The Bureau of Land Management today announced their leasing plan for the Northeastern portion of the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska or NPRA. Although the land is a designated energy reserve, it also contains wetlands and lakes that provide habitat for migratory birds, caribou and is a source of subsistence hunting for North Slope Inupiaq. The BLM’s decision will set aside 219,000 acres that comprise Teshekpuk lake and its islands and defer leasing on an additional 430,000 acres.
Lori Townsend, APRN – Anchorage
