Teshekpuk Lake Saved from Drilling!

On May 16, the Secretary of Interior announced that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) would defer additional oil and gas leasing around Teshekpuk Lake in the northeastern part of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPRA) for at least 10 years. The decision came with the release of a final revised environmental statement and activity plan for Northeast NPRA, after a lawsuit blocked a controversial September 2006 lease sale for Teshekpuk Lake. Thousands of Audubon supporters had submitted public comments on the revised environmental impact statement, Audubon activists attended BLM hearings to protest the drilling plans, and Audubon Alaska and the Audubon Policy office have worked any and all angles to keep oil drilling out of this special area. The Teshekpuk wetlands provide breeding, molting, and resting habitat for more than one million migratory birds and are the most important goose molting habitat in the entire Arctic.

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