June 11, 2001  -  Oil and Wildlife  -  Prudhoe Bay

Two grizzly bears proved today that Spring is in the arctic air. With the sprawling backdrop of an oil pumping facility and across the road from a heavy equipment storage site, the pair mated for a good half hour. Later in the afternoon, next to pipelines, spectacled eiders paddled in the shallow ponds that dot the tundra. An arctic fox dashed under power lines carrying a bird egg in its mouth. Between a massive drilling facility and a gravel road, two caribou bedded down for a rest.

It's strange to see wildlife in such an industrial area, but I must remember that bald eagles, falcons and coyotes live in downtown Seattle along with 2 million people. Can wildlife and oil development coexist in the arctic? The oil companies will show photos of caribou next to pipelines and say that oil activities have had no adverse effect on the North Slope's wildlife. They state that the Central Arctic caribou herd has been unaffected by oil development and point out that the herd has increased from 3,000 in 1972, when oil activity began, to 20,000 today. But to just look at the numbers and conclude that oil development has had no impact on the herd is not telling the whole story. It has been documented by scientific studies that the majority of the cow caribou and their calves have been displaced from the Prudhoe Bay area. Most of the caribou next to pipelines are bulls. Fortunately for the Central Arctic caribou, their range is big enough to where they can give birth and find nutritional vegetation elsewhere. But keep in mind that the Prudhoe Bay oil field is one of 12 producing sites on the North Slope, and there are 6 more either already in development or with future potential. How much oil development can occur until caribou and other wildlife have nowhere to be displaced to?

More than 250 North American scientists signed a letter to the president of the United States that read: "Based on our collective experience and understanding of the cumulative effects of oil and gas exploration and development on Alaska's North Slope, we do not believe these impacts have been adequately considered for the Arctic Refuge, and mitigation without adequate data on this complex ecosystem is unlikely."

Yes, there is wildlife in Prudhoe Bay. But this is not a naturally functioning ecosystem. It's a human-dominated industrial development. Is this what we want for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge?