Some of the most important bird habitats on the planet are found in Alaska's Western Arctic, which supports millions of migratory birds from six continents including Red-throated Loons, Pacific Brant, and Spectacled Eiders. The Western Arctic is home to Teshekpuk Lake, one of five federally designated Special Areas, and the most ecologically important wetlands complex in America's Arctic.
A proposed rule puts these important habitats at risk of oil and gas development by accelerating drilling permits and shrinking public input.
Important habitats in the Western Arctic should be managed for ecological and cultural values, and balanced with energy development in the region. Take action today by submitting a comment in support of protecting the Western Arctic's Special Areas, including Teshekpuk Lake. The deadline to comment is November 9.
Your comment will be submitted to Regulations.gov and become a part of the public record.
As someone who cares about the iconic bird species that depend on the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) in Alaska's Western Arctic region, I am writing to support keeping important habitat on these public lands protected from oil and gas development and considering the concerns of the Indigenous communities who call it home. I oppose streamlining the permitting process for oil and gas development near the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area.
The NPR–A is called "America's Bird Basket" because it attracts a globally significant abundance of waterfowl, shorebirds, and raptors. Species from the Reserve migrate along all four major flyways, meaning the same birds appear at backyards, lakes, and beaches throughout the contiguous United States, as well as in Asia and beyond. I am particularly concerned about the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area, the most ecologically important wetlands complex in America's Arctic. The NPR-A is also home to endangered whales, polar bears, some of America's largest caribou herds, and numerous Indigenous communities.
Streamlining oil and gas permitting in the NPR-A would put essential habitat in this fragile ecosystem at risk. Roadbuilding, industrial traffic, and construction, as well as emissions associated with fossil fuel development, would degrade essential bird habitat, disrupt caribou migrations, and worsen the impacts of climate change in a region already warming faster than anywhere else on the planet.
Thank you for considering my comments.
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