Drilling Threatens Alaska's Yukon Flats Wildlife Refuge
Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge is in east-central Alaska, between the Brooks Range and the White Mountains. It harbors one of America’s most valuable duck and waterfowl wetlands nesting areas, with millions of these birds arriving each spring. But the birds face an uncertain future.
The Doyon Corporation, created by Congress via the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, wants to take possession of 110,000 acres of this refuge—and subsurface title to another 97,000 acres. In return, the federal government would initially receive about 150,000 acres of Doyon lands. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has tentatively agreed to this proposal.
The area sought by Doyon may contain oil and gas. “If drilling occurs, the industrial sprawl could jeopardize not only the waterfowl nesting areas but also nearby Wild Beaver Creek, vital spawning grounds for salmon that travel into the Yukon River and ultimately to the Bering Sea,” explains Nicole Whittington-Evans, our associate regional director in Alaska. “For thousands of years, people and wildlife have relied on Yukon River salmon, one of North America’s most prized fish runs. The Fish and Wildlife Service once recommended that the area sought by Doyon be permanently protected by adding it to the National Wilderness Preservation System,” she notes, “but drilling would eliminate that option.”
Opponents of this scheme include the Gwich’in Nation—Athabascan Indians who inhabit eight villages inside and nearby this wildlife refuge. They worry about the threat posed to the moose, ducks, salmon, and other species that are central to their diet and culture. In a newspaper ad, the Gwich’in wrote: “We support economic development but not at the expense of our way of life.”
“In addition to drill rigs,” Whittington-Evans points out, “there would be pipelines, roads, airstrips and everything else that comes with massive industrial development, including the inevitable toxic spills. This is exactly the wrong kind of place for the oil industry to go to work.”
The Fish and Wildlife Service is finalizing an environmental impact statement. Our coalition successfully pressed the agency to conduct this study, which is more rigorous than the assessment that was planned at the outset. Once the document is released, citizens will have an opportunity to comment. “Alaska is receiving a sneak preview of what global warming may do to our planet,” notes Whittington-Evans, “which makes it even more troubling that our government is leaning toward promoting this fossil fuel development plan.”
