-                Historical patterns of settlement along the Arctic coast were
                    leum exploration and development. The State envisions that               based upon subsistence harvesting of sea mammals. Small
                    visitor usage of the proposed Monument would be closely                  bands of coastal Eskimos hunted, fished, and traded with
                    controlled.                                                              nomadic inland Eskimos who hunted the caribou. Various
                                                                                             settlements and seasonal campsites existed in the Prudhoe
                    In 1977, the Federal-State Land Use Planning Commission                  Bay Coastal Area at one time or another. The 1890 U. S.
                    undertook to identify natural and landscape features around              Census noted "no permanent settlements along the Arctic
                    the State deemed by the public as having high resource merit.            coast between Point Barrow and the Mackenzie River" but
                    As a result of this study, three rivers within the study area,           acknowledged the existence of temporary camp and trading
                    the Canning, Sagavanirktok, and Colville Rivers, have been               sites within the region. In 1919, however, explorer-geologist
                    designated by the Planning Commission as "Scenic Arctic                  Ernest cle Koven Leffingwell identified two permanent settle-
                    Rivers." In addition, Flaxman Island and its associated                  ments in the Canning-Colville coastal environs. Beechey
                    lagoon system and Pingok and Spy Islands and their associat-             Point, located 25 miles east of the Colville River, had a

                                                                                                                                                            71

                         permanent population of 66 in 1919 according to Leffing-
                         well; more recently, in 1939, the U. S. Census identified 12
                         people living at this settlement. Also in 1919, Leffingwell
                         identified a permanent settlement at the west entrance of
                         Foggy Island Bay, 35 miles southeast of Beechey Point at the
                         mouth of the Sagavanirktok River and named this Brower
                         Village after the trader Charles Brower.
                         Other historic places in the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area region
                         identified by the Federal Field Committee for Development
                         Planning in Alaska are Oliktok (west of Beechey Point); Point
                         McIntyre, located between the Kuparuk and Sagavanirktok
                         Rivers; Tigvariak Island, west of Brower Village; and
                         Shinagru, an historic trading center at the mouth of the
                         Canning River.
                         No permanent settlements have been identified at any of
                         these locations since 1939; however, many of these sites                     people living there, an increase of well over 1 000     percent.   At
                         continued to be used during this period as seasonal campsites                the height of pipeline construction, in July 1976, approxi-
                         for hunting and fishing purposes. Historic Native presence                   mately 8,800 people were living in various camps within the
                         here is evident today in the remains of cabins and a number                  region. From July 1976 to July 1977 population decreased
                         of patented allotments sprinkled throughout the region. As                   roughly 43 percent, and it is anticipated that population will
                         happened with other similar historic settlements along the                   continue to decrease in the near future as pipeline construc-
                         Arctic coast, residents migrated to larger population centers                tion is completed and the operational phase takes over.
                         in the region, notably Barrow, in search of wage employment
                         and government-provided social services such as schools and
                         medical facilities.                                                          2.    Population Composition
                         Following a period of little or no settlement       activity in the          Historically, influxes of white population into the Arctic
                         Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area during the 25-year period from                      coastal region have been exclusively male. During the height
                         1940 to 1965, State-sponsored competitive oil and gas lease                  of the whaling industry in the late 19th century, the census
                         sales in 1964, 1965, 1967, and 1969 and attendant explora-                   noted 391 whites residing within the Arctic region, all of
                                    -                                                                 these male. This sexual disparity persists today. According to
                         tory activity brought an influx of population to the Prudhoe                 the U. S. Census, the outstanding feature of the population
                         Bay area. The discovery well for the Prudhoe Bay field was                   living at Prudhoe Bay and Deadhorse in 1970 was that it was
                         spudded in 1967, and was officially announced in July] 968.                  exclusively male.
                         In 1970, according to the U. S. Census, there were 279
                         people living in the general Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse area.                     A second peculiarity of the      population is that it has a high
                         Five years later, just prior to start-up of construction on the              median age-34.3 years at          Deadhorse and 37.2 years at
                         trans-Alaska pipeline, according to figures provided by the                  Prudhoe Bay. Neither settlement had any residents under the
                         industry to the North Slope Borough there were 3,159                         age of 18 or over 66 si nce al I persons cou nted I ived th ere for

                         72

                     some work-related reason and thus included only those of                years. Construction of the gas pipeline and scheduled off-
                     working age.                                                            shore oil and gas lease sales promise to bring additional
                     Although there were many more people based in the Prudhoe               persons with similar age, sex and racial characteristics back to
                                                                                             the area.
                     Bay/Deadhorse area in 1977 than in 1970, and the current
                     population does include some females, overall the characteris-          3.   Employment Composition
                     tics of the population have not changed appreciably. All                According to information provided to the North Slope
                     persons living in camps in the Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse area               Borough by the oil industry there were, in July 1977, 3,239
                     are still there strictly for purposes of employment, with               people employed in that portion of the Prudhoe Bay/Dead-
                     dependents living elsewhere in the State or nation. Conse-              horse area within the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area. Included in
                     quently, the area's population continues to be dominated by             this count are all those people employed in the Prudhoe Bay
                     males between the ages of 18 and 65.                                    industrial complex (including Deadhorse) as well as those
                     Alaska Natives made up less than 10 percent of the popula-              located in the two Alyeska Pipeline Company camps within
                     tion at Prudhoe Bay (8.2 percent) and Deadhorse (9.2                    the study area, Franklin Bluffs Camp and Happy Valley
                     percent) in 1970 even though in the North Slope region as a             Camp.
                     whole they comprised 83 percent of the population. As with              There is some difficulty in obtaining an accurate sector
                     females, although the number of Natives working in the area             breakdown from these data as they are in some cases
                     has increased since 1970, they do not account for a signifi-            categorized by place of dwelling rather than by activity or
                     cantly greater proportion of the total population.                      employer (although in many cases these are one and the
                     These "peculiar" features of the Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse                  same). For example, the industry reported that there were
                     population are likely to continue for at least the next several         448 people living at BP Construction Camp No. I in July
                                                                                             1977. One can assume that most of these were involved in
                                                                                             construction-related activities; however, the figure also in-
                                                                                             cludes some support personnel such as caterers and mainte-
                                                                                             nance personnel. Likewise, the 219 persons identified as
                                                                                             living at Deadhorse Camp and associated with NANA Oilfield
                                                                                             Services include employees involved in a variety of activities
                                                                                             such as transportation, communications and public utilities
                                                                                             (ERA Helicopter, Sea-Airmotive, RCA), finance, insurance,
                                                                                             and real estate (Alaska Bank of the North), etc. Because the
                                                                                             industry does not supply a definitive breakdown by employ
                                                                                             er, these people have all been placed in the service sector as
                                                                                             NANA Oilfield Services is the largest single employer among
                                                                                             them. Even with these data limitations, however, some
                                                                                             generalizations concerning the Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse labor
                                                                                             force composition can be developed.

                                               6,
                                                                                             In July 1977, the three largest employment sectors were
                                                                                             contract construction; transportation, communications and

                                                                                                                                                            73

                      public utilities; and mining. Contract construction accounted          The most striking difference in employment composition of
                      for well over half or 54.8 percent of the Prudhoe Bay/Dead-            the two areas is in the government sector. In 1976, 12.9
                      horse nonagricultural wage and salary employment. Transpor-            percent of the North Slope Borough's nonagricultural wage
                      tation, communications and public utilities together repre-            and salary employment was with either the Federal, State or
                      sented nearly 40 percent of the total nonagricultural wage             local governments. However, in July 1977, only 0.2 percent
                      and salary employment. Only two other sectors-service and              of the Prudhoe Bay industrial complex employment was in
                      government-had identifiable employment in July 1977. The               the government sector, less than 0.1 percent at the State and
                      service sector had 5.2 percent of the total Prudhoe Bay/Dead-          local level. Boroughwide, 9.4 percent of the total non-
                      horse employment and State and Federal government                      agricultural wage and salary employment was at the State and
                      together had less than 0.5 percent or 10 employees. There              local government level. Mining, like contract construction,
                      were no local government employees in the area at the time             was a more significant source of employment at Prudhoe Bay
                      of the July 1977 count.                                                during 1977 than it was Statewide in 1976. In July 1977,
                      Overall, the composition of the study area's employment                roughly 18 percent of the complex's employment was in
                      bears some marked similarities to that of the North Slope              mining, whereas, Statewide, the mining sector accounted for
                      Borough as a whole, although        it is not typical of the           only 2.3 percent of the total nonagricultural wage and salary
                      employment composition of the       Borough's traditional vil-         employment.
                      lage s. Since well over half of the Borough's population and
                      significantly more than that portion of its employment lives           4.   Unemployment and Seasonality of Employment
                      in the Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse area, Boroughwide employ-                 Unemployment does not exist in the Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse
                      ment figures are understandably heavily weighted by the                area. All people living in the region do so for job-related
                      activity at the Prudhoe Bay industrial complex.                        reasons, and once their jobs end, they simply leave. Nor do
                      Although there are no 1977 employment distribution data                industry population statistics from 1974 to 1977 indicate
                      yet available for the North Slope Borough, a comparison of             any definite pattern of employment seasonality. Employ-
                      July 1977 Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse figures with those compil-             ment rose steadily in the Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse area from
                      ed by the Alaska 'Department of Labor in 1976 for the                  January 1974 to July 1976 regardless of season. Since
                      Borough shows that contract construction was the largest               January 1976, there has been a steady decrease in employ-
                      single employer for both. In 1976, 53.9 percent of the                 ment, but this can be attributed to completion of pipeline
                      Borough's nonagricultural wage and salary employment was               construction rather than to seasonal changes in employment
                      in contract construction; in July 1977, 54.8 percent of those          patterns.
                      living in the Prudhoe Bay industrial complex were employed             5.    Recent Trends and Changes
                      in contract construction. Similarly 18.3 percent of the
                      Borough's 1976 nonagricultural wage and salary employment              There have been two significant changes in Prudhoe Bay/
                      was in the mining sector, and 18.6 percent of the Prudhoe              Deadhorse area employment in the past several years. First,
                      Bay complex employment was involved in mining activity.                employment has decreased steadily since it peaked in the
                      Boroughwide, the service sector represented 6.2 percent of             summer of 1976 during the height of pipeline construction.
                      the total nonagricultural wage and salary employment. In the           In July 1976, the oil industry identified 8,856 persons living
                      Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse area, the figure was a slightly lower            and working the Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse area. In January
                      5.2 percent.                                                           1977, this figure had fallen to 8,270, a decrease of 7 percent.

                      74

                     By July 1977, the figure had fallen to 5,35 1, a decrease of 56           tors is likely to persist at least in the near term. In July 1977,
                     percent of the July 1976 figure. In January 1978 there were               even though the pipeline was officially operational, there was
                     only 3,374 people living and working in the area according to             some residual construction activity. According to industry
                     industry spokesmen. There may be additional small decreases               officials, this activity has tapered off since then and will
                     in the future, but industry expects employment to remain                  continue to do so in the future. However, the number of
                     relatively stable until such time as there is some major new              employees involved in the mining and transportation sectors
                     oil and gas development in the area or until start-up of                  is expected to remain constant, thus increasing those sectors'
                     construction on the proposed gas pipeline.                                percentage of the total labor force.
                     Employment composition statistics reflect the recent switch
                     from pipeline construction to operation. In July 1976, during             6.    Income Levels
                     the height of construction, there were 5,339 employees or                 Reliable figures on income are difficult to develop for the
                     84.7 percent of the area's total employment involved in                   Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse area because State Department of
                     contract construction. One year later, in July 1977, just after           Labor income statistics are generated on a Boroughwide
                     the pipeline became officially operational, 2,322 persons,                rather than on an individual community basis. However,
                     representing 54.8 percent of the area's total labor force, were           given the composition of the Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse em-
                     classified in contract construction.
                                                                                               ployment, with its heavy concentrations in the mining,
                     Concomitant with this decrease in contract construction                   contract construction, and transportation, communications,
                     employment, there has been an increase in the mining and                  and public utilities sectors as opposed to the limited employ-
                     transportation, communications and public utilities sectors.              ment in these sectors in the North Slope Borough's tradition-
                     Although the number of people employed in the mining                      al communities, some generalizations can be made about the
                     sector did not change appreciably from 1976 to 1977 (742                  Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse area.
                     persons in 1976 and 787 persons in 1977), the sector's                    Statistics developed by the State Department of Labor show
                     percentage of the total labor force did grow in the one year              that wage levels in the North Slope Borough were among the
                     period. In 1976, mining accounted for 11.8 percent of the                 highest in the State in 1975 and 1976. The average monthly
                     total employment while in 1977, it accounted for 18.6                     wage in the region in 1976 was $3,897, which is only slightly
                     percent of the total.                                                     lower than the three highest census divisions in the State,
                     The switch from construction to operation is even more                    Southeast Fairbanks, Val dez-Ch itina-Wh ittier, and Yukon-
                     apparent in the transportation, communications and public                 Koyukuk. All three of these divisions, like the North Slope
                     utilities sector. In 1976, there were 160 employees in this               Borough, were heavily impacted by pipeline construction in
                     sector, 2.5 percent of the total labor force. Most of these               1976. Statewide, the average monthly wage in 1976 was
                     were employed by aviation and trucking companies support-                 $1,928. This figure, too, was impacted by the high level of
                     ing the construction effort. In 1977, however, this same                  construction activity engendered by pipeline construction.
                     sector had about 900 employees, 21.2 percent of the total                 A review of monthly wage levels by industry sector in the
                     labor force. Almost all of these were directly involved in the            Barrow-North Slope census division for 1975, 1976 and the
                     operation of the pipeline, rather than in its support.                    first quarter of 1977 indicates very clearly why Boroughwide
                     The trend toward domination of employment by the mining                   wage figures are so high. The average wage in the construc-
                     and transportation, communications, and public utilities sec-             tion sector in the region was more than $5,000 per month

                                                                                                                                                                75

                                                             TABLE 1                                                                                    TABLE 2

                              NONAGRICULTURAL WAGE AND SALARY DISTRIBUTION                                               NONAGRICULTURAL WAGE AND SALARY DISTRIBUTION
                                            PRUDHOE BAY/DEADHORSE AREA'                                                                PRUDHOE BAY/DEADHORSE AREA'
                                                            JULY 1977                                                                                      1976

                                                                                                 Percent                                                                                    Percent
                           Industry Classification                          Number              of Total              Industry Classification                           Number             of Total

                           Mining                                               787                 18.6              Mining                                               742                11.8
                           Contract Construction                              2,322                 54.8              Contract Construction                              5,339                84.7
                           Manufacturing                                        -                   -                 Manufacturing                                        -                   -
                           Transportation, Communication                        901                 21.3              Transportation, Communication                        160                 2.5
                             and Public Utilities                                                                       and Public Utilities

                           Trade                                                -                   -                 Trade                                                -                   -
                           Finance, Insurance and Real Estate                   -                   -                 Finance, Insurance and Real Estate                   -                   -
                           Service2                                             219                 5.2               Service3                                              55                 0.9

                           Miscellaneous                                        -                   -                 Miscellaneous                                        -                   -
                           Government                                            10                 0.2               Government                                            10                 0.2
                             Federal                                                8)              (0.2)               Federal                                                8)             (0.1)
                             State                                                  2)              (0.0)3              State                                                 2)              (0.0)2

                           TOTAL                                               4,239               100.0              TOTAL                                              6,306               100.0

                                                                                                                      1. Includes the Prudhoe Bay industrial complex, Deadhorse, and
                           1 . Includes the Prudhoe Bay industrial complex, Deadhorse, and                               Franklin Bluffs and Happy Valley Camps.
                               Franklin Bluffs and Happy Valley camps.                                                2. Represents less than 0.1 percent.
                           2. Includes 165 employees of NANA Oilfield Services as well as 64                          3. Includes residents of NANA's Deadhorse public camp.
                               persons I iving at NANA's Deadhorse Camp as of July 1, 1977.
                           3. Represents less than 0.1 percent.                                                       Source: SOHIO-BP.

                           Source: North Slope Borough

                           76

                                                         TABLE3                                                                                     TABLE4

                                    NONAGRICULTURAL WAGE AND SALARY                                                           NONAGRICULTURAL WAGE AND SALARY
                                           EMPLOYMENT DISTRIBUTION                                                                   EMPLOYMENT DISTRIBUTION
                                              NORTH SLOPE BOROUGH                                                 PRUDHOE BAY/DEADHORSE AREA AND STATE OF ALASKA
                                                           1976                                                                                   1976-1977

                                                                                            Percent                                                           Prudhoe Bay/
                       Industry Classification                         Number              of Total             Industry Classification                      Deadhorse 1977        Alaska 1976

                       Mining                                            1,271                 18.3             Mining                                               18.6                2.3
                       Contract Construction                             3,738                 53.9             Contract Construction                                54.8               17.6
                       Manufacturing                                                                            Manufacturing                                        -                   6.0
                       Transportation, Communication                      316                  4.6              Transportation, Communication                        21.3                9.2
                         and Public Utilities                                                                     and Public Utilities

                       Trade                                                                                    Trade                                                -                  16.1
                       Finance, Insurance and Real                                                              Finance, Insurance and                               -                   4.1
                         Estate                                                                                   Real Estate

                       Service                                            445                  6.4              Service                                              5.2                16.2
                       Miscellaneous                                          0                -                Miscellaneous                                        -                     .7
                       Government                                         892                  12.9             Government                                           0.2                27.6
                         Federal                                          239)                 3.4)               Federal                                         (  0.2)             ( 10.5)
                         State                                            652                  9.4                State                                           (  0.0)             (  8.2)
                         Local                                                                                    Local                                                               (  8.9)

                       TOTA L                                            6,932               100.0              TOTAL                                             100.0               100.0

                       *Employment figures withheld to comply with disclosure regulations.                      Source: Alaska Department of Labor.

                       Source: Alaska Department of Labor.

                                                                                                                                                                                             77

                                                          TABLES

                                               AVERAGE MONTHLY WAGE
                                               ALASKA CENSUS DIVISIONS
                                                             1976

                                                                            Average Monthly Wage
                           Census Division
                           STATE TOTAL                                              $1,928
                           Aleutian Islands                                         $1,499
                           Anchorage                                                $1,613
                           Angoon                                                   $ 899
                           Barrow-North Slope                                       $3,897
                           Bethel                                                   $ 940
                           Bristol Bay Borough                                      $1,309
                           Bristol Bay                                              $1,142
                           Corclova- McCarthy                                       $1,220                                    4
                           Fairbanks                                                $2,161
                                                                                    $1,093
                           Haines
                           j u neau                                                 $1,414                                                                               r
                           Kenai-Cook Inlet                                         $1,742
                           Ketchikan                                                $1,294
                           Kobuk                                                    $1,161
                           Kodiak                                                   $1,287
                           Kuskokwim                                                $1,S77
                                                                                    $1,316
                           Matanuska-Susitna
                           Nome                                                     $1,286
                                                                                    $ 918
                           Outer  Ketchikan
                           Prince of Wales                                          $1,493
                                                                                    $1,178
                           Seward
                           Sitka                                                    $1,377
                           Skagway-Yakutat                                          $1,229
                           Southeast Fairbanks                                      $3,956
                           Upper Yukon                                              $2,009
                           Valdez-Chitina-Whittier                                  $3,932
                           Wade Hampton                                             $1,349                                      4',A@
                                                                                                                        4
                           Wrangell- Petersburg                                     $1,290
                           Yukon-Koyukuk                                            $4,082
                                                                                                                                                                         I     In

                           Source: Alaska Department of Labor.                                                                                                          44,

                           78

                                                                                                    TABLE6

                                                                         AVERAGE MONTHLY WAGE BY INDUSTRY SECTOR
                                                                                    BARROW-NORTH SLOPE DIVISION
                                                                                                   1975-1977

                                                                                                  1975                                        1976                       1977
                                                                               Ist Qr     2nd Qr      3rd Qr     4th Qr     Ist Qr     2nd Qr      3rd Qr    4th Qr      1 st Qr

                                   Total Nonagricultural Industries            $2,654     $2,879      $3,439     $3,310     $3,092     $3,904      $4,311    $4,230      $3,224
                                      Mining                                   $2,709     $2,662      $2,686     $3,201     $2,924     $2,946      $3,254    $3,162      $3,437
                                      Construction                             $3,793     $3,738      $4,337     $4,OS5     $3,733     $5,103      $S,820    $6,120      $S,158
                                      Transportation, Communications
                                        and Utilities                          $2,231     $2,74S      $2,692     $2,245     $2,889     $2,760      $3,093    $2,502      $2,799

                                      Wholesale Trade

                                      Retail Trade                             $ 457      $ 428       $ 483      $ 447      $ 612      $ 5S]       $ 508                 $ 642

                                      Finance,Insurance &
                                        Real Estate                            $1,013     $1,038                 $1,456                            $2,540    $1,564
                                      Services                                 $2,498     $2,282      $2,47S     $2,939     $3,060     $3,251      $3,519    $3,094      $2,918
                                      Federal Government                       $ 916      $ 885       $ 939      $ 992      $ 668      $1,039      $ 962     $1,078      $ 980
                                      State & Local Government                 $ 852      $1,213      $1,442     $1,638     $1,007     $1,746      $1,4S3    $1,578      $1,426
                                      Miscellaneous & Manufacturing

                                   *Figures withheld to comply with disclosure regulations.

                                   Source: Alaska Department of Labor.

                                                                                                                                                                                         79

                       after the first quarter of 1976, peaking at $6,120 per month             dropped to slightly below $3,000 in the first quarter of 1977.
                       in the fourth quarter of 1976. Essentially all of this activity          The largest share of these jobs was related to oil and gas
                       was located in the study area and was associated with the                development or to pipeline construction activities.
                       trans-Alaska pipeline.                                                   Wage levels in transportation, communications and utilities
                       Average wage levels in mining, services and in transportation,           were slightly below those in mining and services but were still
                       communications and public utilities in the North Slope                   high when compared with all other sectors except for
                       Borough were also high when compared with those of other                 construction. The highest average monthly wage recorded to
                       sectors. The average wage in mining exceeded $3,000 per                  date in this sector was $3,098 which was reached during the
                       month after the second quarter of 1976 (with a peak of                   third quarter of 1976. Again, most jobs in this sector were
                       $3,437 per month recorded for the first quarter of 1977).                directed toward servicing oil and gas or pipeline activities or
                       Although some of this employment was in National Petro-                  associated with the DEW Line stations.
                       leum Reserve-Alaska, most of it occurred in the vicinity of              Part of the reason for the very high wage rates in construc-
                       Prudhoe Bay. Another reason for the high average monthly                 tion, mining, servicesand transportation, communications and
                       wage rates in these sectors is the very large number of hours            utilities in the North Slope Borough is due to the fact that
                       of overtime logged by employees, particularly in jobs asso-              employers in this sector do not maintain office staffs in the
                       ciated with the pipeline.                                                region (or if they do, they are very small). The Alaska offices
                       The salaries recorded for the North Slope census division in             of most companies in these sectors are based in Anchorage or
                       tradeand government are much lower. Nearly all employment                Fairbanks, or both. As a result, the lower salaries normally
                       in these sectors, however, is in the Borough's traditional               paid to clerical and junior technical personnel are not
                       communities rather than in the Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse area.               reflected in North Slope Borough figures.
                       The highest average monthly wages in trade recorded for the              In summary, persons employed at Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse
                       region between 197S and the first quarter of 1977 was only               and along the pipeline enjoy extremely high incomes when
                       $642 (in the first quarter of 1977). Average monthly wages               compared to those earned in the Borough's traditional com-
                       in government were higher than those in trade in the North               munities and even to incomes Statewide. Furthermore, these
                       Slope Borough between 197S and the first quarter of 1977.                incomes are not diminished by the high costs of living on the
                       The average for the Federal government sector was $980 per               North Slope since all goods and services are provided by the
                       month in the first quarter of 1977 (down from a high of                  employer and almost all dependents live outside the region.
                       $1  078 in the fourth quarter of 1976). Again, essentially all
                       employment in the government sector is in the Borough's
                       traditional communities. Less than 0.2 percent of the Prud-              G.   LAND USE AND PUBLIC
                       hoe Bay/Deadhorse area employment is in the government                        FACILITIES AND SERVICES
                       sector, whereas Boroughwide in 1976, 12.9 percent of the                 I .  General Land Use Patterns
                       total nonagricultural wage and salary employment was in the              Prior to the arrival of the military in the 1950's and the oil
                       government sector.                                                       industry in the 1960's, use of the land in the Prudhoe Bay
                       Wages in services jobs also averaged more than $3,000 per                Coastal Area was entirely subsistence oriented. Most of this
                       month in 1976 (with a peak of $3,S 19 per month in the third             was concentrated along the coast, the barrier islands, and
                       quarter of 1976) although average wage rates in this sector              major rivers where subsistence resources were most likely to

                       80

                    be plentiful. These same general subsistence land use patterns            2.   Facilities and Services
                    persist today.                                                            The Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse complex is not an organized
                                                                                              political unit of government but rather a private industrial
                    Physical development in the study area is limited to the oil              development located primarily on State-owned land within
                    and gas-related facilities at Prudhoe Bay and Deadhorse, the              the North Slope Borough. IL pays taxes to the Borough, is
                    pipeline Haul Road which supports these, and a number of                  subject to its areawide powers and, in theory, is dependent
                    widely scattered small gravel airstrips built by industry to              upon it for the provision of certain services. In fact, however,
                    support oil and gas exploration. In addition, there are three             the Borough has been required to provide only limited
                    DEW Line stations along the coast-Oliktok, Pt. McIntyre,                  services to the complex. As a result of an agreement between
                    and Flaxman at Bullen Point. Of these, only Oliktok is                    the oil companies and the North Slope Borough shortly after
                    presently an active station.                                              incorporation in 1972, Prudhoe Bay has remained a private
                                                                                              industrial complex responsible for providing its own services.
                    The Prudhoe Bay area is     an industrial enclave located in an           Until recently, all services at Deadhorse have been provided
                    otherwise nonindustrial area. Because of the size of the field,           by the service companies located there; however, in 1976
                    development is necessarily dispersed widely. In all, this                 because of recurring problems with the subdivision's solid
                    industrial area Occupies more than 400 square miles, more                 waste, sewage and water supply systems, the Borough created
                    land, in fact, than that occupied by the Borough's eight                  a utility service area at Deadhorse and assumed responsibility
                    traditional communities and numerous military installations.              for the provision of sewage and solid waste disposal and for
                    Within the Prudhoe Bay complex are oil production facilities,             the water supply. The ASRC has also applied to the Public
                    living accommodations for workers, and a wide variety of                  Utilities Commission to take over the Deadhorse telephone
                    support services.                                                         exchange currently operated by RCA Alascom.

                    Sixteen companies are involved in the development of the
                    Prudhoe Bay field. To avoid duplication of facilities, how-
                    ever, these companies entered into an agreement which
                    assigns the field operation to the two companies with the
                    largest interest: Atlantic Richfield Company operates the
                    eastern section of the field and BP (Sohio) manages the
                    western portion. Although each has constructed similar facil-
                    ities in their respective management areas, some facilities are
                    common. These include the central compression plant, the
                    central power plant, port facilities and an airstrip.

                    Many specialized services are not carried out by      ARCO and
                    BP (Sohio) but are instead contracted to other firms. Al-
                    though camp facilities for some of these firms        are located
                    close to operations, most are located near the Deadhorse
                    Airport on land [eased from the State Department of Trans-
                    portation and Public Facilities.

                                                                                                                                                               81

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 SEA

                                                                                                                                                                                                0
                                                                                                                                                                                                0".
                                                                                                                                                                                                0                                                0
                                                                                                  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
                                                                                                                                                               BP 40- ARCO
                                                                                                                                                     operated arve,       operated area

                                                                                                                                                                                                                       -0

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   0

                                                                                                                                                                       r
                                                                                                                                                                       L

                                                                        .. . . . . . . . . .

                                                                                                                                                  0

                                                                                                                                                  0

                                                                                                  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

                                                                            hoe Bay Unit Area                                                                                                                            0
                                                                                                                         0                                             L
                                                                            DS, PADS and BUILDINGS
                                                                            with structures
                                                                                    struct-
                                                                        Road,
                                                                   ...  BF lease ar..                                                                                   . . . . . . . . ..
                                                         Z              WELLS
                                                       J,               Oil well (perforated/produci                                                                   11
                                                                     0  Suspended oil well
                                                                     0  Gas -11
                                                                     0  Drilled gas/ l1q.     input
                                                                        Scheduled w        r
                                                                        FLOW LI        8                                                                               1                     . . . . . . . . ..                                    . . . . . . .
                                                                    -Gas tranei       i.ea
                                                                                  1 well fl   lines
                                                                        Indic'
                                                                        Cr    oil transit lin a

                                          Figure 13                 scale I"= 4000'                                                                                                                                                            Alaska Con

                                                              - -- - --     - -- - --    - -- - --    - -- - --                  - -- - --                                 LAND USE

                                                                                                                                                                                THANSPORTATT01
                                                                                                                                                                                RUNWAY -d TA

                                                                                                    D                  SE AIRPORT

                       State and Federal government facilities in the area are also            the State Department of Public Safety which empower them
                       limited. The State of Alaska owns and operates the Dead-                to make arrests. They do not, however, have the authority to
                       horse Airport, and the Federal Aviation Administration                  carry weapons.
                       operates a flight service station there. Although the North             Responsibility for provision of fire protection service within
                       Slope Haul Road is currently operated and maintained by the             Prudhoe Bay and Deadhorse lies for the most part with the
                       Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, the road is scheduled to              companies operating there. Alyeska Pipeline Service Com-
                       be taken over by the State in October 1978 and will become              pany is responsible for safety and fire protection of the
                       part of the State highway system. The State administration              trans-Alaska pipeline and the one pump station within the
                       has recommended that the road be closed to all but industrial
                       and commercial tour bus traffic during the period of gas                Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area. Pump Station No. I is outfitted
                       pipeline construction and that maintenance be the respon-               with a range of equipment specifically designed to combat
                       sibility of the users. The State of Alaska also has a trooper           fires resulting from oil and gas combustion. The station has
                       stationed at Deadhorse. The following is a detailed descrip-            two built-in, fixed fire protection systems-a halon system
                       tion of both private and public facilities and services at              and a combination water/foam system. In addition, a number
                       Prudhoe Bay and Deadhorse.                                              of -hand portable and wheeled extinguishers are also available.
                                                                                               There are two fire trucks at the station outfitted with a
                       Preliminary projections developed by both the Federal and               1,250-gallon water tank, 500 pounds of dry chemical, 125
                       State governments in connection with the joint Federal/State            gallons of A3F foam and a 300-gallons-per-minute pump.
                       Beaufort Sea lease sale indicate that future oil and gas                One of these trucks is available under a mutual aid agreement
                       exploration and development will probably engender employ-              to supplement BP (Sohio) and Atlantic Richfield's fire
                       ment levels lower than those accommodated by Prudhoe Bay                fighting capabilities.
                       and Deadhorse during the height of pipeline construction.
                       Thus existing facilities and services should be adequate to             In addition to fire trucks, the pump station also has a
                       accommodate future development.                                         portable twin-engine unit equipped with 450 pounds of dry
                                                                                               chemical and 200 gallons of premixed light water. This is
                       a.   Public Safety                                                      usually mounted on the back of a pickup truck, but when
                       Police protection  at Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse is provided by              required, can be readily picked up by helicopter and flown to
                                                                                               another location.
                       an Alaska State    Trooper who rotates every two or three
                       months out of Fairbanks. The police station, located near the           A full-time safety and fire protection specialist is responsible
                       Deadhorse Airport, is equipped with a holding cell, where               for the maintenance and operation of fire protection equip-
                       prisoners are held only until transportation to more adequate           ment at Pump Station No. 1. This individual is also responsi-
                       facilities in Fairbanks can be arranged. The trooper is sup-            ble for organizing and training the station's fire brigade.
                       ported by a four-wheel drive truck outfitted with local                 According to Alyeska safety officials, existing equipment is
                       communications and emergency medical equipment.                         adequate to protect the pump stations.

                       To supplement this service, the Prudhoe Bay operators                   Responsibility for management of the Prudhoe Bay field is
                       contract additional private security guards who cooperate               divided between BP (Sohio) and Atlantic Richfield Company.
                       closely with the State Trooper. Usually retired policemen or            Each has its own personnel and fire protection equipment
                       military, these security guards have special commissions from           designed to meet the needs of its particular operation. These

                       84

                   differ in specifics, but both companies have systems which                cally closing doors which would serve to contain fires within
                   meet guidelines established by the National Fire Protection               specific areas and there is halon protection throughout. Water
                   Association for the types of fires most likely to occur in this           for fire fighting comes from two sources-the 30,000 gallon
                   environment. Thus only one of the two companies' systems is               swimming pool and the building's potable water source which
                   described here.                                                           has a 30,000 gallon reserve at all times. An additional 80,000
                   BP (Sohio)'s fire station is located close to its base operations         gallon water tank equipped with two 500 gallons per minute
                   center. The company's safety engineer and three safety                    pumps is now under construction at the fire station.
                   technicians who are responsible for maintaining both fixed                Responsibility for fire protection at Deadhorse Airport lies
                   and mobile fire protection equipment are housed here. A                   with the airport's owner and operator, the State Department
                   20-man fire brigade, assigned to each 7-hour shift and                    of Transportation and Public Facilities. Fire fighting equip-
                   equipped with electronic pagers is spread throughout the                  ment includes one three-quarter ton "quick response" vehicle
                   complex and can be called immediately in the event of a                   equipped with dry chemicals and one large tank truck with a
                   major fire. The entire brigade receives weekly training and all           pumper. Lacking an organized fire department, operation of
                   brigade members are trained annually at special fire fighting             the equipment is left to the airport manager and employees.
                   courses given at Texas A & M University. Mobile equipment
                   stationed at the firehouse includes a fire truck equipped with            b.   Health
                   a 750 gallons per minute pumper, a 2,000 gallon water tank,
                   400 gallons of 3F foam and 1,500 pounds of dry chemical. A                Health services at Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse are limited to
                   water truck has a 2,000 gallon capacity and a 500 gallons per             those provided by the two managers of the oilfield-Atlantic
                   minute pneumatic pumper.                                                  Richfield and BP (Sohio)-and to the Emergency Medical
                   In addition to mobile equipment, each of the company's                    Treatment Service provided by the State Trooper stationed at
                                                                                             Deadhorse. Atlantic Richfield has a well-equipped clinic at its
                   major facilities has a built-in fire protection system. The               main base camp staffed full time by a physician and two
                   central power station has four, 4 ton carbon dioxide systems              physicians' assistants provided under contract by a clinic in
                   for its turbines, several halon systems, and a 20,000 gallon              Fairbanks. BP (Sohio) has two medical facilities, one at its
                   water tank with pumps powered by elevation and air pressure               base operations camp and one at its Construction Camp
                   for each pair of turbines.                                                No. 2. These are staffed by a licensed physicians' assistant or
                   The three gas gathering centers are similarly equipped. Each              nurse practitioner who has a direct telephone connection to a
                   has a 433,000 gallon circulating system with two, 15,000                  doctor in Anchorage.
                   gallons per minute pumps, one electric and one diesel.                    The service companies all have first aid rooms where minor
                   System outlets are located in each module within the gather-              injuries and illnesses can be treated. In the event of more
                   ing centers. Each gathering center also has standard foam                 serious medical problems, however, they rely on the medical
                   application systems and is equipped with water curtains                   facilities of either BP (Sohio) or Atlantic Richfield, which-
                   between modules. Fire detection systems are varied, depend-               ever firm it is under contract to. Under an agreement among
                   ing upon the particular activity involved and the type of fire            Atlantic  Richfield, BP (Sohio) and the service companies,
                   danger associated with it.                                                ARCO's physician serves all personnel at Prudhoe Bay. All
                   The company's three housing complexes have elaborate fire                 patients  with serious illnesses or injuries are evacuated to
                   detection systems. In addition, these buildings have automati-            hospitals in either Fairbanks or Anchorage.
                                                                                                                                                             85

                        C.    Recreation                                                           public restaurant, a movie theater, and a bar. A small gift
                        Recreation facilities within the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area are              shop caters to summer tourists.
                        limited to those provided by the oil industry at its camps                 d.   Communications
                        within the Prudhoe Bay complex and by NANA Oilfield
                        Services at its Deadhorse "public camp." Oil company recrea-               There are several discrete communications systems operating
                        tion facilities are closed to all but company employees and                within the Prudhoe Bay industrial complex. RCA Alascom,
                        their guests, while those of NANA are open to the public.                  based at Deadhorse, provides all long distance service via
                                                                                                   telecommunications satellite. An NC 10, cross-fire switch
                        Compared to the facilities available in most of the Arctic s               system with a 400-line capacity provides local service. In
                        traditional villages, facilities available to people living in the         February 1978, only about 250 of the 400 available lines
                        Prudhoe Bay camps are lavish. British Petroleum (Sohio) has                were in use. Atlantic Richfield Company and BP (Sohio),
                        three camps in the Prudhoe Bay area. The base camp is                      each have their own in-house end-radio communications
                        equipped with a full gymnasium, including basketball and                   systems. In addition to handling calls inside ARCO and BP
                        handball courts, a swimming pool and saunas, an indoor                     (Sohio), these systems also provide access to RCA's Dead-
                        track, and a fully equipped exercise room. In addition, the                horse exchange and to its long distance service. A separate
                        camp has a theater which shows scheduled movies and, on                    radio-based "alert" system, designed for use in emergency
                        occasion, live entertainment brought in from outside the                   situations, connects all the various Prudhoe Bay operations
                        region. Employees also have access to a wide range of                      and pipeline pump stations.
                        hobby-oriented and academic classes taught by fellow em-
                        ployees when a particular skill is locally available or by                 The ASRC has applied to the Public Utilities Commission to
                        imported specialists when it is not.                                       install small telephone exchanges in all of the Borough's
                        Atlantic Richfield's Prudhoe Bay      base camp has a range of             villages except Barrow and to take over the Deadhorse
                        recreation facilities similar to that offered by BP (Sohio).               exchange currently operated by RCA Alascom. RCA would
                        This camp has an indoor basketball court which can be                      retain its responsibility for long line service to connect
                        converted for volleyball and badminton and        has an elevated          Deadhorse to the State long distance network. As of Feb-
                        indoor track over it. The camp also has a         fully equipped           ruary 1978, the Public Utilities Commission had taken no
                        exercise room, saunas, pool tables and other      table games. A           action on the AS RC's application.
                        135-seat theater is included in the complex       and is used for          C.   Transportation
                        both movies and live entertainment. Recreation activities are              At the present time, the Deadhorse Airport is the only public
                        organized by a full-time recreation director.                              transportation facility in the Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse area.
                        Alyeska's one pump station operating within the Prudhoe                    Owned and operated by the State Department of Transporta-
                        Bay area has a large recreation area, half of which is devoted             tion and Public Facilities, the airport has a 6,500 foot by
                        to table games such as table tennis and pool, with the other               ISO foot gravel runway and an adjacent gravel helipad. The
                        half used as a theater for daily movie shows. The station also             runway is scheduled to be paved in 1978. The runway and
                        has a sauna, a fully equipped exercise room and a commissary               taxiway have medium-intensity lighting; however, high-
                        where employees can purchase personal items plus books,                    intensity lighting will be installed at the airport during the
                        newspapers and magazines. At Deadhorse, the 240-man pub-                   summer of 1978. Navigational aids include a very high-
                        lic camp operated by NANA Oilfield Services includes a                     frequency omn i range/d i stance measuring equipment (VOR/
                        86

                   DME), a glide slope, localizer, direction finder, visual ap-             as Flaxman is located on Bullen Point just east of Mikkelsen
                   proach slope indicator (VASI), and a nondirectional radio                Bay and has a 3,785 foot by 100 foot runway.
                   beacon 2 miles northeast of the airport. Airport facilities              Road access to the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area is provided by
                   include a terminal, utility-storage shop, a power plant, and             the trans-Alaska pipeline Haul Road which connects with the
                   small transient camp. Extensive fueling is also available.               State highway system at the Yukon River and runs parallel to
                   Deadhorse receives scheduled jet service daily from Fairbanks            the pipeline to its terminus at Prudhoe Bay. The road was
                   and Anchorage via Wien Air Alaska. Aside from Wien flights,              constructed by Alyeska Pipeline Service Company to second-
                   ERA Helicopter and Sea-Airmotive provide scheduled air                   ary highway standards and is scheduled to be turned over to
                   service out of Deadhorse to Kaktovik and Nuiqsut, respec-                the State by Alyeska in October 1978. During construction
                   tively. Atlantic Richfield and British Petroleum (Sohio)                 and the initial operations phase of the pipeline, the Haul
                                                                                            Road has been closed to all but industrial traffic and
                   provide their employees with jet service from Anchorage and              maintenance has been performed by Alyeska. When the road
                   Fairbanks to Deadhorse. ARCO charters a Wien 737 aircraft                is turned over to the State, however, the State will assume
                   which operates once daily Monday through Friday. BP
                   (Sohio) has leased an Alaska Airlines 727 which operates on a            maintenance responsibility and some public usage of the
                   nonscheduled basis.                                                      facility may be allowed.
                                                                                            Local service roads within Prudhoe Bay and Deadhorse have
                   An airstrip at Prudhoe Bay, owned by the State Division of               been constructed and are maintained by the oil companies
                   Lands and operated by Atlantic Richfield Company, is closed              and Alyeska. The State will not assume responsibility for
                   to all but oil company traffic. The.facility has a 5,500 foot            these when it takes over the Haul Road. The only port
                   by 150foot gravel runway with medium-intensity lighting.                 facilities within the study area are those associated with
                   Navigational aids include two-channel VHF and UHF radio                  Prudhoe Bay. Constructed initially in 1969 by the oil
                   and a communications tie-in with the Deadhorse flight service
                   station. Other small private airstrips are located throughout
                   the Prudhoe Bay area and along the pipeline corridor. These
                   are closed to all but private traffic.
                                                                                                                        INS,               j@ff@""qqUo
                                                                                                                                   S"   Nix,

                   Outside the Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse area but still within the
                   Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area there are three additional airstrips,
                   all associated with DEW Line stations. Oliktok, located 40
                   miles northwest of Prudhoe Bay, is an active DEW Line
                   station and has a 4,019 foot long gravel airstrip equipped
                   with medium-intensity runway and taxiway lights and non-
                   directional beacons and an 85,000 gallon jet fuel storage
                   tank. Pt. McIntyre, which has been abandoned by the Air
                   Force, is located 20 to 40 miles northwest of Prudhoe Bay
                   and has a 1,300 foot by 66 foot gravel runway. Three small
                   buildings and fuel storage facilities remain on the property. A
                   second abandoned DEW Line airstrip commonly referred to

                                                                                                                                                           87

                        companies, these consist of a gravel causeway and four barges             quirements from nearby lakes and rivers or purchase their
                        placed at its end which serve as an unloading dock. A 25 acre             water from hauling companies.
                        gravel pad adjacent to the dock serves as a storage area: A
                        second dock, 5,000 feet long and 50 feet wide, and associa-               (1) Electricity. As has been mentioned previously, under
                        ted storage area, were constructed during the winter of                   the provisions of the Prudhoe Bay Unit Operating Agree-
                        1975/1976. Located more conveniently than the 1969 facil-                 ment, Atlantic Richfield and BP (Sohio) share responsibility
                        ity, this new dock has become Prudhoe Bay's primary port                  for the provision of electricity to the operating companies.
                        facility. Three heavy cranes are available for unloading cargo            BP's central power station has a generating capacity of 100
                        from barges. Both port facilities are connected to the Prud-              megawatts (100,000 kw). Power is delivered to the operating
                        hoe Bay complex by road.                                                  facilities through 69 kv transmission lines which traverse the
                                                                                                  field. ARCO plans to expand the power-generating facility by
                        f.   Utilities                                                            an additional 40 megawatts in 1980.
                        There is no   central utility responsible for the provision of            The service companies all provide their own power with
                        power, water or sewage and solid waste disposal services in               diesel fuel purchased from Atlantic Richfield's topping plant.
                        the Prudhoe Bay industrial complex or at Deadhorse. Within                At Deadhorse, Arctic Utilities' diesel-powered plant has a
                        Prudhoe Bay, Atlantic Richfield Company and BP (Sohio)                    generating capacity of 1900 kw. ALI provides power for its
                        provide their own water and sewage and garbage disposal                   own camp and sells excess capacity to the Deadhorse Airport
                        services. The responsibility for provision of electricity and gas         and a number of smaller users in the Deadhorse area. In
                        utilities is shared jointly by the two companies. BP (Sohio)              1978, ALI plans to expand its generating capacity by 800 kw
                        constructed the central power station and electrical transmis-            to accommodate the addition of the North Slope Borough's
                        sion lines, whereas Atlantic Richfield is responsible for                 new central utility.
                        conditioning the natural gas used for electrical generation and
                        heating systems for the field facilities and Alyeska Pipeline             (2) Water. Within Prudhoe Bay, both Atlantic Richfield
                        Service Company's four pump stations north of the Brooks                  and BP (Sohio) have developed their own water sources and
                        Range.                                                                    systems. Atlantic Richfield has a permit to pump 294,000
                        Lacking a central utility at Deadhorse, service companies                 gallons of water per day from the Sagavanirktok River and
                        located there have in the past been required to provide their             300,000 gallons per day from the Putuligayuk River. During
                        own utilities. Prior to 1974, all service companies provided              the summer, water is piped directly to the operations center.
                        their own electricity and heat generators powered by diesel               The winter water supply is held in a 138 million-gallon
                        fuel purchased from Atlantic Richfield's topping plant. In                reservoir which is also filled during the summer from the
                        1974, however, Atwood Enterprises, Inc., formed an electric               Sagavanirktok River.
                        utility which was, in turn, purchased in 1975 by Arctic                   British Petroleum obtains most of its water from the Kupa-
                        Utilities, Inc., a subsidiary of NANA Development Corpora-                ruk River and Big Lake.The two reservoirs on the Kuparuk
                        tion. In January 1978, AUI provided power to Deadhorse                    River have a combined usable capacity of 42 million gallons
                        Airport and to approximately one-half of the service com-                 while a much smaller reservoir on Big Lake adjacent to its
                        panies located at Deadhorse.                                              operations center has a 3 million gallon capacity. Styrofoam
                        All service company camps maintain their own package sew-                 floats and heated water circulated through the reservoir
                        age treatment plants and either supply their own water re-                prevent the water from freezing during the winter.

                        88

                   Most of the water from the service companies at Deadhorse is              (4) North Slope Borough Central Utility. There have been
                   obtained from Colleen Lake in the floodplain of the                       a number of problems with Deadhorse's existing solid waste,
                   Sagavanirktok River near the Deadhorse Airport. NANA                      sewage and water supply systems. Consequently, in 1976, the
                   Environmental Services has dropped a casing through the                   oilfield operators and service companies and the State of
                   reservoir ice through which hoses pump water into tank                    Alaska requested that the North Slope Borough create a
                   trucks for delivery to various users. A number of companies,              utility service area at Deadhorse and construct a central
                   including NANA, Mukluk Freight Lines, and Frontier Equip-                 utility for the subdivision. Construction on the central utility
                   ment, have water-hauling vehicles which can be leased for                 was begun in 1976 and is scheduled for completion in 1978
                   approximately $85 per hour. There is no charge for the                    at a total cost of $18 million, $2.25 million of which will be
                   water, but NANA is in the process of applying for a water                 covered by a grant from the State of Alaska. The facility will
                   utility permit which would allow it to impose a tariff for the            include a solid waste incinerator, a sewage treatment and
                   water as well as the delivery.                                            water purification plant and a water storage reservoir avail-
                                                                                             able on a contractual basis to facilities within the Prudhoe
                   (3) Sewage and Solid Waste Disposal. Atlantic Richfield                   Bay/Deadhorse area. As these services are already provided
                   and BP (Sohio) each maintain their own separate sewage and                by the oil company operators for their own facilities, it is
                   solid waste disposal systems. ARCO's operations center and                expected that the central utility will be used for the most
                   construction camp have binary sewage treatment systems                    part by the service companies based at Deadhorse.
                   with the effluent piped to a holding lagoon. Overflow from
                   the lagoon flows into the Arctic Ocean. Burnable solid waste
                   is incinerated at each facility-, nonburnable waste is hauled by
                   truck to a landfill in a sand dune area east of the base camp.
                   BP (Sohio) has similar facilities for disposing of sewage and
                   solid waste at its camps.

                   The North Slope Borough under contract to NANA Environ-
                   mental Services has assumed responsibility for sewage and
                   solid waste disposal within Deadhorse. NANA has a sewage
                   treatment plant at its public camp with a 15,000 gallon per-
                   day capacity, sufficient according to NANA officials to
                   handle more than existing requirements. Sludge from the
                   sewage treatment facility and solid waste are disposed of in
                   NANA's incinerator. NANA's public camp is plumbed into
                   this system; other users are serviced by a 2,000 gallon tank
                   truck which hauls sewage to the 'treatment facility. Solid
                   waste is also hauled by NANA's trucks to its incinerator.

                   An additional sewage and solid waste disposal plant is located
                   at the Deadhorse Airport. Owned by the State and operated
                   under contract by NANA, this plant has had a number of
                   operational problems and is not currently in use.

                                                                                                                                                             89

             IX. Use Potentials, Constraints and Conflicts

                             I X.  USE POTENTIALS, CONSTRAINTS                                along the pipeline corridor within the study area have
                                          AND CONFLICTS                                       consumed valuable fish and wildlife habitat and have in some
                                                                                              cases removed this habitat from production or lessened its
                   A.   OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT                                               productivity. The coastal plain in the vicinity of Prudhoe Bay
                   The development of oil and gas resources within the Prudhoe                has historically been the site of caribou breeding and the
                                                                                              onshore area between the Canning and Colville Rivers has
                   Bay Coastal Area has brought significant benefits to residents             accommodated a small, but stable, resident caribou herd.
                   of the North Slope Borough. One direct benefit has been the                According to members of the North Slope Borough Planning
                   creation of new employment opportunities for Borough                       Commission development has either forced these animals to
                   residents in the Prudhoe Bay complex. Less obvious but of                  other locations or eliminated them entirely.
                   considerably greater impact, however, are the expanded
                   services and facilities and new employment within traditional              The expansion of development outside the immediate Prud-
                   communities provided by the North Slope Borough with                       hoe Bay/Deadhorse area to previously undeveloped onshore
                   revenues from Prudhoe Bay oil and gas property taxes.                      and offshore locales raises the very real possibility of addi-
                                                                                              tional habitat consumption. Of particular concern are the
                   In about the year 2000, existing Prudhoe Bay oil and gas                   effects of offshore development on the migration routes,
                   property is scheduled to begin to depreciate. Assuming no                  calving and feeding grounds of the beluga and bowhead whale
                   new development has come on line at this time, the Bor-                    and the barrier islands which provide nesting, feeding and
                   ough's tax revenues and operating budget will be severely                  resting habitat for migratory fowl. Nesting and feeding
                   constricted. As most employment in the region's permanent                  habitat of the endangered peregrine falcon also falls within
                   communities is generated through Borough spending, em-                     the study area. These could be seriously impacted from
                   ployment levels and incomes are likely to suffer.                          additional development. The extent to which offshore devel-
                   The possibility of discovering additional commercially ex-                 opment may impact important wildlife habitat is unknown at
                   ploitable oil and gas reserves within the Prudhoe Bay Coastal              this time, but it is likely that concern for its protection will
                   Area is extremely high. Development of these would, of                     result in strict regulation of offshore petroleum development.
                   course, enlarge the Borough's tax base and provide additional              A number of other negative impacts are connected with
                   revenues, thus enabling increased latitude in operating and                petroleum development. Gravel is an essential commodity in
                   capital improvement expenditures.          Future development              most construction activities. Although ice roads and pads
                   would also extend further into the future the eventuality of               have to some degree lessened the demand for gravel, it is
                   pressure on the Borough's revenues when the Prudhoe Bay                    required for its insulative effects for all permanent structures.
                   field oil and gas reserves run out.                                        Buildings, roads and airstrips must be underlaid with a thick
                   Although the potential for discovering additional exploitable              gravel pad to provide insulation from permafrost. An alterna-
                   petroleum resources in the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area appears                tive to gravel pads is to elevate the structure so that cold air
                   excellent, there are certain factors which could constrain                 may flow between it and the ground to maintain the integrity
                   their development. Primary among these is the consumption                  of the soil. If one of these two precautionary measures is not
                   of valuable fish and wildlife habitat by the structures,                   followed, the permafrost will gradually melt and cause the
                   facilities and services required for such development,                     structure to sink. Shortage of gravel in strategic locations will
                                                                                              either result in significantly increased costs due to long haul
                   Human and industrial activity at Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse and                 distances or preclude development altogether. Aside from

                                                                                                                                                               91

                         these economic considerations, however, are the potential                   development companies, the North Slope Borough and the
                         effects of gravel removal on fish habitat and stream courses.               State of Alaska have assumed major financial commitments
                         Removal of gravel from stream banks and beds can disrupt                    in connection with Prudhoe Bay development. This detracts
                         fish spawning grounds and, in addition, cause serious stream                from the resources available to the people of the Borough
                         siltation.                                                                  and the State.
                         Water is another essential element in petroleum development.                The short ice-free season presents several problems for indus-
                         Not only is it required for human consumption, but consider-                try operating in the Arctic. First, it severely limits the time
                         able quantities are necessary for industrial purposes. Water is             available for logistical support by sea and forces industry to
                         plentiful during the summer months, but during the winter it                rely on other, . less efficient and more costly forms of
                         is in extremely short supply. What water is available at this               transportation during much of the year. The short summer
                         time is found in deep lakes and the few large rivers that do                season also places severe limitations on the time available for
                         not freeze to the ground, the same sites used by fish for                   operating conventional drilling structures. Since operating
                         overwintering. Extraction of water from these sources during                conventional structures seasonally is probably uneconomical,
                         winter can cause them to freeze to the ground and thus                      industry will most likely find it necessary to design platforms
                         destroy overwintering fish habitat. As with gravel, lack of a               to accommodate various degrees of ice loading.
                         nearby water supply could prove to be an economic deterrent                 The short ice-free season is a time of intense activity and
                         to petroleum development if water has to be transported over                conflict on the Arctic coast. Break-up coincides with the
                         long distances.                                                             northern migration of two important subsistence resources
                         Water pollution is another serious constraint to petroleum                  for the coastal Eskimo, the whale and the seal, and is the
                         development. Oil spills resulting from "blow outs" and                      time when they are most accessible for hunting. Between
                         ruptured pipes pose a serious water pollution hazard on the                 break-up and the southern migration just prior to freeze-up,
                         North Slope where ice and severe climate conditions would                   these animals feed and calve along the coast and river deltas
                         make clean-up difficult if not impossible. Furthermore, the                 in the study area. The coastal area is also intensely used by
                         technology to prevent such mishaps is extremely costly.                     migrating fowl for feeding, nesting, and resting and for fish
                         Oil and gas field construction and production and attendant                 summer feeding habitat. Maritime activity coincides with
                         activities 'such as aircraft flights produce a great deal of noise.         animal migration and uses basically the same routes. Con-
                         This "noise pollution" can seriously disrupt wildlife. Particu-             struction of offshore rigs and support systems is much easier
                         larly susceptible to disruption from noise are clenning polar               in the summer and this too could seriously impact important
                                                                                                     wildlife habitat.
                         bears and breeding and nesting waterfowl. Thus, activity
                         which creates high levels of noise pollution may have to be                 Gouging and scouring by ice poses serious potential hazards
                         limited during these crucial periods.                                       to underwater pipelines. In areas where there is a possibility
                                                                                                     of this action, pipelines either will have to be buried at a
                         Future development would, of course, bring additional peo-                  depth sufficient to protect them or elevated on causeways.
                         ple into the region. These would, in turn, necessitate the                  Environmental concerns about causeways, however, would
                         provision of extensive support facilities and services. Particu-            seem to eliminate them as a feasible alternative.
                         larly when proliferated, the development of facilities and
                         services is extremely expensive. Although the expense of                    Additional constraints to petroleum exploration and develop-
                         these has in the past been assumed for the most part by the                 ment are presented by potentially hazardous geologic condi-

                         92

                  tions. A report prepared by the State of Alaska Department              to these. However, along with positive benefits have come
                  of Natural Resources has identified the Prudhoe Bay area as             some very real negative impacts which have raised some
                  an "area of particular concern for geologic reasons." Accord-           significant conflicts among residents of the North Slope. As
                  ing to this report, the location of the channel followed by             has diminished the number of caribou in the Prudhoe Bay
                  barge tugs into Prudhoe Bay and to the gravel causeway                  area and expansion of this activity, particularly to the
                  constructed by Atlantic Richfield shifted relative to the               offshore area, may impact the whale and fowl population.
                  shoreline by as much as 175 meters between 1950 and 1976.               Degradation of wildlife resources is of utmost concern to
                  Shoaling of the channel is reported during open water season,           residents of the North Slope for these provide the basis of the
                  and nearby Stump Island has also shifted southwestward and              subsistence economy. Dimunition of the resources would
                  grown in area.                                                          seriously impair the Inupiat's ability to support themselves
                                                                                          from the land.
                  Exposed shoreline from Point McIntyre east has been eroded,
                  primarily by thermal erosion of permafrost tundra, at an                Aside from the economic considerations associated with the
                  average rate of I meter per year but up to 3 meters a year              loss of subsistence resources, petroleum development has
                  locally. In addition, the area offshore Prudhoe Bay is thought          raised some social and cultural conflicts as well, particularly
                  to be underlain by ground below 0' C. Ice-bonded permafrost             among older residents of the North Slope's traditional com-
                  is thought to occur just below the seabottom in areas                   munities. just as wildlife resources provide the basis of the
                  contacted by annual sea ice and at progressively greater                region's subsistence economy, the pursuit or hunting of these
                  depths further seaward of the 2-meter isobath. Over ice
                  flooding and spring breakups on the larger rivers such as the
                  Sagavanirktok are also potential hazards.

                  Freight barges used the bay entrance channel almost exclu-
                  sively before the Atlantic Richfield causeway was construct-
                  ed and now that is heavily used for offloading. The short,
                  open-water season and expense of constructing offloading
                  and storage facilities imply that changes in channel configura-
                  tions and temporary interruptions in barge access can have
                  serious consequences. Future coastal activities anywhere in
                  the Beaufort Sea must allow for shoreline erosion and natural
                  changes in offshore bathymetry as well as potentially adverse
                  effects of the activities themselves on the rates of such
                  changes. Also, engineering design and construction must
                  allow for potentially adverse effects of melting bonded
                  permafrost, especially settlement and subsequent material
                  erosion, both onshore and offshore.                                                4L
                                                                                            .... .. ... .. .
                  Without doubt the development of     Prudhoe Bay has brought
                  positive and tangible benefits to residents of the North Slope
                  Borough and any future development can be expected to add
                                                                                                                                                       93

                         is the cornerstone of Inupiat culture. There is a fear on the                charter operators at Barrow and Deadhorse also fly fishermen
                         part of older residents that with increased cash income, the                 and hunters into the region.
                         dependency on subsistence hunting and fishing will lessen.                   The Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service considers
                         And with the need to hunt and fish removed, the old skills                   the study area to have sufficient resources available to
                         required to conduct these activities will be lost, thus destroy-             provide a variety of recreational experiences. The flat topo-
                         ing the basis of the Inupiat culture.                                        graphy and the low vegetation are particularly conducive to
                         Clearly what is needed to resolve these conflicts is an                      sightseeing and wildlife and waterfowl viewing. In addition,
                         environment in which both land uses-petroleum develop-                       there is potential for such sports as cross-country skiing and
                         ment and fish and wildlife production-are mutually compati-                  snowmobiling in late winter and early spring when the
                         ble. Petroleum development has brought significant benefits                  weather has moderated.
                         to North Slope residents: employment opportunities and                       Although the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service
                         income have increased substantially and facilities and services              has not yet assessed the boating potential of any rivers within
                         have been greatly expanded in the region's traditional vil-                  the study area, it has studied portions of the Colville River
                         lages. Naturally, Borough residents want to see these benefits               and considers the river to have significant wilderness scenery
                         continue. Above and beyond their material well-being, how-                   and recreational potential. Segments of the Colville have been
                         ever, the Inupiat place tremendous value on the maintenance                  included in the Administration's D-2 proposal as part of the
                         of their subsistence lifestyle.                                              National Wild and Scenic River System. The wild and scenic
                                                                                                      designation would surely attract some recreational boating
                         B.    RECREATION AND TOURISM                                                 enthusiasts to the area.
                         At the present time, there is little recreational or tourist use             Probably the greatest attraction of the Prudhoe Bay Coastal
                         of the land in the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area. There is,                       Area is its primitive condition and the wide variety of unique
                         however, potential for a great deal more. In the past,                       Arctic geological and ecological phenomena that exist there.
                         conventional tourism in the study area has been limited to                   The National Park Service has identified 16 geographic
                         the environs of the Prudhoe Bay complex where some tourist                   locations within the study area as appropriate for nomination
                         facilities exist. Since 1972, NANA Corporation has conduct-                  as natural landmarks. All of these contain geological or
                         ed a tour bus operation at Prudhoe Bay and Deadhorse.                        ecological values of such distinction as to be of national
                         Patronage has risen steadily since the operation began, with                 signif icance.
                         the exception of 1977 when it fell slightly.
                         According to the Alaska Department of           Fish and Game, a             In addition, the Alaska Division of Parks has proposed the
                                                                                                      establishment of an Arctic Coast State Monument to the west
                         number of nonresident hunters and sport        fishermen visit the           of Prudhoe Bay on State-owned property. The proposed
                         Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area annually. Although there are no                     monument would afford visitors access to view the natural
                         accurate figures on the number of sport fishermen using the                  features and abundant waterfowl of the area in concert with
                         study area, Atlantic Richfield officials report that some                    petroleum exploration and development.
                         Prudhoe Bay residents fish in their free time in the immediate
                         area of Prudhoe Bay as ADF&G regulations allow. A guide                      Clearly, the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area has an abundance of
                         service, located on the Colville River delta transports sport                tourist and recreational resources which could serve to attract
                         fishermen to rivers and lakes within the study area, and                     large numbers of visitors to the region. That these have not

                         94

                    been exploited in the past is due primarily to the remoteness              also be costly. Moreover, the facilities required to accommo-
                    of the region from major population centers, the lack of                   date tourists would consume additional wildlife habitat.
                    facilities and services, severe climate conditions for most of             People generate trash and solid waste, which in turn causes
                    the year, and limited access.                                              pollution. This is certainly unsightly and, when uncontrolled,
                    Opening the Haul Road to the public could significantly                    damaging to habitat as well. Open access to the region would
                    increase tourist and recreational usage of the land adjacent to            certainly encourage the use of off-road vehicles. These create
                    the pipeline corridor. In response to a mandate issued by the              noise which would disturb wildlife; they would also damage
                    State Legislature in 1977, the Governor in early 1978                      the delicate tundra surface. Once damaged, tundra is practi-
                    announced that the Haul Road would be open year round to                   cally impossible to rehabilitate.
                    industrial traffic to support Prudhoe Bay and gas pipeline                 Given the large area and harsh climate of the region, insuring
                    construction and to tour bus traffic. In consonance with this              the safety of visitors would be a major problem. While this is
                    policy, the Administration has submitted legislation request-              in theory possible with adequate personnel and equipment, it
                    ing funds for the establishment of limited support facilities              would be an extremely costly undertaking. Insuring the
                    along the road and at Prudhoe Bay.                                         security of the pipeline would also become a problem with
                                                                                               the incursion of large numbers of tourists and recreationists
                    If this policy becomes fact, some      tourist usage of the road           into the region. There is very little distance between the Haul
                    will undoubtedly ensue. Impact on the surrounding area will                Road and the pipeline itself, and, in fact, the pipeline is
                    be somewhat limited and controlled, however, as long as                    readily accessible from the road for most of its length in the
                    tourists are confined to buses and tour groups. Following                  study area. The vast distance to be covered would make it
                    completion of the gas pipeline, the State will be forced to                almost impossible to assure total security of the pipeline.
                    reassess the question of general public utilization of the road.
                    If the decision is made to open the road to the public,                    Unrestricted tourist and recreation use of the land would
                    significantly increased exploitation of and pressure on recrea-            raise major conflicts. The most valuable resources of the land
                    tional and tourist resources will result.                                  from the point of view of the tourist and recreation user are
                    The existence of significant tourist and recreation resources              the region's fish and wildlife. These are the same resources
                    notwithstanding, from the perspective of the North Slope                   prized most highly by the North Slope's Native residents.
                    Borough, there are a number of serious constraints on the                  Boating, hiking, skiing, snowmobiling all would impact to
                    development of a tourist and recreation industry in the                    some degree on wildlife habitat and in addition, could
                    Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area. Access in the past has been a                    impede subsistence hunting and fishing activities. While some
                    limiting factor. Opening the Haul Road to the public would,                visitors would come only to look, many others would come
                    of course, accomplish a great deal to alleviate this problem,              with the express intention of consuming these resources in
                    but would, in turn, raise additional considerations. Auto-                 sport hunting and fishing. This would exert pressure on vital
                    mobile users require a wide variety of facilities and services:            subsistence resources. As many of these are already seriously
                    fueling and repair services, rest stops, food and lodging                  depleted, the subsistence economy and culture could be
                    facilities, to mention only a few. Maintenance of the road to              endangered.
                    accommodate the public is a very real economic constraint,                 Petroleum development has, thus far, had little direct adverse
                    but provision of all the required facilities and services would            impact on the traditional villages of the North Slope, since
                                                                                                                                                               95

                          people conducting this activity have been largely confined to               importance based on their potential for economic viability
                          the Prudhoe Bay enclave. Tourist and recreation users,                      and national or local economic need for them.
                          however, would be widely dispersed and would bring outside                  Despite the widespread presence of natural resources other
                          visitors into direct contact with local villages. With the                  than petroleum in the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area, it is
                          exception of Barrow, none of the villages have facilities to                doubtful that any of these will be developed in the foresee-
                          accommodate visitors, nor do they wish to provide these.                    able future. Costs associated with mineral development are
                          While tourism and recreation might bring some material                      extremely high. To be economically viable, deposits must be
                          benefits to residents of the North Slope in terms of increased              major in scope or located close to existing transportation
                          employment and opportunities for small commercial enter-                    systems. Even increases in value over time may not make
                          prises, the costs exacted by expanded tourism and recreation-               these resources commercially attractive if production costs
                          al use of the land would seem to far outweigh any possible                  also increase substantially or if new technology is developed
                          benefits.                                                                   to replace their function.

                          C.   MINING                                                                 Economic constraints aside, large-scale mineral development
                          Although mineral fuels such as crude oil, natural gas and coal              in the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area would be severely constrain-
                          are extremely abundant in the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area, the                 ed by environmental considerations. Conventional strip or
                          region appears largely unfavorable for metallic mineral                     open pit mining consumes large amounts of land and would
                          deposits. Low-grade phosphate deposits which could be used                  disrupt vast expanses of delicate tundra surface. This would
                          in the manufacture of commercial fertilizer have been identi-               impinge upon valuable wildlife habitat, and it is highly
                          fied on the coastal plain just east of the Canning River, but               questionable whether, once disturbed, it would ever be
                          according to the U. S. Geological Survey, these are not of                  possible to reclaim the land. Extensive mining development
                          sufficient quality or quantity to make the mining of them                   would inevitably require a permanent work force which
                          economically viable in the foreseeable future.                              would probably mean the development of new towns and the
                                                                                                      attendant facilities and services required by these. This
                          The sediment characteristic of the Arctic Coastal Plain is the              would, in turn, consume wildlife habitat.
                          type generally associated with the presence of uranium.                     The constraints and conflicts associated with extensive min-
                          Extensive further exploration is required to determine                      ing development are similar to those engendered by petro-
                          whether these sediments do, in fact, contain uranium and                    leum development. Impacts on wildlife habitat from petro-
                          whether it is of sufficient grade or quantity to warrant
                          commercial exploitation.                                                    leum development are temporary if attendant structures are
                                                                                                      removed and habitat rehabilitated once the resources have
                          Roughly 90 percent of the State's total estimated coal                      been extracted. Open pit and strip mining, however, would
                          resources of 130 billion tons are located north of the Brooks               permanently remove habitat from production as it is virtually
                          Range. Although most of the high-grade deposits occur west                  impossible to replace tundra surface once it has been re-
                          of the Colville River, significant beds of subbiturninous and,              moved. Moreover, with petroleum development the benefits
                          to a lesser extent, bituminous coal have been identified in the             accrued by local residents are extensive. Benefits not only to
                          study area between the Canning and Colville Rivers on the                   Borough residents but to the State as a whole from mining
                          coastal plain. At the present time, the U. S. Geological                    are doubtful. The costs related to this activity, on the other
                          Survey considers these deposits to have moderate to low                     hand, are extremely high.
                          96

                  D.   FISH AND WILDLIFE                                                   tion are more readily accessible. Residents of Barrow,
                  The Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area is highly productive fish and               Nuiqsut and Kaktovik continue to fish and hunt seasonally in
                  wildlife habitat. Specific fish and wildlife resources and               the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area. This activity is likely to
                  habitat of the region have been discussed in detail in Chapter           continue as long as fish and wildlife resources are plentiful.
                  VI I I of this report. In general, however, the area's two major         Fish and wildlife are also important recreation and tourist
                  rivers, the Canning and the Colville, and their associated               resources. These presently support some limited sport hunt-
                  deltas, are particularly fertile wildlife habitat. Anadromous            ing and fishing by both nonresident visitors and residents of
                  and resident fish are abundant in both rivers. The delta areas           Prudhoe Bay and Deadhorse, although the activity of the
                  are important seasonally for large numbers of breeding,                  latter group is limited to fishing only as allowed by Alaska
                  resting and feeding birds. Seals, and to a lesser extent whales,         Department of Fish and Game regulation. Fish and wildlife
                  are also found there seasonally feeding and calving. The                 also have significant scenic value. The flat landscape charac-
                  deltas are also considered prime polar bear clenning habitat.            teristic of the region makes it possible      to see for miles
                  Whales and seals migrate along the coastal area and waterfowl            without obstruction and thus provides a      particularly good
                  abound seasonally in the nearshore waters, particularly those            environment for wildlife viewing. Many people visit the
                                                                                           region for the express purpose of viewing wildlife in its
                  protected by close-in barrier islands. Shorebirds breed and
                  feed on the barrier islands and to some extent along the coast           natural habitat.
                  throughout the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area. The coastal                     The continued healthy production of fish and wildlife re-
                  wetlands are also important habitat to a wide variety of                 sources in the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area depends on two
                  water-related birds. Although the region is not highly produc-           factors: the preservation of their essential habitat and con-
                  tive in terms of large land mammals, there is a substantial              trolled exploitation of the resources themselves. Develop-
                  moose population in the Colville Rivervalley. In the past, the
                  study area has harbored a fairly stable resident caribou
                  population, but in very recent years this apparently has
                  declined.

                  For centuries, these resources have provided the basis for
                  Inupiat subsistence and livelihood, and the process associated                                        -------
                                                    resources has provided the
                  with the gathering of these                                                                           F777
                  context for the people's culture. Although there are currently
                  no permanent settlements within the study area, a multitude
                  of old ruins and gravesites and written records attest to the
                  historical occupation of the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area. And
                  as would be expected, the remnants of past inhabitants are
                  most prevalent where fish and wildlife are most plentiful.
                  The presence or absence of a permanent Native population in
                  the region does not mean that the wildlife resource value    has
                  declined, but rather that people have moved to centers where
                  services and facilities such as medical assistance and educa-                                                                 VON-

                                                                                                                                                         97

                       mentof any kind, whether it be petroleum-related, mining, or
                       tourism and recreation, consumes or disrupts habitat and
                       therefore is a constraint to wildlife production. Recreation,
                       in the form of sport hunting or fishing, involving as it does
                       the direct consumption of fish and wildlife resources, poses
                       an additional constraint to wildlife resource production.

                       Conflict arises when any of these development interests
                       compete for land necessary to preserve wildlife production
                       and the Native subsistence economy and culture which
                       depend upon it. As has been discussed in Section A of this
                       chapter, the resolution of the conflict between development
                       and wildlife resource production depends on the creation of
                       an environment in which both land uses can be conducted
                       compatibly, where benefits to the Borough and its residents
                       outweigh the costs to them.

                       98

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                         X.                    Forecast of Demands, C6-lv%abil ities and Impacts
                                                                                                                                                                               ".P

                                X.    FORECAST OF DEMANDS,                                 Although it is not possible to anticipate the extent of future
                                 CAPABILITIES AND IMPACTS                                  discoveries in the area of the joint Federal-State lease sale
                                                                                           scheduled for December 1979, this lease sale is of great
                  The Prudhoe    Bay Coastal Area has potential for several uses.          interest to the oil industry. In addition, industry has express-
                  Historically, the area has provided a wide variety of fish and           ed considerable interest in the remaining unleased onshore
                  wildlife resources which have been the basis of the subsist-             acreage located between the Canning and Colville Rivers. The
                  ence economy and culture of local residents. Although                    discovery of commercially developable reserves in any of
                  currently there are no permanent residents there, the region's           these areas will require the construction of a variety of
                  resources continue to be used for subsistence purposes. The              facilities as well as additional pipelines to connect with the
                  Prudhoe Bay area's oil and gas potential is extremely high               trans-Alaska pipeline at Prudhoe Bay. Construction of a
                  and is currently being exploited. Additional petroleum devel-            natural gas pipeline within the trans-Alaska pipeline utility
                  opment is anticipated in the future.                                     corridor is also anticipated to take place in the next several
                  While there is presently only limited recreation and tourism             years. If commercial reserves of oil and gas are found either
                                                                                           onshore or offshore the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska
                  activity in the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area, existing resources             or the Arctic National Wildlife Range, pipelines will be
                  are sufficient to attract large numbers of visitors to the area,         required to connect with the trans-Alaska pipeline. Trunk
                  given development of access and facilities and services. The             pipelines from offshore locations would probably run direct-
                  study area has mineral resources other than petroleum,                   ly to shore and then traverse land to facilities at Prudhoe
                  however, the existence of these in other, more accessible,               Bay.
                  areas of the State probably precludes their development in
                  the Prudhoe Bay area in the foreseeable future.                          Oil and gas resources are nonrenewable and will not last
                                                                                           forever. While they last, they will return significant benefits
                  The following sections discuss the demands these potential               to local residents of  the North Slope Borough in terms of
                  uses would place on the land in the study area, the capability
                  of the land to accommodate these uses, and their potential
                  impacts.

                  A.   DEMANDS
                  The discovery of the Prudhoe Bay field has engendered
                  considerable interest in the oil potential of the Arctic in
                  general but especially in the Prudhoe Bay region and adjacent
                  offshore areas. Concomitant with the construction of the
                  trans-Alaska pipeline and production of the Prudhoe Bay
                  field, exploration in the area of Prudhoe Bay has continued,
                  primarily onshore. As a result of this activity, there have been
                  two discoveries recently near the eastern boundary of the
                  study area, on Flaxman Island and at Pt. Thomson. Another
                  discovery in the Kuparuk River formation is presently under
                  going tests.

                                                                                                                                                         99

                        facilities and services provided from property tax receipts and          a.   Prudhoe Bay-Large
                        in increased employment. Of more long-term concern to local              The Prudhoe Bay-Large field comprises 38,000 acres and lies
                        residents, however, are the region's fish and wildlife re-               between the nearshore Stump, Egg, and Long Islands and the
                        sources, which provide the basis of their subsistence economy            outer Midway Island. Water depths range from about 6
                        and culture 'In most instances, oil and gas development is in            meters at Stump Island to a maximum depth of nearly 18
                        direct conflict with these resources. Thus, while exploiting             meters, 19 kilometers west-northwest of Midway Island.
                        the petroleum resources, it is necessary to protect fish and
                        wildlife resources and their habitat to ensure that these                In this scenario, leasing is assumed to take place in the winter
                        remain and flourish when oil activity has finished.                      of 1979-80, with the first three exploratory wells being
                                                                                                 drilled from two barge platforms and one soil and gravel
                                                                                                 island in 1981. Two exploratory holes would be drilled each
                        1.   Offshore Exploration and Development                                year from 1982 through 1987, except in 1986 when only one
                        The Federal government and the State of Alaska are sched-                hole would be drilled. The field would be discovered in 1982,
                        uled to conduct a joint lease sale of tracts for oil and gas             confirmed in 1983, and construction of development facil-
                        exploration and development during December 1979. The                    ities would begin in 1984. Production drilling begins in 1986
                        lease area is located in the Beaufort Sea between the Canning            and peak production would be reached in 1991 and maintain-
                        River on the east and the Colville River on the west and                 ed until 1994. Oil production would be discontinued in 2006
                        extends from the shoreline to about the 20-meter (60-foot)               and gas production would end in 2014.
                        isobath. Total acreage available for nomination is approxi-              (1) Facilities. Platforms, wells and pipelines are the off-
                        mately 650,000 acres, which includes 236 tracts ranging in               shore facilities required to develop this field. During the
                        size from 2,221 acres to 4,914 acres.                                    exploration phase, a total of 14 exploratory wells would be
                                                                                                 drilled from 4 barge-based platforms, 7 soil and gravel islands,
                        In preparation for the pending lease   sale, the Departmentof            and 3 ice islands. During production there would be 253 oil
                        the Interior has undertaken a study    to determine impacts of           wells, 15 gas wells and 22 development wells drilled over the
                        exploration and development in the Beaufort Sea area. As                 life of the field from the I barge-based platform, 4 soil and
                                                                                                 gravel islands and I gravity island. Offshore pipelines would
                        part of this study, a number of petroleum development                    include 68 kilometers of interplatform connectors for oil and
                        scenarios have been created to predict the nature of the                 48 kilometers for gas, plus 6 kilometers of oil and gas trunk
                        development. These scenarios include the proposed State-                 lines in twin corridors. Two flow centers would be located
                        Federal sale as well as other Federal OCS lands, but only two            onshore if space is available; if not, processing would take
                        scenarios are directly related to the study area. The first is           place offshore in modular treatment centers on each plat-
                        the so-called Prudhoe Bay-Large which is estimated to con-               form. Two pipelines would carry oil and gas the 15 kilo-
                        tain 1.9 billion barrels of oil (Bbbl) and 4.75 trillion cub  .ic        meters to Pump Station No. I at Prudhoe Bay where existing
                        feet (tcf) of gas. The second is the Canning-Camden scenario             transportation and communication networks would be
                        which includes two fields which together contain 1.3 Bbbl of             utilized.
                        oil and 3.25 tcf of gas. A third scenario, Cape Halkett, would
                        also affect the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area. Even though the                (2) Manpower. Labor associated with the exploratory
                        oil field is offshore from the National Petroleum Reserve-               phase would include personnel involved in geophysical ex-
                        Alaska, a pipeline from the field would cross the study area.            ploration, platform construction, and drilling. During periods

                        100

                  of open water, geophysical work would be conducted from                     employ 5 workers. All of these work force estimates would
                  boats by a crew of 30 and one onshore expeditor. During                     be in addition to the existing personnel at Prudhoe Bay.
                  winter, a mobile crew of 40 and an expediter would work
                  from the ice. Manpower required for construction of explora-                b.    Canning-Camden
                  tory platforms would depend on the type of platform to be                   The Canning-Camden scenario contains two major reservoirs
                  constructed: A soil platform would require 171 workers, a                   encompassing 17,000 and 26,000 acres. The Canning field
                  barge platform, 50 workers, and an ice island would require                 includes the eastern part of the Stockton Islands and the
                  78 workers. Regardless of platform type, each exploratory                   western half of Alaska Island, part of the Maguire Islands.
                  drill rig would employ 60 on-site workers plus 5 workers                    The Camden field is comprised of the eastern por            Ition of
                  located in Deadhorse for field support.                                     Alaska Island, Duchess and North Star Islands, and the
                                                                                              western part of Flaxman Island. Water depths range from
                  As with exploratory platforms, manpower requirements for                    about I meter at the eastern end of Flaxman Island to a
                  development platforms depend upon platform type. Soil                       maximum of about 75.4 meters at the fields' outer limit
                  platforms are estimated to require 150 workers, while it is                 beyond the barrier islands.
                  estimated that barge, gravity or submersible platforms each
                  would require 80 workers. Development drilling rigs normally                Canning-Camden leasing is assumed to take place during the
                  require 60 people per rig and an additional 6 platform                      winter of 1979-80 and drilling would begin immediately
                  maintenance personnel. From the point of view of manpower                   thereafter from a ballasted barge. The Camden field would be
                  requirements, the major component of the development                        discovered in 1981, confirmed in 1982, and discovery of the
                  phase is the construction of oil field facilities. These include            Canning field would follow in 1983. Construction would be
                  roads, flow stations, warehouses, shops, power plant and                    started on the Camden field and the decision would be made
                  distribution system, pipelines, operation center and gas con-               to continue processing and transport of this output as well as
                  ditioning facilities. The height of this activity would occur               that previously discovered on State lands.
                  just prior to production. With the Prudhoe Bay-Large                        The Canning field would be confirmed during 1984 and
                  scenario this would occur in 1986 and 1987 when employ-                     would lead to construction to accommodate both fields.
                  ment is estimated to be 2,750 and 2,529, respectively. When                 Production drilling would begin in 1990 and peak production
                  production begins in 1988, employment would stabilize at                    would be reached in 1993 and maintained until 1998. Oil
                  1,101 and be maintained at this level throughout the produc-                production would cease in 2010 and gas production would
                  tion drilling phase.                                                        end in 2015.

                  Activities undertaken during the operating phase are remedial               (I ) Facilities. Because of its distance from the Prudhoe
                  work, platform operation, and miscellaneous construction.                   Bay complex, some duplication of facilities would be re-
                  Remedial work includes such activities as casing reperforation              quired for this scenario. The two fields would share an
                  and sand   removal and would involve a full-time crew of 30.                airstrip and harbor, but separate construction camps would
                  About 20 workers would be required to operate each plat-                    be built 15 miles apart. During the exploration phase, 18
                  form and    these would be supported by about 700 workers                   holes would be drilled from 9 soil and gravel islands, 6 barge
                  employed    at the operations center, at the power and sewage               platforms and 3 ice islands. A total of 433 oil wells, 12 gas
                  treatment plants, in catering and in miscellaneous mainte-                  wells, and 75 development wells would be drilled for the two
                  nance activities. Miscellaneous construction projects would                 fields from 9 soil and gravel islands, 3 barge platforms and

                                                                                                                                                               101

                          one gravity island. Offshore pipelines would include 85                      currently taking place. In addition to activity on current
                          kilometers of interplatform connectors for oil and 63 kilo-                  leases, the remaining State land in the Prudhoe Bay Coastal
                          meters for gas, plus 10 kilometers each of oil and gas trunk                 Area is desired by the petroleum industry for exploration@
                          lines. A flow center located onshore opposite the Camden
                          field would serve it and a portion of the production from the
                          nearby State lands. The Canning field flow station located 15                a.   Kuparuk River
                          miles west of the Camden flow station, would serve that field                In addition to the currently producing Sadlerochit formation
                          and the remainder of the production from State lands.                        of the Prudhoe Bay field, there are two other onshore
                          Eighty-seven kilometers of onshore oil and gas pipelines                     horizons capable of producing oil, the Kuparuk River and
                          would connect each of the flow stations with Prudhoe Bay.                    Lisburne. There are no current plans to test or develop the
                          These pipelines would     'run adjacent to the coast, cutting                Lisburne oil pool, however, Atlantic Richfield Company is
                          across drainage areas as far as Foggy Island Bay where they                  currently drilling two test wells in the Kuparuk River forma-
                          would move inland to connect with Pump Station No. 1. The                    tion which is estimated to contain I billion barrels of oil. If
                          Canning onshore plant complex would also include a power                     results are favorable, ARCO will proceed with its 32-well plan
                          plant, compressor, and pump station. Following construc-                     in the spring of 1978. Drill pads, an interim bridge across the
                          tion, a single base camp located near the harbor would serve                 Kuparuk River and a spine road through the middle of the
                          both fields.                                                                 area to provide access to the wells are already in place and
                          (2) Manpower. With the exception of the development                          additional facilities will be trucked up the Haul Road in the
                          construction phase, manpower requirements and functions                      spring of 1978. The 200-250 worker construction camp, a
                          would be the same for the Canning-Camden scenario as for                     warehouse and shop are scheduled for completion by July
                          the Prudhoe Bay-Large scenario. Manpower requirements for                    1978. Permanent housing facilities for approximately 100
                          the development-construction phase for Canning-Camden                        personnel will be barged to Prudhoe Bay in 1979; the
                          would be significantly less than for the Prudhoe Bay-Large                   permanent production facilities will follow in 1980. A pipe-
                          scenario because of the smaller size of the fields. From 1980                line will be built to connect with Pump Station No. I at
                          to 1984, workers would number about 200. With the advent                     Prudhoe Bay. The Kuparuk is expected to produce between
                          of construction activities in 1987, employment would rise to                 60,000 and 80,000 barrels per day with initial production
                          2,048. Employment would fall off until 1990 when it would                    scheduled for mid-1981.
                          stabilize for the ensuing five years at about 1,000 workers.
                          Employment would then slowly decline until it would dis-                     b.   Pt. Thomson and Flaxman Island
                          continue in 2015. These work force estimates are additional
                          to any oth6r development.                                                    In 1977, Exxon Corporation announced two oil and gas
                                                                                                       discoveries. One is at Pt. Thomson located on the coast 50
                                                                                                       miles east of Prudhoe Bay near the Arctic National Wildlife
                          2.   Onshore Exploration and Development                                     Range, and the second is eight miles east of Pt. Thomson on
                          Exploration activity on existing onshore leases will increase                Flaxman Island. Confirmation wells are currently being drill-
                          as more fields are discovered onshore. Petroleum discoveries                 ed for both discoveries. According to one Exxon official,
                          at Pt. Thomson and Flaxman Island were announced in 1977.                    discovery of I billion barrels of recoverable oil would justify
                          For several years the Kuparuk River field has been known to                  the construction of a pipeline to join the field to the
                          exist and testing of the economic viability of the field is                  trans-Alaska pipeline at Prudhoe Bay.

                          102

                  C.   Additional State Acreage                                              chosen to transport Prudhoe Bay natural gas to market along
                  In a survey conducted recently by the Alaska Department of                 a route in the study area parallel to the trans-Alaska pipeline.
                  Natural Resources, the oil industry was asked to rank 36                   In addition to the gas pipeline itself, the Alcan system will
                  areas of State land according to their petroleum potential and             include within the study area a meter station, compressor
                  order of preference in which these lands should be leased.                 station, a major staging area, pipe storage yards, primary
                  The remaining onshore State acreage in the Prudhoe Bay area                communications sites and helipads.
                  was ranked fourth in both categories. In April 1978, the                   Because the gas pipeline will follow the Alyeska Pipeline
                  State announced a five-year schedule of oil and gas lease                  route so closely, road construction will be minimal and will
                  sales. The schedule calls for several lease sales within the               be limited to access to borrow pits, quarries and other
                  study area in addition to the previously announced State/                  construction material sites. Most facilities will be located
                  Federal Beaufort Sea sale slated for December 1979. The                    next to the existing Haul Road or pipeline work pad. The
                  first, scheduled for October 1978, involves limited acreage in             total additional acreage required by the Alcan project within
                  the Pt. Thomson area. A second onshore sale, scheduled to                  the North Slope Borough will be approximately 3,500 acres.
                  take place in April 1981, will involve major acreage in the                Over 3,000 acres will be consumed by the 120-foot pipeline
                  Prudhoe Bay area. Sometime in 1982, the State will conduct                 right-of-way, the compressor station, stream crossings and
                  a second sale in the Beaufort Sea offshore area, but as yet the            access roads. Although not so stated specifically, it is assum-
                  specific acreage involved has not been identified. Undoubted-              ed that the remaining 500 acres will be devoted to pipe
                  ly, additional facilities will be required to develop any                  storage yards, the meter station, the operation and mainte-
                  reserves identified there.                                                 nance base and borrow pits.

                                                                                             Alcan's assumption that the natural gas pipeline can be
                  3.    Pipelines                                                            constructed from the Alyeska work pad for the entire
                  A third demand that will be placed on the Prudhoe Bay                      182-mile segment within the North Slope Borough may be
                  Coastal Area is hydrocarbon transportation. The gas of the                 overly optimistic. If the routes diverge significantly because
                  Prudhoe Bay field will need to be transported to market as                 of engineering difficulties, the acreage and material require-
                  will existing and future discoveries in the study area and                 ments would be increased substantially.
                  future discoveries in neighboring NPR-A and the Arctic
                  National Wildlife Range. A pipeline for Prudhoe Bay gas is                 It is assumed that pipeline construction will begin one year
                  scheduled for completion by 1982. Other production will                    after project approval and will last five years. Activity during
                  probably be transported by trunk pipelines to connect with                 project years two and three would include initial surveying,
                  the trans-Alaska pipeline or the gas pipeline.                             preparation of support facilities and movement of material.
                                                                                             Pipeline construction would take place during the summer of
                  a.   Natural Gas Pipeline                                                  the third and fourth project years. The compressor station
                  A giant gas cap, estimated to contain 26.5 to 30 trillion cubic            will be constructed concurrently with the pipeline and will be
                  feet of recoverable natural gas, sits atop the Prudhoe Bay oil             completed at the end of the fourth year. Peak employment
                  field. Assuming an average calendar day throughput of 2.5 to               on the North Slope portion of the line is scheduled for
                  3 billion cubic feet of natural gas, roughly 24 to 29 years of             project years three and four and would involve 2,678 and
                  operation would be required to accommodate Prudhoe Bay                     2,041 workers, respectively. The construction work force
                  gas reserves alone. The Northwest Pipeline Company has been                declines to 82 in year five.

                                                                                                                                                             103

                         b.  National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska Pipeline                          ly dependent upon the fruits of the land for their existence.
                         Any oil discovered offshore from National Petroleum                     Wildlife provided virtually the only food source for these
                         Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) will be piped to shore and traverse              people, and all other necessities of life such as fuel, clothing,
                         the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area to an appropriate pump                     tools and weapons were garnered from the natural environ-
                         station at Prudhoe Bay. Any onshore discoveries in northeast-           ment.
                         ern NPR-A would be handled similarly. One of the scenarios              Commercial whalers first introduced cash into the local
                         developed by the Federal government in connection with the              economy in the mid-nineteenth century. Since that time,
                         OCS study assumes discovery offshore from Cape Halkett.                 there has been a dual economy on the North Slope, with
                         The pipeline for this field would cross Harrison Bay to                 dependence on subsistence hunting and fishing rising and
                         Oliktok Pt. in the study area. Since the base camp, harbor              falling according to the availability of cash. Having undergone
                         and airstrip would be located at Cape Halkett, the only                 a number of these cash-flexibility cycles the Eskimo has
                         facilities in the study area would be the 41 -mile pipeline and
                         associated road from Oliktok Pt. to Prudhoe Bay. Some                   learned that continued existence in the Arctic is dependent
                         personnel such as expeclitors and field support would be                upon the ability to harvest the region's renewable resources.
                         located at Prudhoe Bay.                                                 A multitude of old ruins, gravesites, artifacts, and written

                         C.   Arctic National Wildlife Range Pipeline
                         The future of oil and gas exploration and development in the
                         Arctic National Wildlife Range is not known. In March 1978                                                    0
                         the U. S. House Interior Committee in its deliberations on
                         D-2 legislation approved procedures for Federal exploration

                         version of H.R. 39 passed by the House in May 1978.
                         of the Range; however, these were not included in the final

                         Whether the U. S. Senate will address this issue in its D-2
                         considerations is not known at this time, nor can it be
                         predicted whether the final legislation will contain provisions
                         for Wildlife Range petroleum exploration. If there is commer-
                         cial petroleum development in the Wildlife Range at some
                         future date, there may be a requirement for a pipeline from
                         the Wildlife Range to Prudhoe Bay. Since the Canning-Cam-
                         den scenario road and pipeline would come within 2 kilome-
                         ters of the Wildlife Range, any Wildlife Range pipeline would
                         likely connect to the Canning-Camden pipeline or be built
                         parallel to it, thus minimizing impacts.

                         4.   Subsistence
                         Prior to the arrival of western culture on the North Slope in
                         the mid-nineteenth century, the coastal Eskimos were entire-

                         104

                 records attest to historical human presence in the Prudhoe                recreation and tourism usage of the Prudhoe Bay Coastal
                 Bay Coastal Area. Thus, it is apparent that in the past the               Area.
                 natural resources of the region have been sufficient to
                 support various levels of population. Although not as heavily             B.    LAND CAPABILITY
                 used today as in times past, the area continues to support                In this section different aspects of the land's capability to
                 subsistence activity. Today this activity is concentrated in              meet the demands previously described will be enumerated.
                 those areas where fish and wildlife are most prevalent, that is
                 along the two major rivers in the study area, the Canning and             I .   Land Availability
                 the Colville, in the nearshore areas where fish, birds and sea            With the exception of several military withdrawals and a
                 mammals are present seasonally, and on the barrier islands.               scattering of Native allotments, almost the entire Prudhoe
                 The preservation of these resources, is absolutely essential to           Bay Coastal Area belongs to the State of Alaska. As the
                 ensure their future ability to support a subsistence lifestyle
                 and culture for local residents.                                          landowner, the State has the power to lease the land for oil
                                                                                           and gas exploration and development and also to issue
                 5.    Recreation and Tourism                                              permits for water and gravel extraction. In addition, as the
                                                                                           area is within the boundaries of the North Slope Borough, it
                 Even though there is great       potential for recreational and           is subject to its zoning and regulatory authority. There have
                 tourist usage in the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area, there is                   been four onshore lease sales of acreage between the Canning
                 currently little demand for these activities. Generally limited           and Colville Rivers and soon the offshore area will also be
                 to the Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse area, tourist activities have                leased for oil and gas exploration. As has been mentioned
                 been rising steadily since tour bus operations around Prudhoe             previously, additional lease sales will take place in the future.
                 Bay, conducted by NANA Corporation in conjunction with                    The availability of land for subsistence purposes is not so
                 Alaska Tour and Marketing Services, began in 1972. As long                easily determined. Although the entire Prudhoe Bay Coastal
                 as access to the study area is limited to air transport, the              Area is in theory available for subsistence hunting and fishing
                 demand for tourism will not rise significantly. This is prob-             in accordance with established State and Federal fish and
                 ably also the case for recreational usage. A number of                    game regulations, subsistence activities can take place only
                 nonresident hunters and fishermen visits the study area                   when wildlife resources are present. There are indications
                 annually, however, there are no accurate figures available on             that Prudhoe Bay development has adversely affected wildlife
                 the number of people utilizing the study area. Although                   resources, most noticeably the fish population in the Saga-
                 residents of Prudhoe Bay are not allowed to hunt, some                    vanirktok River and caribou which used to be abundant in
                 residents fish in their limited free time. Currently, there has           the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area. Thus, only to the extent that
                 been little demand on the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area for                    development activities do not destroy wildlife habitat and
                 recreational boating. However, if portions of the Colville                resources will the land be available for subsistence activities.
                 River are designated as wild and scenic, the demand for that
                 use will increase. The demand for recreational and tourism                2.    Waterfront Access
                 usage is a function of the accessibility to the region. As long
                 as incoming traffic to the area is restricted to air travel the           The discovery of petroleum offshore in the Prudhoe Bay
                 demand for recreation and tourism will remain limited. On                 Coastal Area will necessitate construction of a pipeline to
                 the other hand, if the Haul Road is opened to unrestricted                shore and then to Prudhoe Bay. Additionally, if the develop-
                 use, there will certainly be a marked increase in demand for              ment occurs beyond a certain distance from the Prudhoe Bay

                                                                                                                                                          105

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        ----------                                                                                                                                                              ARCTIC                                                                                                                                            sTl

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                                                                                                                      15

                  port, new port and dock facilities may be required. The                     daily consumption in arctic construction camps range from
                  capability of the shore to provide for these needs is some-                 10 to 100 gallons per day of fresh water with an average
                  what limited. Natural wave and thermal erosion of coastal                   camp usage of approximately 80 gallons per capita per day.
                  bluffs of the   Beaufort Sea is very rapid in some areas. The               The Navy estimates that average water consumption for
                  protection of   the pipeline from shoreline erosion at pipeline             exploration wells is 25 barrels (42 gallons per barrel) per day.
                  landfalls is an important design consideration especially for               Approximately 600 barrels are required daily for rig opera-
                  those coasts    classified as wave erosion areas. Since the                 tion which includes the mixing of drilling mud and cement,
                  Beaufort Sea    is shallow, water depth close to shore is an                and washing down the rig floor. The water requirements for
                  important locational criteria for port siting. On the Beaufort              production wells will be similar to the daily requirements of
                  Sea coast there are few sites capable of accommodating                      exploration wells; however, production wells can be drilled in
                  oceangoing vessels. Sites that have been identified by the                  significantly less time than exploratory wells, thus lowering
                  Arctic Institute of North America as having potential for                   total consumption. In order to maintain pressure and conse-
                  medium- to deep-draft ports include Pingok Island, Cross                    quently field production, water flooding is often used in
                  Island, Pole Island, Flaxman Island and Konganevik Point.                   secondary recovery efforts. Approximately 7 years after the
                                                                                              start of production, water flooding, which requires amounts
                  3.   Development Resources                                                  of water from 3 to 10 times the volume of oil produced, is
                  For any development to occur, quantities of water and gravel                initiated.
                  must be located. Water is required for human consumption as                 Water needs at Prudhoe Bay are currently being met by the
                  well as various industrial uses and gravel is primarily required            Sagavanirktok, Putiligayuk and Kuparuk Rivers and Big Lake.
                  for its insulative capacity.                                                The largest single use, secondary recovery, has not yet begun.
                  a.   Water                                                                  However, this water use will likely not conflict with fresh
                                                                                              water sources as sea water will probably be used. Sources for
                  North Slope water consumption has historically been limited                 future water needs will depend on the siting of development.
                  to domestic use by villages, use by the Naval Arctic Research               A potential supply of water is from the rivers which do not
                  Laboratory in Barrow and DEW Line sites. The development                    freeze to the bottom during winter, namely the Colville,
                  of the Prudhoe Bay field and construction of the trans-Alaska               Sagavanirktok and Canning Rivers.
                  pipeline has substantially impacted the available water re-
                  sources in some areas of the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area as                    b.    Gravel
                  demands have often outstripped supply during the winter                     Well-drained fill materials required in the construction of
                  months. Since large quantities of water are required in every               roads, buildings, drill pads and -airstrips necessitate          the
                  phase of petroleum development, water availability will                     location and development of sand and gravel resources in         the
                  continue to be a- major concern in Arctic petroleum develop-                Arctic. Even greater demands will be placed on these re-
                  ment. Regulation of water extraction from fish overwintering                sources by offshore Beaufort Sea development than                was
                  spots further limits the availability of water during winter.               required for onshore development because of the need for
                  Water will be required for many purposes, including human                   such facilities as artificial islands and causeways, harbors, and
                  consumption, well drilling and secondary recovery. Rates of                 staging areas. As with water removal, there are environmental
                  domestic consumption vary greatly depending upon water                      concerns regarding sand and gravel extraction. These include
                  availability and transport facilities. Estimates of per capita              possible siltation of fish spawning streams and offshore fish

                                                                                                                                                               107

                         habitats and the acceleration of erosion on beaches, rivers             Pipeline Service Company would not increase current capa-
                         and coastal bluffs, barrier islands and tundra surface.                 cities until notified to do so by the seven owner companies.
                         Gravel requirements for various facilities on the North Slope           At this time there are 8 pump stations each with 2 pumps
                         vary greatly depending on the specific use involved, availabil-         and I reserve pump. In order to bring the pipeline up to its
                         ity of gravel and the site specific soil conditions. The volume         design capacity, an additional 4 pump stations would be
                         of gravel estimated for offshore exploratory islands in the             required and each of the 12 stations would need 3 pumps and
                         proposed Federal/State lease sale in the Beaufort Sea ranges            I reserve pump. One of the 4 additional pump stations would
                         from 48,000 to 1,600,000 cubic yards depending on the                   be located in the study area approximately 20 miles south of
                                                                                                 Prudhoe Bay. Although no estimate of work force or timing
                         type, size and depth of the island. Production islands are              is available, Alyeska officials have indicated that the work
                         estimated on an average to require 621,133 cubic yards of               force required to increase the pipeline capacity would most
                         gravel while causeways are estimated to utilize approximately           likely be housed at the existing pump stations. With addition-
                         391,000 cubic yards per mile. Approximately 110,000 to                  al pump stations and looping of the pipeline, Alyeska
                         165,000 cubic yards are needed for an all-weather airstrip              officials estimate capacity could reach 4 million barrels per
                         measuring 5,000 feet by 150 feet. Other facilities utilizing            day.
                         gravel include staging areas/production centers (750,000 to
                         1,000,000 cubic yards) and drill pads or camps (35,000 to
                         50,000 cubic yards).

                         The Sagavanirktok, Putuligayuk and Kuparuk Rivers die
                         current gravel and water sources. The location and quantity
                         of gravel deposits and the environmental effects of extraction
                         will determine possible future gravel removal sites. Additional
                         gravel deposits have been identified in the deltas of the
                         Canning and Shaviovik Rivers as well as beach and subsea
                         deposits offshore.

                         4.   Availability of Oil and Gas
                              Transportation Facilities
                         At this time the only transportation facility for oil or gas is
                         the trans-Alaska pipeline which is, of course, for oil. The gas
                         pipeline from Prudhoe Bay is planned to be completed by
                         1982, however, specific design characteristics have not been
                         completed.

                         a.   Trans-Alaska Pipeline Capacity
                         Although the design capacity of the trans-Alaska pipeline is 2
                         million barrels per day, oil is currently being pumped through
                         the line at the rate of 1.2 million barrels per day. Alyeska

                         108

                 b.   Trans-Alaska Pipeline Availability                                  recreation and tourism resources, if they do indeed exist. The
                 In its planning studies for the Beaufort Sea lease sale, the             Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area has a variety of tourist and
                 Department of the Interior has assumed that the trans-Alaska             recreational resources: fish and wildlife for sport hunting and
                 pipeline would be expanded to its design capacity and would              fishing, unique geologic landforms and wildlife for sightseeing
                 transport 14.9 billion barrels of oil by the year 2010. This             and streams and lakes for recreational boating. However, even
                 production would come from Prudhoe Bay, including Kupa-                  though the study area has tourist and recreational resources,
                 ruk (10.5 billion barrels), Flaxman Island-Pt. Thomson (0.4              the fragile nature of the land during summer when most of
                 billion barrels), Canning-Camden (1.3 billion barrels), Prud-            those activities would take place, limits the availability of
                 hoe Bay-Large (1.9 billion barrels), and Cape Halkett (0.8               those resources. The Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area is predomi-
                 billion barrels). The yearly summation of output from those              nantly marshy and wet during the summer. Gravel roads
                 fields results in a critical peak period in 1993 when the                would have to be built to allow vehicular traffic access to the
                 throughput reaches 1.996 million barrels per day which is                different areas. Increased human activity could drive wildlife
                 close to pipeline capacity. Any additional throughput from               out of the area and also could damage the protective topsoil.
                 other sources could be accommodated by additional pump                   Recreational hunters and fishermen could also deplete certain
                 stations or looping of the pipeline.                                     areas of their fish and wildlife.
                 5.   Fish and Wildlife Resources                                         C.    POTENTIAL IMPACTS
                 The development of the Prudhoe       Bay field coupled with the          The potential impacts of the demands that will or may be
                 construction of the trans-Alaska    pipeline and adjacent Haul           placed on the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area are consumption of
                 Road has removed considerable acreage from productive                    habitat, disruption of the environment and environmental
                 wildlife habitat. The extraction    of water and gravel from             pollution, and competition for fish and wildlife resources.
                 nearby lakes, rivers and streams to facilitate that develop-             These potential impacts will be discussed in this section.
                 ment has also altered fish habitat. Although much land in the            I .  Consumption of Habitat
                 Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area has been removed as habitat for                 Of the demands that will be placed on the study area, only
                 fish and wildlife, the area is still capable of supporting a             one, subsistence activities, will not remove wildlife habitat.
                 multitude of wild creatures. In Chapter Vill the fish and                Petroleum development, recreation and tourism will all con-
                 game of the study area are inventoried and therefore will not            sume habitat by the siting of facilities, pipelines and new
                 be repeated here. The most noticeable effect of those                    population.
                 development activities is the removal of the area surrounding
                 Prudhoe Bay as a caribou calving ground. However, there is               a.    Population
                 still a great deal of virgin land remaining in the study area            Since the entire population of the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area
                 that supports wildlife and fish.                                         is there solely to work on petroleum development, popula-
                                                                                          tion increases and decreases are directly related to the level of
                 6.   Recreation and Tourism Resources                                    activity taking place there. The actual manpower require-
                 There are two aspects to consider         when evaluating the            ments for the various needs described earlier will hinge on the
                 capability of the land to provide for recreation and tourism;            timing of development, the technology employed (for exam-
                 whether or not the land has recreation or tourism resources              ple, type of platform), and the number, size and location of
                 and the ability to provide for the development of the                    fields.

                                                                                                                                                         109

                          It is anticipated that personnel of the Prudhoe Bay-Large                    run 30 miles due cast to Pump Station No. 1. The Prudhoe
                          scenario and those connected with construction of the                        Bay-Large scenario assumes four miles of both oil and gas
                          natural gas pipeline within the study area would be located in               offshore lines. These would run from the north-northeast in
                          the existing Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse complex. If trunk pipe-                   the vicinity of the Midway Islands and would land just cast of
                          lines were to be built from the National Petroleum Reserve-                  Point McIntyre, at which point 9.5 miles of onshore trunk
                          Alaska and the Arctic National Wildlife Range, part of the                   pipelines will run due south across the Putuligayuk River to
                          construction crew would probably also be located at Prudhoe                  Pump Station No. 1. In the Canning-Camden scenario there
                          Bay. The work force required for producing the Kuparuk                       would also be two pipelines-one for oil and the other for
                          River oil pool will be located 30 miles west of Prudhoe Bay                  gas. Because there would be two separate fields, two offshore
                          at the site of development. The Canning-Camden scenario                      trunk pipelines would be necessary, One would run south
                          postulates locating the work force in the adjacent onshore                   between the Stockton and Maguire Islands and the other
                          area. If new population centers are developed outside of                     would run between the Maguire Islands and Flaxman Island
                          Prudhoe Bay, then duplication of services and facilities will                landing at Bullen and at Point Thomson, respectively.
                          result. This would also increase the consumption of wildlife                 From Point Thom-son the oil and gas pipelines would follow
                          habitat.                                                                     the coast to Foggy Island Bay and then run straight to Pump
                                                                                                       S
                                                                                                       tation No. 1, a distance of 54 miles. These pipelines could
                                                                                                       also service the Flaxman Island/Pt. Thomson discoveries and,
                                                                                                       if extended 6 miles, could also connect to the Arctic National
                                                                                                       Wildlife Range. The Cape Halkett scenario postulates a
                                                                                                       pipeline from offshore Cape Halkett, though the eastern
                                                                                                       Jones Islands to Oliktok Point. From there, the pipeline
                                                    It! "f*-,                                          would follow the coast until it reaches the Kuparuk River
                                                                                                       where it heads southeast to Pump Station No. 1.

                                                                                                       C .  Facilities
                                                                                                       Exploration for new petroleum resources within the Prudhoe
                                                                                                       Bay Coastal Area will require very limited new construction
                                                                                                       because the Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse industrial complex will
                                                                                                       most likely be utilized as the staging, supply and communica-
                                                                                                       tions center. Only after economically recoverable oil is
                                                                                                       discovered would additional permanent onshore facilities be
                                                                                                       built. Typically, onshore field development is located as near
                                                                                                       as possible to the discovery or, for offshore fields, at the
                          b.    Pipelines                                                              closest landfall. Facilities that could be required include an
                                                                                                       oil/gas/water separating plant (flow station), gas compression
                          Within the study area, the natural gas pipeline will run                     Plant, base camp, airstrip, dock/har6or, storage area, and
                          parallel to the existing oil pipeline. Additional anticipate                 access roads.
                          pipeline construction includes the oil trunk line from the
                          Kuparuk formation to the trans-Alaska pipeline which will                    Facilities for Kuparuk and for the Canning-Camden scenario

                          110

                 and the potential Pt. Thomson/Flaxman Island development                  impacts, the soil and gravel from abandoned artificial islands
                 will be at the field or at the closest point onshore from the             should be reused or the islands should be constructed so they
                 field. The Prudhoe Bay-Large scenario would require separate              are readily demolished by wind and wave action when
                 production /process i ng facilities, but would utilize the exist-         erosion control materials have been removed.
                 ing airstrip, harbor, and construction housing at Prudhoe                 b.   Water Usage
                 Bay. Development of Cape Halkett assumes no facilities in
                 the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area. Similarly, development of the               During the summer and fall months, water is abundant on the
                 Arctic National Wildlife Range would probably not require                 North Slope. However, during the eight month arctic winters,
                 facilities within the study area. Since the natural gas pipeline          nearly all rivers, streams and lakes freeze to the bottom. A
                 will run parallel to the trans-Alaska pipeline, new facilities            few pockets of water in deep lakes and large rivers do not
                 will be limited to the pipeline corridor.                                 freeze and these often become the crowded habitat of
                                                                                           overwintering fish. Additional winter sources are found in
                                                                                           groundwater present in alluvial aquifers near large rivers and
                 2.    Disruption of the Environment and                                   beneath larger lakes which do not freeze to the bottom.
                       Environmental Pollution                                             Melted ice and snow and deep lakes are the primary sources
                 The extent of alteration to the environment from develop-                 of community water during winter. In summer, developing
                 ment will determine the potential impacts of that develop-                groundwater sources below the permafrost is not practical
                 ment. The location and quantity of water and gravel extract-              because the permafrost extends from several feet below the
                 ed and the siting of construction, the noise pollution created            surface to depths between 600 to 1,980 feet.
                 by it and obstruction to migration patterns will collectively             Several ecological problems may be created by removal of
                 be the direct effects on the environment.                                 water from unfrozen pockets. Partial removal of water
                 a.   Construction                                                         supporting aquatic organisms crowds organisms into the
                 Gravel mining and road and workpad construction have                      remaining confined space and may cause a buildup of the
                 damaged fish and wildlife habitat throughout the pipeline                 organisms' waste metabolites or a decrease in dissolved
                 corridor. Undoubtedly, future pipelines in the study area will            oxygen concentration due to the animals' respiratory activ-
                 cause similar damage. Therefore, the primary objective for                ities. Removal of only a portion of the water may also
                 construction planning should be to reduce the amount of                   clewater marginal gravels which contain developing fish em-
                 land consumed by development. The Alaska Department of                    bryos. If a .11 water is withdrawn from an area mortality of
                 Fish and Game suggests burying pipelines especially through               some species may occur. Withdrawal of water from fish
                 river deltas and floodplains to lessen the negative impact on             overwintering pools may over time cause the fish to move to
                 habitat. Maximization of all currently existing facilities pro-           other areas and potentially reduce village winter food
                 vides another means of reducing habitat consumption. When                 sources. For the above reasons, removal of water during
                 new facilities are built they should be removed after they are            winter poses a potential, and often significant, threat to
                 no longer needed and the area returned to its natural                     aquatic organisms. Since no comprehensive formula has been
                 condition. Wildlife would, in time, return to inhabit the area.           developed to protect overwintering organisms, each situation
                 Artificial islands, may negatively impact the biotic communi-             should be investigated individually.
                 ty and, in addition, may constitute a hazard to navigation                C.   Gravel Usage
                 unless properly charted and marked. To lessen negative                    As has been discussed in previous sections of this report
                                                                                                                                                          111

                          significant demands will be placed on the sand and gravel               sediments consist mainly of sands and gravels. The mining of
                          resources in the Prudhoe Bay Coastal Area by future petro-              offshore sand and gravel is primarily to construct artificial
                          leum development, especially offshore exploration and pro-              islands for exploration and production of oil and gas. Ex-
                          duction. Most of the gravel for the trans-Alaska pipeline and           traction involves dredging by barge-mounted or land-based
                          Prudhoe Bay field construction has been extracted from river            clamshell dredges, barge-mounted suction dredges or drag-
                          floodplains. In the future gravel may be mined both onshore             lines. Although there is no experience with this type of
                          and offshore. Abandoned artificial islands and causeways are            dredging in the study area, it has been used in the southern
                          the preferred source of fill materials. Other sources in order          Beaufort Sea in Canada. According to Canadian scientists,
                          of preference are open pit terrestrial mines, the sea bottom            sediment plumes and increased turbidity associated with
                          outside the 5-meter isobath, riverbeds, Beaufort Sea beaches,           dredging and hydraulic fill operations have not seriously
                          the sea bottom inside the S-meter isobath and, finally, the             impacted planktonic communities, benthic organisms, and
                          barrier island system.                                                  fish. There is concern, however, that the artificial island
                          (I ) Onshore gravel extraction. Most of the major rivers and            program may have serious effects on Beaufort Sea whale
                          streams which originate in the Brooks Range contain sand                populations. Disturbances from construction activity or the
                          and gravel. Coastal deposits east of the Colville River are             physical presence of islands may cause whales to avoid
                          available in beaches, spits and barrier islands. Alterations to         traditional calving and feeding areas and to alter migration
                          stream morphology have a number of effects on the aquatic               routes.
                          biology. Fish spawning areas may be eliminated by the                   d.    Noise
                          destruction or modification of the gravelly channel substrate.          Excessive noise could potentially have a significant effect on
                          A significant impact associated with gravel extraction is               the area's wildlife. Noise from construction activities coupled
                          siltation. Generally caused by equipment working in or near             with increased noise from trucks and aircraft can reach
                          active channels, siltation is created by excavation in the              unnaturally high levels of noise for the area. Although there
                          stream channel, gravel washing or increased erosion of the              are little data on the effects of noise pollution on wildlife,
                          river channel and adjacent banks. Siltation can reduce fish             clenning polar bears and breeding waterfowl appear to be very
                          food organisms, smother spawning gravel beds and adversely              susceptible to disruption from noise.
                          affect egg development. These siltation problems can be                 e.    Obstacles to Migration
                          avoided or corrected by the use of settling basins or diver-            When considering obstacles to migration patterns or routes, it
                          sionary channels to keep equipment out of streams. Long-                is common to refer to roads, pipelines or construction camps
                          term site rehabilitation measures @Such as replacement of               as obstacles to migrating land mammals such as the caribou.
                          topsoil, restoration of pre-mining vegetation and contours              Although this is a very significant concern, marine inhabi-
                          and various erosion control procedures can also mitigate                tants must also be considered. The effects of artificial islands
                          siltation damage. Coastal erosion resulting from beach and              and causeways on any species from migrating whales to
                          barrier island borrowing is also a major concern. Although              microscopic organisms is largely unknown. Before the erec-
                          upland borrow sites are recommended there are few suitable              tion of permanent structures, studies should be undertaken
                          sites on the North Slope due to permafrost, geotechnical and            to determine the migratory patterns of the area. Besides
                          resource availability problems.                                         physical barriers of roads or causeways, other factors such as
                          (2) Offshore gravel extraction.     East of the Colville River          noise or increased boat, truck and airplane traffic could be
                          delta, from the shoreline to the 60-foot isobath, the bottom            obstacles to migration routes.

                          112

                 3.   Competition for Fish and
                      Wildlife Resources
                 Although the population of the State as a whole has in-
                 creased dramatically over the past several decades, there has
                 been relatively little population change on the North Slope
                 outside Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse. During this same period the
                 level of subsistence hunting and fishing has decreased. Per-
                 haps the most significant cause of this decrease results from
                 the switch from dogs to snow machines as the primary mode
                 of transportation, thus eliminating the necessity to harvest
                 vast quantities of game for dog food. Increased income has
                 also lessened Native dependence on fish and game. Regardless
                 of reduction in levels of subsistence harvest, the preservation
                 of traditional culture and historic patterns of subsistence is of
                 major concern to the people of the Arctic coastal region and
                 given a stable population, long-term subsistence harvest levels
                 should remain at a relatively low and stable level. There are a
                 number of pressures on fish and wildlife resources in the
                 region. Recreational fishermen and hunters are showing
                 'increased interest in hunting and fishing in the Arctic and are
                 beginning to compete with local residents for fish and game
                 resources. Activity related to development of Prudhoe Bay
                 has decreased fish populations in the Sagavanirktok River and
                 displaced traditional caribou calving grounds in the Prudhoe
                 Bay area. New facilities, gravel mining, and water collection
                 in connection with onshore development are likely to impact
                 wildlife habitat in the future. The possible impacts on fish
                 and wildlife from offshore development are largely unknown
                 and require extensive additional study.

                                                                                                                                                       113

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    I

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                                                                                                                                                     117

                          DIVIDER SHEET DESCRIPTIONS AND PHOTO CREDITS                            Vill     Lakes on the Arctic Coastal Plain (FSLUPQ
                          Chapter                                                                          Ice lead near a pressure ridge (AEIDC)
                          I      The Niakuk Islands (Sohio-BP Alaska)                                      Clustered tufts of cottongrass (AEIDC)
                          11     Permafrost outlines or polygons (Sohio-BP Alaska)                         Woman ice-fishing (FSLUPC)
                          III    Federal-State Land Use Planning Commission hearing                        Swan in flight near Prudhoe Bay (AEIDC)
                                 (Sohio-BP Alaska)                                                         Prudhoe Bay discovery well (AEIDQ
                          IV     Caribou grazing near a drilling rig (Sohio-BP Alaska)                     Polar bear exit hole (AEI DC)
                          V      Atlantic Richfield dock facility at Prudhoe Bay                           Franklin Bluffs on the Sagavanirktok River (Sohio-BP
                                 (Sohio-BP Alaska)                                                         Alaska)
                          vi     Aerial view of Deadhorse (Bureau of Land Manage-                          A frozen mound of ice, called a pingo (ARCO)
                                 ment)                                                                     Ernest D. K. Leffingwell's camp on Flaxman Island
                          VII    Inuit Circumpolar Conference, Barrow, June 1977                           (Alaska Division of Parks)
                                 (Steve Cysewski)                                                          Prudhoe Bay gathering center (Sohio-BP)
                          Vill   Young Arctic fox (AEl DC)                                                 Deadhorse Airport (Alyeska Pipeline Service Com-
                          IX     Female common eiders (AEIDC)                                              pany)
                          X      Union Oil Company ice island at Harrison Bay (F. C.                       Annual cargo sealift to Prudhoe Bay (Sohio-BP
                                 Duthweiler)                                                               Alaska)
                                                                                                  I X      Flare pad development at a gathering center (Sohio-
                          TEXT PHOTO DESCRIPTIONS AND CREDITS                                              BP Alaska)
                          Chapter                                                                          Arctic char and seal skins drying on racks (AEl DC)
                          I      Prudhoe Bay drilling rigs (ARCO)                                 X        Pump Station No. I (Alyeska Pipeline Service Com-
                          I I    Pressure ridges in Beaufort Sea ice (AEIDC)                               pany)
                          III    Aerial view of Prudhoe Bay (Sohio-BP Alaska)                              Traditional Eskimo whaling boat (AEIDC)
                                                                                                           Trans-Alaska pipeline (Alyeska Pipeline Service Com-
                                 Beaufort Sea coastal erosion (Sohio-BP Alaska)                            pany)
                          IV     Caribou crossing an Arctic river (AEIDC)                                  Atlantic Richfield Company base camp at Prudhoe
                                 Aerial view of the trans-Alaska pipeline (ARCO)                           Bay (ARCO)
                          V      Colville River (ARCO)
                                 Birds in flight (AEI DC)
                                 North Slope moose (ARCO)
                          VI     Eskimo whaling camp on the Arctic ice (ARCO)
                          VII    Aerial view of Beaufort Sea ice (Sohio-BP Alaska)

                          118

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