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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNational Petroleum Reserve in AK 105c Final Study Vol ll 1979NPR-A TASK FORCE EE 105) FINAL STUDY a FOR THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR Volume 2 Summaries of Studies eee National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska Under authority of Naval Petroleum Reserve Production Act 1976 NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA 105 (c) FINAL STUDY VOLUME 2 FOR THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR VOLUME 1 Summaries of Values and Resource Analysis and Land Use Options (Excluding Petroleum Values and Uses) VOLUME 2 ee Summaries of Studies SR1 - Physical Profile SR3 - Socioeconomic Profile SR4 - Ecological Profile SRS - Regional Profile SR6 - Planning Area Analysis (The Summary of SR2- Values and Resource Analysis is contained in Final Study, Volume 1.) VOLUME 3 Record of Public Participation BY NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA TASK FORCE NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA Under Authority of NAVAL PETROLEUM RESERVES PRODUCTION ACT 1976 PUBLIC LAW 94-258 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ANCHORAGE, ALASKA APRIL 1979 ns | 1 OSK Force Members State Director (Chairman) Bureau of Land Managment, U.S. Dept. of the Interior Area Director Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Dept. of the Interior Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Interior (Alaska) U.S. Dept. of the Interior Alaska Area Director National Park Service, U.S. Dept. of the Interior Chief, Field Operations Center Bureau of Mines, U.S. Dept. of the Interior Area Director Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service, U. S. Dept. of the Interior Area Director Fish and Wildlife Service, U. S. Dept. of the Interior District Chief, Water Resources Division U.S. Geological Survey, U. S. Dept. of the Interior Mayor North Slope Borough Comissioner State of Alaska, Department of Natural Resources Administrative Assistant, Lands Division Arctic Slope Regional Corporation TASK FORCE STAFF NPR-A 105(c) Planning Team U. S. Dept. of the Interior Mailing address: Bureau of Land Management, Anchorage Federal Office Bldg. 701 C Street, Anchorage, Alaska 99501 aR RA pO SR Table of CONteNtS anus page Physical Profile - Summary............ cess eee eee cere cette eee eee 1 Physiographic setting and topographic features.................-0-5- 1 Permafrost... 0... cece cece ce ee eee eee eee ee ee eee teen ee eee enees 1 GEOLOGY... cece eee eee eee eee e eee ene t teen eeees 7 Surficial depoSits........ ccc cece cee eee eee eee tence ee eeees 7 GI aes cha tear ent cro ere fora o dnote los w}wtentreie Ince act alone |e. ofe.t).s-e. els. sie ee + elias eo allt «leis 7 CV mates oie aaa eee a es ete dete loco wert ie trop ote olan sacmweliacanmpiecmca lesa #/4.0/8.0.0.2:8|0 16 Air quality... 2... ccc ccc ccc eee eee eee e eee eee e ee eeees 16 Water TeSOUPCeS.... 2... cece cc cee cee ee eee e eee e eee eeeeee 16 Limiting physical factors........ 2... ccc cee eee eee 29 Socioeconomic Profile - Summary.......... ccc eee cece cece ee eee eee e eee 31 CONCTUSION..... cee cee ce eee eee teen ee eee eee eee e ee ee reas 37 Ecological Profile - Summary.............. cece cece eee eee tere teen eens 39 Introduction. ..... cece cece ce cece cece teen eee e eee ee ee ee eeeeee 39 Coastal and marine ZONne.......... cc cece ccc ce cc cece eee ence eeeeees 39 Wet sedge mMeadowS......... cee ec eee cece ce eee eee eee teen eee t tees 40 Upland tussock tundra........ 6. e cece eee eee eee tee e eee e ee eee 4 Riverine systems and floodplains............. see e eee cece eee eee eens 45 Alpine tundra (fell-fields).......... esses eee eee ee eee eee teen eee eee 47 CariDOU. 0... ccc cece ee ewe ee cee eee e cee e eee e see ee sees eencenes 48 SENSITIVITIES... 0... ccc ccc cece ee ee eee ee ee eee e eee eee eee eeee 49 Unique ecological aredS....... eee cee etter t tees 51 Regional Profile... . 2... eee cee cere eee tenet eee e ee eeeee 57 Planning Area Analysis - Summary........... 6. cece eee ee eee eee eee eens 59 ECOnOMIC OVELFVIEW. .. 6... ee cee ee ee eee eee n eee e eee etee 59 Social OVEPVIEW. 2... cece eee ec cee eee eee eee e teen eee eee ees 60 Public facilities. ........ cc ccc cece cece cee cee cee cent ence ne sneeee 62 Native livelihood and dependence............ ese ee eee ee ee cece eee eee 63 Cultural (archaeological) resources. ........ ce cece ee eee eee eee eee 65 WilderneSS PESOULCES... 2... cece eee eee eee teen eee eens 66 Recreational and visual reSOUrceS.......... eee e eee eee eee ee eens 66 Fish and wildlife resources......... 2. cece cee cece ee eee eter e ee eees 69 Reindeer and muskoxen grazing resOUurces........-.- sees ee eee ee eens 72 BNE reco UC ee ELEC ITT 74 ee Tse dre OU Ce ee CL ER MEET 77 CeO Cee eee EET I 78 Ne Sle CU TAI 79 Intergovernmental relationshipsS.............0c cece eee ccceceeeeeeeee 80 SERN ne EERE i Plates SE wn wn Physical Profile Distribution of slope zones and scarpsS.............ccceeeeecececeeee 5 Distribution of pre-quaternary geologic units.................0000e 9 See ee ee Eee e cee etl Uebelelteeeteaet Healy tase HL edati tal elastase a 1 Map of erosion potential and coastal erosion rates................. 7 Ecological Profile Major--ecological—systems= <i occ ce cae ona bee uereucesis 43 UN @Ue! ECO1OgT Cal areas ee OE 53 Map showing physiographic provinces of NPR-A...............cceeceeee a Graph showing generalized stratigraphic sections, NPR-A............. 8 Map showing distribution of soil types.............. cece cece e eee 19 Map showing distribution of mean annual precipitation in Graphs showing frequency of occurrence of precipitation at Barrow and Umiat stations.............. 0... cece ccc cece cece ences 23 Maps showing isopleths of snow depths and ice thickness in northern Alaska during selected months in 1976 and 1977............ 24 Diagrams showing wind data for Barrow and Umiat.................... 26 —e = eA Shas OA I A TTBS NO Tables Aedes RR page 1. Tabulations of precentage frequency of occurrence of obstruction soe a 3 10) | Pa 27 2. Approximate population and harvest levels for six key species in NPR-A and entire planning area.......... cece cee eee eee eee 70 3. Recent and projected production and demand for mineral resources known to occur on NPR-A...... 2... cece cee eee eee eee 75 4. The coal resources of NPR-A in the national and worldwide CONTEXTS. 2. ccc cece cece cece c cece eee e rere nee re scence eeeereeeeesees 76 ees CONVELSION TOD) seems For those readers who may prefer to use metric (SI) units rather than the commonly used American units, the conversion factors for the units used in this report are given below. Multiply American Units By To Obtain Metric (SI) Units Inches (in) 2.54 Centimeters (cm) Feet (ft) 0.304 Meters (m) Miles (mi) 1.609 Kilometers (km) Ounces (0z) 28.35 Grams (gm) Pounds (1b) 0.454 Kilograms (kg) Tons 0.907 Metric tons Gallons (gal) 4.545 Liters (L) Acres 0.404 Hectares (ha) Miles per hour (mi/h) 1.609 Kilometers per hour (km/h) Square miles (mi) 2.589 Square kilometers (km?) 258.9 Hectares (ha) Pounds per square foot 4.882 Kilograms per square meter (b/Ft?) (kg/km?) Pounds per square mile 0.76 Kilograms per square kilometer (b/mi2) (kg/km?) Degrees Fahrenheit (°F) 5/9(°F-32) Degrees Celsius (°C) Flask of mercury = 76 pounds PHYSICAL PROFILE - SUMMARY Physiographic Setting and Topographic Features Of the three physiographic provinces represented within the 37,000-square- mile (mi2) National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A), the largest is the Arctic Coastal Plain which covers slightly more than the northern half of the Reserve. This province has the Arctic Ocean as a northern boundary and the Foothills province as a southern boundary. The Arctic Coastal Plain province rises gradually from sea level on the north to an altitude of about 600 feet (ft) on the southern boundary where an abrupt scarp along a part of the division separates it from the northern section of the Foothills province. The plain is essentially flat, although streams are incised and there are sporadic pingos. The northern section of the Foothills province extends in altitude from 600 ft on its northern edge to 1,200 ft on the south. It is an area of gently rolling hills and broad valleys. The southern section of this province extends from 1,200 ft to 3,500 ft and is characterized by irregular buttes, knobs, mesas, east-trending ridges and intervening tundra plains. The southern section of Foothills province is bounded on the southeast by the Central Brooks Range section of the Brooks Range province and on the southwest by the De Long Mountains section. These areas rise to 4,000 - 6,000 ft. The mountains are typically rugged and of high relief. Figure | shows the areas of NPR-A included in each of the physiographic provinces. Plate | shows locations of scarps and the distribution of slope types in the Reserve. Permafrost NPR-A is entirely within the zone of continuous permafrost. Permafrost is essentially the same as "perennially frozen ground" and may consist of soil or rock or even buried masses of ice in the form of wedges and, less commonly, lenses. in some instances the volume of ice is several times the volume of soil or rock particle components, particularly near ground surface; at the other extreme, some permafrost, especially gravel, may contain little or no ice at all. The temperatures of permafrost within NPR-A are relatively low but variable, ranging generally from about I5°F near Barrow to about 21°F near Umiat. One major advantage of the low temperatures of permafrost is that minor disturbances of the vegetative or litter cover are less likely to initiate rapid thawing of the upper portion of permafrost than they would in areas where the temperature of permafrost is just below the freezing point, such as central Alaska. The greatest reported thickness of permafrost in NPR-A is 1,330 ft near Barrow. Because of seasonal variations in air temperature and solar radia- tion, permafrost is not present at ground surface on NPR-A. A layer (termed the active layer) of surface material overlying the permafrost thaws Kasegaluk Pi Icy Cape pagoon Higluruk Creek Akolia 10 oO WAINWRIGHT Wainwrigh | —e Inlet ingorarok Pass 10 20 30 40 30 40 Pt. Franklin Kiligwa River 50 Miles 50 Kilometers Seahorse % Islands Shaningarok Cree - Meade Point Barrow —® BARROW Walakpg Bay klson 6 % WA NPR-A BOUNDARY NS roti Fatigue X Bay Sinclair Lake Cape Simpson Avatanak | Pit | Bight Point Pogik Drew Point Bay Halkett BEAUFORT HARRISON SEA Atigaru Point = eatin TD q [} Y Yy Channel y UIQSUT PHYSIOGRAPHIC PROVINCES OF NPR-A. After Wahrhaftig (1965). Figure 1. EXPLANATION ARCTIC COASTAL PLAIN 0 - 600 ft altitude ARCTIC FOOTHILLS a Northern section b Southern section 600 - 1,200 ft altitude 1,200 - 2,500 ft altitude BROOKS RANGE a De Long Mountains 3,500 - 4,900 ft altitude b Brooks Range 3,500 - 8,000 ft altitude 152° % A a a SQ ALASKA 3 aS Mf Spee bre ¢ a CB oot 1 tee LOCATION MAP a LAKE J \ | PRUDHOE BAY @ g DEADHORSE @ ) ° >) = 7 | <f 5 OS of « | 69° NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE - ALASKA PLATE NO. 1 Distribution of Slope Zones and Scarps US. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NPRA STUDIES, SLOPE ZONES SCARP HEIGHT N17 meters (10-50 feet) Aces > 10 meters (30 feet) Adeaaease> §— > 17 meters (50 feet) in which dunes are common NOTE: The slope zones on this map are unedited. They were NOTE: Scarps are shown only slong major rivers and on the \ on”. generated manually and by 1 photomechanical process coeetal plain. hich translates distance” between adjacent contours \ Into percentage of slope. Proximity of the same contour cr absence of adjacent con % tours may have produced false and ‘edges of the map. UNIVERSAL TRANSVERSE MERCATOR PROJECTION SCALE a a a ey Koons 138° 156° 154° L " a L BATHYMETRIC INFORMATION DISPLAYED IN METERS Source, USGS open ite 76-823 map, sheet 1 ‘Moaitied trom Johnton, K. M., 1978, Map of Siopes ang Seiecteg Geomorpnic Features, National Petro. eum Reserve « Alaska: Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-206. RANGE AND TOWNSHIP GRIDS BASED ON ALASKA COORDINATE SYSTEM and refreezes each year. The thickness of this active layer can vary from less than a foot to more than 6 ft. Geology The basement rocks of most of NPR-A are of mid-Paleozoic age or older. Younger rocks are separated from the basement rocks by an angular un- conformity shown diagrammatically in figure 2. The first major depositional period in the study area lasted from late Devonian time through the Jurassic. These sediments are predominately marine but include significant littoral deposits. Following major tectonic events in the Brooks Range area in the Jurassic, thick deposits of silty and sandy Cretaceous sediments were laid down in a large basin to the north of the present mountains. In NPR-A the Cenozoic Era is represented only by some lower Tertiary and some Quaternary deposits. The Quaternary deposits mantle almost the entire Coastal Plain province and are partly of fluvial origin; they consist primarily of unconsolidated fine-grained marine sediments. Pleistocene gravel deposits occur at the crests of some terraces in the Foothills pro- vince. Stabilized Pleistocene sand dunes cover about 5,000 mi2 and dunes are currently forming on the coast and spits. A generalized geologic map of NPR-A is presented as Plate 2 and figure 2 summarizes subsurface stratigraphy. Potentially important mineral resources occur in the Reserve. Among them are the oil and gas currently the target of exploration. Reservoir rocks are primarily in the Mesozoic sandstones, and source rocks are generally shales. Enormous volumes of bituminous to subbituminous Cretaceous coal have been identified. Stratiform sulfide deposits have been found along the southern part of the Reserve; zinc, lead, barium and minor silver sulfides are known. Phosphate rock, oil shales, chrome-bearing igneous rocks and clay or bentonite are also of possible economic significance. In addition, the geologic setting in the northern part of NPR-A is favorable for the occur- rence of uranium deposits. Mineral resources are also described in the Mineral Resources summary (in Volume | of the Final Study). Surficial Deposits A preliminary map of the surficial deposits within NPR-A is presented as Plate 3. Descriptions accompanying the plate present information about distribution, thickness, topographic expression, drainage, ice content, frost susceptibility, the suitability of materials for construction purposes, and the general problems related to each of the major types of surficial deposits. Soil Soil is continuous over the NPR-A land surface except for the steep, rugged mountain peaks and areas of perennial ice and snow, windswept ridges or talus slopes. Soils form in the unconsolidated material and in the weathered parts of bedrock through the actions of climate, plants, and animals, and are affected by topography and therefore drainage. The length of time that parent materials have been acted upon by these factors in place generally is reflected in the degree of development of a soil pro- file. In the Arctic, soil profiles are generally poorly developed. TIME IN MILLIONS OF YEARS + ————— n 5/8 BROOKS RANGE FOOTHILLS COASTAL PLAIN 5 | STAGE t b a FORMATION FORMATION FORMATION Pol Pleistocene ~ Pliocene = Miocene <} |__| n & Oligocene SAGAVANIRKTOK w Eocene B J —=ocene _| Paleocene ° { £ - COLVILLE & Maestrichtian wo |U¥ Senonian 3 8 Turonian Olu Cenomanian 0 NUS we x Albian © Aptian — TOROK SHALE TOROK SHALE = ~<—— oO 7 “ L : * PEBBLE SHALE Pal Neocomian OKPIKRUAK FM. CGL.a SS Ler ate" | et 1 > O72. 8s. = U KINGAK SHALE 2° B q\M KINGAK SHALE KINGAK SHALE « KINGAK SHALE => FYL S 5 AG R SAC AER ssoqT{T]] ~ a U SHUBLIK FM. SHUBLIK FM SHUBLIK FM. peeves soar QM LST 6 SH LST. 8 SH ROOT © IL SSS “Veolu SIKSIKPUK FM SADLEROCHIT GROUP = = CGL,SS, 8 SH SADLEROCHI wi N CHERT, SILT 8 SH. GRouP| fee [NUKA_<~ x 4 . aT ly Virgilian z Missourian z Desmoinesian WM Atokan i L}| Morrowan NYY | ps? LISBURNE GROUP use Chesterian ‘ | Srovr uU LISBURNE LST. 8D0L oe Meramecian | NUKA GROUP o {4 = Osagian LST 8 voL. 2 — ee s Kinderhookian] sak ay | st44 AOL 3 KANAYUT z2|Uu = Zz L4 S$ wiM SKAJIT LST. a pj —— —_ L MAU s |} NALLY | +12 ? ? NERUOKPUK GROUP? VAY a MICA SCHIST ARGILLITE, CARBONATE, uy AND QUARTZITE x Oo 1 it aL (a) Quaternary. Figure 2. Generalized stratigraphic sections, NPR-A. From carter and others (1977). 70 POINT LAY e 162" 160" ALASKA suatet nites: LOCATION UNIVERSAL TRANSVERSE MERCATOR PROJECTION BATHYMETRIC INFORMATION DISPLAYED IN METERS Source, "USGS opentite 76-825 map, shest 1 IOS BASED ON ALASKA COORDINATE SYSTEM = — ALASKA (Boundary APBIOXN: NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE Q & os 130” 148 n FOS tetany, ikrok Pt be Beechéy Pt PRUDHOE BAY @ DEADHORSE @ 70° Sacwon 69" 152” 130° NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE - ALASKA US. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR PLATE NO. 2 Distribution of Pre-Quaternary Geologic Units STRATIFIED SEDIMENTARY and VOLCAN!C ROCKS CONTINENTAL DEPOSITS VOLCANIC ROCKS es ee MAFIC.ROCKS, g 8 Repse remriane cee 8 a S UPPER CRETACEOUS S| IRM S885 OSTA ne N tone, shale, siltstone, and - y 3 err eee cena ty = rations, the Kukpowrux Risin eous ie oweern art ot Formation im the western Arcthe Foot: JURASSIC. TRIASSIC. & i BERMAN VOLCANIC st Ot Namusa eae Sea ane at Remmales 'Sdompanaa of best ait Sede os clea are Bkiges Howdy Cutts, breccias, and tt ‘bedded ‘sediments: ineluaes. Ramps 680 int HARING Seta a renin areata wssozorc,« pausoraie Sri te ce cra HE SR Se ay limestone win, subordinate chert ang dolomite. includes ef} ‘fovee Mpdited trom Redman iM ord etiam, Keo S| re a Cimancs erties | ‘Formallon Peee rectiminny Geeta ret antes Aus eo 8 | eas 3) MMM verse, organ nocx Map Symbols z CONTACT . ange. yonate seat = —— INDEFINITE CONTACT | ae ed (as prttet tg etaenseges wom cay, See ie iene eae atte nail ne bnsrock | Mountains. "++ FAULT Dotted wnere concealed or H 72° ALASKA LOCATION MAP Hr CHUKCHI SEA a POINT LAY | /€ fs | | | re d | ~ | | b pes i vs ine UNIVERSAL TRANSVERSE MERCATOR PROJECTION | BATHYMETRIC INFORMATION DISPLAYED IN METERS Source: USGS opentle 76-823 map, sheet 1 RANGE AND TOWNSHIP GRIDS BASED ON ALASKA COORDINATE SYSTEM » SCALE ech? Statute es Sef? Kilometers 15x? 156° on” BEAUFORT JOMC® tstang Sim, tok Pe ae Beechey Pt. $ pruDHot € Bay | # © pRUDHOE BAY @ ¥ » peADHORSE © * NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE - ALASKA us. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR PLATE NO. 3 Surficial Deposits EXPLANATION: Deposits not subdivided by age nor arranged in columnar fashion by relative age. Unconsolidated deposits are Quaternary (possibly late Tertiary?) age as shown by letter Q: Bedrock is probably of Cretaceous age and older MARINE SILT HIGH-LEVEL GRAVEL (ancestral Colville) UNDIFFERENTIATED BEDROCK EOLIAN SAND b (ruled pattern where reworked by streams) ——--- Contact between units, dashed where contact bedi line is not certain “14114. Wave-cut cliff, substantially modified by soli: fluction processed, hachures downslope. May coincide with contact FLOODPLAIN and LOW TERRACE DEPOSITS Solid color where sand, dashed where silt predominates, stippled where gravelly sand, screened where gravel, Map of National Petroleum Ri lela Ries econ Qb Qm Qms Qs Qes Qsm Qc DESCRIPTION OF MATERIALS Marine beach deposits Chiefly coarse to fine sand, granule and pebble gravel. Cobbles as large as 12 cm in diameter occur commonly as a surface layer, but also occur as stratified beds and lenses in finer gravel deposits. Include some silt and organic layers and lenses, driftwood, and occasional erratic boulders to 1 m in diameter. Gravel well rounded, smooth, locally polished chert, quartz, quartzite, granite, and dolomite. General- ly contain less than 6 % silt, even in pit run samples. Contains marine shells. Marine silt Sandy silt containing scattered pebbles a and beds and lenses of sand, clay, pebbly sand, and fine gravel. Contains fossil shells and bones of marine mammals, organic beds and lenses, driftwood, and occasional erratic boulders to approximately 1 m in diameter. Marine sand Fine to medium sand containing pebbles and granules of chert; also includes silty or clayey sand, sandy silt, and minor beds and lenses or organic material. Massive to Poorly stratified; strata and organic hori- zons commonly contorted and deformed by formation of ice wedges. Contains fossil shells. Upland silt Silt, silty sand, and fine sand, including some clay and scattered pebbles and granules of chert. Stratification indistinct, but locally indicated by thin interbeds of detrital wood and felted peat. Deposits are calcareous and generally well sorted. Map unit includes wind-blown silt, thaw lake deposits, silt reworked in gullies by running water, and marine(?) silt. Eolian sand Fine to medium sand containing abundant quartz with minor dark minerals; chert is locally common. Well sorted. Stratified to massive with large-scale cross bedding in places. Noncalcareous. Ruled pattern be- tween Ikpikpuk and Kikiakrorak Rivers indicates an area where eolian sand has been reworked by fluvial and thaw-lake processes; twig lenses are common in upper 3 m of sand in this area. Silt and muck Silt, clay, and some sand; contains abun- dant peat and other organic material; stratified. Colluvium Mixed sand, silt, clay, and boulders deriv- ed from upslope sources by sudden or slow gravity movements and to some ex- tent by water transport. Poorly sorted. crudely bedded to non stratified. Deposits moved by landslide, slump, debris flow, soil flow, and talus processes. Locally contains organic debris. DISTRIBUTION AND THICKNESS Distributed along modern shore and at former shorelines. Deposits are character- istically thin and narrow, but may be later- ally extensive where part of an offshore bar complex. Highest known beach gravel deposits are 2 to 7 m thick at 150 m above sea level on the Kokolik River (Chapman and Sable, 1960). Exposed in lowbanks bordering Elson Lagoon and Harrison and Smith Bays, and beneath marine sand in coastal bluffs and gully walls between Barrow and Kugrua River near Peard Bay; may also lie beneath marine sand between !kpikpuk River and Harrison Bay. Thickness 10 to 15 m near Skull Cliff and about 25 m (mostly below sea level) at Barrow. Deposit generally limited to within 30 km of present coast. Extensively reworked by thaw lake activity. Forms the relatively flat part of the coast- al plain formerly occupied by shallow seas, barrier islands, bars, and spits; exposed in coastal bluffs along Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. Deposits of more than one marine transgression. Normally 3 to 6 m thick. Extensively reworked by thaw lake activi- ty. Lies between 45 and 140 m above sea level in an east-west belt at the boundary be- tween the coastal plain and the foothills. Deposit a few cm to more than 30 m; covers sand and fine gravel of fluvial origin in valleys carved in bedrock. May lie di- rectly on bedrock or on marine beach gra- vel. Widespread distribution as a mantle over- lying older marine and other unconsoli- dated deposits in an area of dunes border- ing Meade River extending eastward to Judy Creek. Thickness ranges from 2 to 10 m near Meade River to 10 to 30 m be- tween Topagoruk River and Judy Creek. Deposits common on modern bars and in lee of floodplains on medium sized to major streams. Occurs in topographic low points scattered throughout the foothills area. Generally 1 to 10 m thick. The few deposits large enough to map in- clude talus at the base of steep slopes on Meat Mountain and adjacent highlands; slumps; soil flows; and earthflows, some of which dam drainageways. Thickness 1to 10m. DESCRIPTION OF SURFICIAL GEOLOGY UNITS SHOWN ON PLATE 3. TOPOGRAPHY AND DRAINAGE Forms subparalle! ridges along and inland from the present shoreline. Surface drain- age parallels ridges; wet areas are localized by swales between ridges. Soil drainage of ridges good. Forms flat, lake-dotted coastal plain lower than 15 m above sea level. Drainage of surface generally poor. Forms lake-dotted coastal plain. Drainage locally good in residual knolls of undisturb -ed marine sand, but poor in thaw lake basins that contain reworked marine sand, silt, and organic deposits. Forms flat to gently rolling terrain broken by ravines, stream valleys, and thaw lakes. Drainage generally poor, except on steep slopes and hill crests. Generally well-drained dune much as 30 m high. Also contains poorly drained to undrained depressions that are not part of an integrated drainage system. Area of reworked eolian sand (ruled pat- tern) is a flat plain with numerous thaw lakes. Water absent in active layer on ridges, but present near surface in de- pressions. Flat to very gently sloping surface having Poor drainage. Deposits are lobate to irregular in plan and have hummocky surface. Scars or breaks in vegetation at uphill margin, and piles of debris at base are characteristic. Drainage good or poor, depending on slope. PERMAFROST Actively forming beaches have active lay- er as much as 2 m thick, but beach ridges away from shoreline are perennially frozen to within 0.5 m of the surface. Most beach deposits contain thin ice wedges along contraction cracks. Older beaches and those of inland shorelines are frozen and contain larger ice wedges, though prob ably not as large as those in fine-grained deposits. Most of unit has very high content of in- terstitial ice and small ice lenses; deposit probably has ice in excess of volume of voids down to 6 or 8 m below surface and may produce more settlement than the 3.3 m noted in marine sand unit at Barrow (Hussey and Michelson, 1966). Older part of unit contains large closely spaced ice wedges 10 m apart and lower overall ice content than older part of unit. Lenses of brine or bodies of brackish water having negative temperature (0°C) included in permafrost. Active layer less than 0.5 m thick. Contains ice wedges and very high volume of ice as smail intersitial masses and lenses. Volumetric thaw settlements of upper 6 m of deposits at Barrow (Hussey and Michel- son, 1966) would be 55% (or 3.3m) in un- disturbed marine sand, and 2% to 19% where the marine sand has been eroded and redeposited by thaw lake activity. Ice content is greater than volume of natural voids (supersaturated with ice) down to about 6 m. Active layer generally less than 0.5 m thick. Contains ice wedges and a very high vol- ume of ice as small interstitial masses and lenses. In some areas, ground ice may ap- Proach 80% of the volume of subsurface material, and excess ice (above volume) of voids in soil) may persist to depths g greater than 30 m below surface. Active layer 0.5 m to as much as 1.5 m thick at well-drained sites. Permafrost underlies entire unit; active layer less than 1.5 m thick in well-drained summits and less than 0.5 m in poorly drained depressions. Volume of wedge and interstitial ice is probably much less than in marine silt and sand units and in upland silt. Ice content of permafrost and potential for thaw settlement largely unknown. Pingos are common in drained lake basins in area of reworked eolian sand (ruled pattern). Well-developed ice wedges as shown by polygonal ground; ice content poorly known, but probably comparable to ma- rine silt (Qm) in that at least 3.3 m of thaw settlement may be expected in areas unmodified by thaw lake activity. Active layer generally less than 0.5 m thick. Permafrost throughout unit; ice content variable. ice content, if in excess of na- tural void volume, would produce large settlement. Active layer approx. 0.5 m thick. From Williams and others (1977). SUSCEPTIBILITY TO FROST ACTION Granular materials are not susceptible to frost action. Fine-grained deposits are highly frost sus- ceptible when unfrozen. Sand is marginally frost susceptible, de- Pending on silt content. Silt, sandy silt, and fine sand are frost susceptible. Sand_ is generally non-frost susceptible. Fine materials are frost susceptible. Mixed deposits are frost susceptible. SUITABILITY FOR CONSTRUCTION Generally good, but requires binder or stabilization for use as fill, base course, or surface course. Contains chert and coal fragments that are deleterious for use as concrete aggregate. Not suitable for foundations because of excessive differential settlement on thaw of ice-rich permafrost; requires special de- sign to prevent thaw of permafrost. Con- struction materials not readily available. Not suitable for foundations because of excessive differential settlement on thaw of ice-rich permafrost; requires special de- sign to Prevent thaw of permafrost. With the proper silt content, material locally may be suitable for fill, but would require stabilization and special design to prevent wind deflation. Not otherwise suitable for borrow. Not suitable for foundations because of excessive differential settlement on thaw of ice-rich permanfrost; requires special design to prevent thaw of permafrost. Not suitable for borrow except as binder material. Adequate for natural foundations but re- quires stabilization (or addition of binder) for use as surfacing material, fill, etc.; re- quires special design to prevent differntial settlement on thaw of permafrost if natur- al materials contain ice in excess of vol- ume of voids. Easy to work in individual dune ridges, and relatively easy to exca- vate with ripper. Not suitable for foundations because of excessive differential settlement on thaw of ice-rich permafrost; requires special de- In to prevent thaw of permafrost. Not suitable for binder because of excess or- ganic material, nor for any other borrow material. Unsuitable for foundations because of po- tential for local differential settlement on thaw of permafrost and because of insta- bility of slope. SPECIAL PROBLEMS Small volume at inland sites. Need for im- pact evaluation at ocean sites to determin whether or not material would be replacec naturally by present-day currents and whe ther any harmful erosion would result High liquefaction potential when thawed Easily eroded. Easily eroded by water and wind whe! surface vegetation removed. Easily gullied by running water wher water channeled by construction or wher surface vegetation is removed. Extremely susceptible to wind erosion (de flation) once sand is placed at surface o1 construction project, or when protectiv vegetation is stripped away. Very sensitiv to surface disturbance. Easily eroded by running water whei water channeled by contruction activity 0 when surface vegetation removed. Subject to slow or sudden movement: during summer when active layer is thick est and saturated with water. Qal Qoy Qty Qto DESCRIPTION OF MATERIALS Alluvium Well sorted, stratified to lenticular depo- sits of gravel, sand, and silt, generally be- coming finer downstream. Medium to coarse sandy gravel, some fine gravel, and coarse to fine sand, minor medium and fine sand and silt Fine sandy gravel and gravelly sand, some medium to coarse sand minor fine sand and silt Fine to medium sand, some coarse sand and fine gravel in local lenses; rm’ vor silty sand and silt Fine sand, sandy silt, and silt Gravel is subrounded to angular depending on its source in marine and fluvial gravel or in broken and weathered bedrock. Silt and organic lenses common in all types of alluvium, particularly as overbank deposits on flood plain and low terrace alluvium. Representative lithologic types are gray- wacke, chert, diabase, sandstone, conglo- erate, limestone, and quartz monzonite in the mountains, and sandstone, siltstone, chert, quartz, and coal in the coastal plain. Outwash gravel and terrace deposits Cobble gravel to medium and coarse sana; clasts well rounded to subrounded, gen- erally 2 to 10 cm in diameter; rarely in- cludes boulders as large as 20 cm in dia- meter, and are of local rock types--chert, graywacke, diabase, quartzite, quartz, arkose, limestone, and quartz monzonite. Well sorted, stratified, and includes minor beds and lenses of fine material, much of which forms the surface mantle. High-level gravel (ancestral Colville) Chiefly sandy cobble and pebble gravel to 10 cm in diameter and sand beds and lenses. Clasts well rounded to subrounded and are 60% chert, 30% graywacke, and 10% quartzite, diabase, and quartz. Well sorted, stratified, and includes minor beds of silt; mantled with organic-rich silt. Younger till Sandy bouldery gravel with subrounded to subangular clasts to 50 cm diameter; some boulders and cobbles striated and faceted. Matrix of gravel contains silt and clay. De- Posit poorly sorted and generally nonstra- tified. Older till As mapped, shows the extent of a glacia- tion the deposits of which now consist of widely scattered erratics of resistant rock types and only a few remnants of weather- ed drift. Erratics rarely striated, but com- monly faceted; range from 0.5 to 2.0 min diameter. Bedrock undifferentiated Includes graywacke, sandstone, siltstone, shale, and conglomerate in the foothills; chert, limestone. diabase, graywacke, zite, shale, and conglomerate in the moun- tains; and sandstone, clay, lignite, coal, bentonitic clay, shale, siltstone, and lime- stone in the coastal plain. DISTRIBUTION AND THICKNESS Includes floodplain and low terraces (less than 10 m high) bordering streams. Thick- ness in Colville River area 1 to 25 m. In Meade-Kuk-Avalik area streams in many Places scouring bedrock, and fluvial depo- sits may be less than 1 m thick. Deposits much thicker in modern deltas. Forms terrace remnants bordering most of the major rivers in mountains and foothills; two persistent levels are 39-58 m and 9-18 m above mountain streams; deposits man- tled with 0.5 to 5 m of carbonaceous silt. Caps the high terrace south of Meat Moun- tain, and occupies the broad valley extend- ing southeastward to the Colville River. Thickness 2 to 10 m. Present only in Nigu River valley and as very small deposits at head of the streams southwest of Thunder Mountain. Thick- ness 1 to 20 m. Commonly present as isolated boulders and discontinuous deposits. Eroded along centers of modern valleys. Ubiquitous in foothills and mountains. In coastal plain west of longitude 156 W, exposed in river beds and banks nearly to apex of deltas; exposed locally in coastal bluffs from Wainwright to Nokotlek River and from Peard Bay to about 71 N. East of longitude 156 W, bedrock is exposed in bluffs along the Colville River to just north of 70 N, along the Kogasukruk River, but elsewhere bedrock exposures end about 80 km from the coast—near the base of the foothills. TOPOGRPAHY AND DRAINAGE Forms terraced plain, part of which is oc- cupied by stream channel and bars, the rest by terraces. Old stream meander scrolls on the lower terraces have been widened by thaw lake processes, and on the higher terraces the meander scroll pattern has been nearly or completely obliterated by thaw lake activity. Drain- age generally poor. Subject to seasonal flooding to 6 or 8 m above low water on many rivers and to 3 m by ocean storm surges in river deltas. Flat to gently sloping terraces bounded by scarps. Would normally be well drained if not for permafrost. Flat to gently sloping terrace bounded by scarps. Would normally be well drained if not for permafrost. Hummocky morainal topography dissect- ed by small streams. Lakes common at head of Nigu River. Well-drained knolls have active layer of 1 m thickness and are well drained, but depressions in unintegra- ted drainage system are poorly drained. Glaciation formed broad valley surfaces and smoothed resistant bedrock ridges; former glacial surface has been dissected as much as 230 m. Exposed on summits and steep mountain slopes, in river beds and banks, and in coastal bluffs. PERMAFROST Perennially frozen except for a 2-to-6 m thick unfrozen layer beneath some of the larger channels, a much thicker (perhaps perforating) unfrozen zone beneath the Colville River, and Teshekpuk Lake - in all these areas the thermal disturbance caused by the body of surface water seems ade- quate to elevate the ground water temper- ature to some level above the freezing point. Elsewhere active layer about 0.5 m thick. Ice content of permafrost in gener- ally granular deposits probably less than in finer materials, even though ice wedges are well developed, especially on terraces. Ice content not known. Permafrost present throughout unit to within 0.5 m of surface. Ice content and potential thaw settlement somewhat simi- lar to fluvial deposits (Qal). Permafrost present throughout unit to within 0.5 m of surface. Ice content and potential thaw settlement somewhat simi- lar to fluvial deposits (Qal). Permafrost present throughout unit to within 0.5 m of surface. Ice content and potential thaw settlement probably high in silty till, but relatively low in sandy boulder gravel. Permafrost present to within 0.5 m of sur- face. Ice content and potential thaw settle ment probably high where till thick and silty. Present to depths as great as 405 m (ac- cording to 1944-53 test well and tempera- ture data). Ice content generally insigni- ficant in hard, jointed rocks in which ice merely fills the cracks. Significantly high ice content in weathered zone and in near- surface siltstone, shale, clay, and other rocks may produce settlement of these rock types on thawing of permafrost. SUSCEPTIBILITY TO FROST ACTION Overbank silt deposits and silty lenses in alluvial deposits are frost susceptible, but granular materials are not. Silt mantle and beds and lensesof silt with- in alluvium are frost susceptible; granular material is not frost susceptible. Silt mantle and beds and lenses of silt with- in alluvium are frost susceptible; granular material is not frost susceptible. Till is locally susceptible to frost action. Silty weathered till is susceptible to frost action. Thin-bedded, well-bedded, and foliated rocks are susceptible to frost action. Frost may split apart even most durable rocks by expansion of water freezing along joint planes. SUITABILITY FOR CONSTRUCTION Provides good foundations in channel and bar areas, and moderately good founda- tions on silty overbank deposits that man- tle older parts of floodplain and terraces. Except where poorly graded in pit run, Provides excellent source of gravel in mountains and foothills; gravel generally suitable for fill, base course, surface course but presence of chert and coal limit its usefulness as aggregate. In coastal plain, gravel deposits are discontinuous and of small volume; they commonly rest directly on clay and sandstone bedrock or weather- ed bedrock in major streams west of 156 W. to east of 156 W fluvial deposits are sandy, and gravel is lacking in most of coastal plain. Provides good foundations if silt overbur- den is allowed for in design without up- setting thermal regime of any ice rich part of the deposit. Excellent source of gravel which is suitable for fill, base course, sur- face course, but unsatisfactory for aggre- gate because of chert content. Provides good foundations if silt overbur- den is allowed for in design without up- setting thermal regime of any ice-rich part of the deposit. Excellent source of gravel which is suitable for fill, base course, and surface course (with proper grading) but unsatisfactory for aggregate because of c chert content. Suitable for fill, and where sandy and rela- tively free of silt, can be used for borrow where non-frost susceptible materials are required. Use as aggregate limited by nor- mal high silt content and by chert. Boul- der concentrations may provide a very small local source of rip rap. In some areas, [material] may provide local source of material for making crushed stone. Limited as to quantity available for use. Normally makes good foundations, except for bentonitic clay and shale which pro- duce unstable slopes and landsliding. In- dividual beds may prove to be suitable for construction after appraisal by conven- tional tests and in terms of economics of site and development costs. SPECIAL PROBLEMS Subject to river erosion, and on some streams, to burial by ice and channel shifts caused by icings (aufeis). Sandy alluvium subject to wind deflation if surface cover is stripped. Subject locally to stream erosion. Subject locally to stream erosion. Variable silt content makes use as non- frost susceptible material questionable without testing. Subject to flowage on slopes. Undisturbed soils are generally protected from erosion by their natural vegetative cover. When vegetation or organic litter is disturbed or re- moved, wind and water may cause erosion. Soil that is frozen or covered by snow, as it is for eight to nine months a year in the Arctic, is effec- tively protected from erosion. During summer thaw, the tundra mat acts as a barrier to erosion if undisturbed by animals or man. Some soil properties are of special interest to engineers because they affect the construction and maintenance of roads, airports, and pipelines; the foundations of buildings; facilities for storing water; structures for con- trolling erosion; drainage systems; and systems for disposing of sewage. Among the properties most important to the engineer are sheer strengh, compaction characteristics, soil drainage, permeability, shrink-swell charac- teristics, grain size, and plasticity. On-site studies of these properties will be necessary for construction in NPR-A. Soil Descriptions by Physiographic Provinces The Brooks Range physiographic province consists mainly of very steep slopes of exposed bedrock and coarse rubble with small inclusions of shallow, very gravelly and stony soils in alpine valleys and on more gently sloping areas. Near Howard Pass and in the De Long Mountains solifluction (down-slope flow of wet soil over frozen subsoil) processes are active where soil exists. Gravelly glacial till is found in the large valleys, and glacial outwash deposits extend into the foothills along most drainages. Vegetative cover is sparse and limited throughout this province, and virtually no vascular vegetation occurs above altitudes of 3,000 ft. In contrast to the steep slopes of the Brooks Range, the Arctic Foothills province has rolling topography and broad drainages in the uplands; the foothills level out to a gentle plain extending north. Soils form in a variety of parent materials, ranging from very gravelly deposits on ridges and upper slopes to medium- and fine-grained materials in lower areas. In many places at lower altitudes, these materials are mantled with windblown silts. The dominant soils of the foothills are poorly drained and form in silty and clayey materials. These soils generally occur on long foot slopes and broad valleys. A few well-drained, very gravelly soils have dark upper layers that are nonacid or only slightly acid. A few peat soils occur in valley bottoms, and some sandy soils occur in isolated dunes bordering major streams. Permafrost of the Foothills province is generally near the ground surface. Many of the tractor trails across the tundra in the Colville River area are deeply gullied on low to moderate slopes, indicating a high degree of soil erodability when vegetative cover is removed. Limitations on all uses of these soils are severe because of the high erosion potential. The Arctic Coastal Plain province includes low floodplain terraces along streams draining the north-facing slopes of the mountains. Materials un- derlying the soils consist of alluvial sands and silts interstratified with marine sediments in the coastal area. Extensive windblown sand deposits and low dunes occur along streams between the Meade and Colville Rivers. In places, peaty materials have been buried by more recent deposits and can be observed in cut banks or excavations. Generally, soils of the plain 15 are poorly drained, thawing to not more than |8 inches (in) in summer. Loamy textures are common on terraces and floodplains, and organic soils occur in depressions. Overall susceptibility to erosion is moderate, al- though streambank and shoreline erosion on ponds, coastal lakes, and along coastal shorelines is extensive, particularly in early summer. Plate 4 indicates erosion potential and coastal erosion rates in the Reserve. The soil taxonomy of the National Cooperative Soil Survey groups soils into six categories or levels. In the exploratory survey of the study area, soils were classified in subgroups, or the fourth level in the six-level taxomonic system used by soil survey organizations of the U.S. Department of Agri- culture. The areas delineated on the soils map (fig. 3) and identified by a symbol are referred to as mapping units. Each mapping unit consists of segments of the study area with a distinctive topographic and soil pattern. Most of the mapping units of the exploratory survey are associations of soils in two or more of the subgroups. Climate All of NPR-A lies within the Arctic climatic zone. On an annual basis, the average temperature within this zone is about I7°F. Annual precipitation ranges from an average of less than 5 in in the north to more than 20 in to the south in the Brooks Range. Characteristic of the climatic zone are long, cold winters, short, cool summers, moderate to light rainfall during summer and relatively light snowfall during winter. Prevailing winds in NPR-A are generally easterly with an average velocity of about 10 miles per hour in the coastal areas. The coast is generally windier than the interior. At Umiat the prevailing and storm winds tend to be from the west. Winds are channeled in the valleys between the linear ridges and in the passes. Fog during summer commonly obstructs vision along the coast. During winter ground-based temperature inversions frequently occur on calm days. Visibility is also reduced by blowing snow during winter. Figures 4 through 7 and table | present information on average precipitation, snow- fall, frequency of occurrence of Precipitation, winds, and depth of snow on the ground throughout the year. Air Quality The air quality within NPR-A is believed to be high; few determinations of air quality have been made to date. Except for some dust or smoke near communities, the only known pollutants normally result from natural sources. Suspended particle measurements may be high locally because of windblown dust from beaches, sand bars, and from salt spray at coastal localities. Air inversions are common to NPR-A, but the persistent light winds along the coastal plain of the Reserve prevent the development of air masses containing pollutants. Natural wild fires may also affect air quality, but these generally are rare within the Reserve. Water Resources There appears to be an abundant supply of water in NPR-A in the myriad lakes on the coastal plain and numerous streams and rivers that drain the 16 oat LOCATION MAP. CHUKCHI <40 4aray VA UNIVERSAL TRANSVERSE MERCATOR PROJECTION | patnymerRic in Source: USGS oper MATION DISPLAYED IN METERS 76823 map, sheet 2 RANGE AND TOWNSHIP GRIDS BASED ON ALASKA COORDINATE SYSTEM WAINWRIG! i ts SCALE een Sd HS? Statute Mes Seeded? MHlometers ee et UM RESERVE BEAUFORT Sane Ss HK gf \ © PRUDHOE BA DEADHORSE “4 2) =f =) xk 5} ahd | 3h : \ 6 69” ye 130° 4 Erosion Potential and Coastal Erosion Rates EROSION POTENTIAL Low MEDIUM MEDIUM — HIGH HIGH Yi S Modified from: USGS, Brosional Hazards to the Coastal Portion of NPR-A and AEIDC, Alashe Regional Profiles, Vou 1875. NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE - ALASKA USS. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR | PLATE NO. 4 COASTAL NPR-A STUDIES EROSION RATES INTENSE (yearly rates of coastal retreat from 15 - 22 meters) VERY HIGH (yearly rates of co: al retreat from 10-15 meters) HIGH (yearly rates of coastal retreat from 6 - 10 meters) MODERATE (yearly rates of coastal retreat from 2 - 6 meters) Low (yearly rates of coastal retreat from 0 - 2 meters) STABLE to prograding coast Solid boundaries delineate areas of either measured rates of retreat oF tieid observations of coastal morDnology. ‘Dasned Boundaries delineate areas in which rates of re | {eat are estimated on the bests of examination of single thon sequentiat sets of sie photos and topographic maps, Icy Cape ° WAINWRIGHT J IAHP_ IAP im 2g 10 20 30 40 50 Miles a oO 10 20 30 40 50 Kilometers — | NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE - ALASKA 160° Pt. Franklin Point Barrow BARROW NPR -A Boundry Cape Halkett HARRISON Atigaru Point IAHP _ IAP Figure 3. DISTRIBUTION OF SOIL TYPES. From AEIDC (1975). Poorly drained, fibrous peat; shallow permafrost table IAHP Poorly drained soils with peaty surface layer; shallow permafrost table IAP Poorly drained soils; shallow to deep permafrost table MAP Poorly drained soils with dark, nonacid upper layer; shallow to deep permafrost table EQpP Well-drained, sandy soils with dark, nonacid upper layer; deep permafrost table MBP Well-drained soils with dark, nonacid upper layer; deep permafrost table RB Loose stone rubble; little or no vegetation RM Very steep, rocky or ice-covered land SLOPE GROUPS TEXTURAL GROUPS 1. Slopes dominantly less than 12% c Sandy 2. Slopes dominantly steeper than 12% g Very gravelly m Loamy (medium) Explanation of Mapping Unit Symbols IAHP z soil = Poorly drained soils with peaty surface layer; shallow permafrost table im soil group, textural group Slope less than 12%,loamy (medium) 6a" Symbol represents dominant soil or, if hypenated, soils in association. All mapping units include soils in addition to those indicated by the mapping unit symbol. 154° 5Y 54 1520 AINWRIGHT 7 : BEAUFORT SEA Icy Cape , ATKASOOK NUIQSUT . Distribution of mean annual precipitation in NPR-A. From Federal- State Land Use Planning Com- mission (1975). XPLANATION Line of equal mean annual ao hm 5 precipitation in inches ISS RAW SS SQR—q_VWwW g IS SS SSSR SS OG 3 2 WFAA e o oO ¢ n ° eo 2 RS hho BARROW V7, umiat WSS SS SSS HR.AWN EE 5. Frequency of occurrence o A 1 | 1 1 1 1 i ry ° ir ° wo ° wo ° 0 ° irs) ire} + + ” N a = = Figure JONSYYNDIO JO AONINODAYS 1 23 Figure 6. Isopleths of snow depths and ice thickness in northern Alaska during selected months in 1976 and 1977. ARCTIC OCEAN Chukchi Sea ARCTIC OCEAN Beaufort Sea 68°4 Ice thickness in inches Isopieth snow deptn in Inches — 10 Snow and ice thickness, northern Alaska, January 31, 1977 r 7 pai — ——, 168° i 162° 156) 150° 144 ARCTIC OCEAN Beaufort Sea 68 Ice thickness in incnes G9 Isopieth snow depth in inches — Snow and ice thickness, northern Alaska, February 28, 1977 Mountainous areas may have snow depth greater than depicted. The isopleths generally represent snow depth at low altitude. 24 —r T T T T L 79° 168° 162° 156° 150° 14a? ARCTIC OCEAN Beaufort 7024 Sea 10 Chukchi Sea 4 68° 20 lca tnicxnens in incre @) os Isopretn snow depth in inches L 66° @) \ © \ 664 0 ‘ 168° 30 150° 144° \ Ls L 1 Snow and ice thickness, northern Alaska, March 31, 1977 > +r r 10? 168 162° 156° 150° 144° ARCTIC OCEAN Beaufort 70°4 s. Chukchi Sea = 10 h63° 20 sos tonal on Isopieth snow depth in inches \ 63° 4 \ \ $66? ‘ 2o\ \ ° \ 66 4 168° \ 4 1 Snow and ice thickness, northern Alaska, April 30, 1977 ss 1 r r . ° 168° 162° 156° 150° 14a? 70 ARCTIC OCEAN Beaufort 70° 4 Chukchi Sea bes? \ i 58°4 \ f 66° ‘ \ 66° 4 Tce thickness in inches . Isopieth snow depth in incnes ——— | 168° 136° 13P 144° \ — a — a Snow and ice thickness, northern Alaska, December 31, 1977 Modified from Soil Conservation Service, U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, U. S. Geological Survey and National Weather Service (1977- 1978). 25 Ss BARROW Percentage frequency of occurrence of wind direction. Extreme wind for direction noted. Average wind speed for direction noted. Wind speeds are in knots. Knots X 1.15 = miles per hour. The figures in the inner circle show the predominance of the general east-to-west flow of air along the Arctic coast. In none of the locations are the strongest winds associated with prevailing directions. Period of record is 8 to 20 years. Mean Monthly Wind Speed and Prevailing Direction (Speed in knots) Station Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun — Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Anni Barrow 10.3 99 99 10.0 10.5 10.1 10.2 11.0 11.2 11.8 118 99 10.6 ENE E ENE ENE ENE E E E E ENE ENE ENE ENE Umiat 6.1 66 49 60 7.2 76 #62 57 58 45 59 56 6.0 w WwW Ww w E E E E E E w Ww W/E Figure 7. Wind data for Barrow and Umiat. aster AEIDC (1975); U.S. Air Force, Air Weather Service. 26 Table 1. Percentage frequency of occurrence of obstruction to vision. Percentage Observations with Obstructions to Fog Blowing Snow Smoke™* and/or Haze Vision Barrow Umiat Barrow Umiat Umiat Barrow 12.5 14.5 13.7 6.2 8 24.7 13.1 15.7 12.6 8.7 7 25.3 7.9 12.4 10.0 2.0 0 17.3 9.3 13.7 7.8 3.6 16.7 17.4 14.1 4.0 4 21.0 26.4 8.3 5 0 26.9 25.9 6.6 1.0 25.9 25.5 9.5 .0 25.5 17.7 13.4 7 3 0 18.2 13.0 15.9 7.7 1.9 20.9 10.5 15.0 16.3 5.1 .0 26.0 10.4 13.4 13.5 5.8 22.5 15.8 12.7 | 3 22.6 Note: The detailed weather conditions are all average percentage frequency of occurrence values, based on hourly observations. A particular value represents the amount of the total time during that month that an event occurred. Period of record is 8 to 20 years (adapted from U.S. Air Force, Air Weather Service data). * Although reported, smoke and haze have a generally insignificant effect on total vision impairment. 27 terrain. However, continuous permafrost, low winter temperatures, and problems of water transportation and storage limit the availability of water on an annual basis. In addition, economic, technical and practical cons- traints on operations often limit the usability of existing natural supplies of water. Water from snowmelt first begins to flow in late May or early June. The thawing of the ice in lakes lags behind river breakup. The highwater period soon follows and continues until late June. During breakup, the high runoff rates increase the sediment load of the rivers and streams, and the resulting poor quality of water limits its use. The quality of surface water is also decreased in early summer by the increased amounts of in- organic solids and organic pollutants delivered to the streams from lakes or vice versa. From late June, after the runoff has subsided, on into September, quality of surface water varies from place to place in NPR-A, but water is generally dilute and soft. With appropriate treatment, potable supplies are available. During the freezeup period, beginning about mid-September, the quantity of water in the streams and rivers declines rapidly due to the subsidence of runoff. Small streams cease to flow in October and November; flow in the larger rivers may persist until mid winter. Small lakes and ponds may be frozen over in early to mid-September. By late December the streams and lakes have an ice cover of about 3 ft. Throughout winter, water may be locally available beneath the ice in the deeper lakes and pools of rivers which do not freeze to the bottom. The quality of the water in these potential sources continuously deteriorates as the ice thickness increases; as the ice thickens, dissolved chemical constituents are rejected from the ice, causing increased concentrations in the remaining water. By January little free water is available. Some domestic supplies of water are obtained by melting ice and snow. The present consumption of water in NPR-A is limited to domestic use in villages, use by the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory and the DEWLine sites, and some industrial use for oil exploration. Domestic use ranges between 5 and 10 gallons per day (gal/day) per capita, probably averaging about 7 gal/day. Where water has to be carried by individuals from a source point, about 5 gal/day per person is consumed, but with water delivery systems, the consumption rises to about 10-15 gal/day. Because of the nature of local supply, the technical difficulties of conveying and storing water in a form other than ice, and the associated high costs involved, the availability of potable water during the winter is a critical problem. Other special problems are associated with the quantity and quality of water in NPR-A. The disposal of solid waste and sewage must be carefully planned so as to avoid polluting surface-water supplies. Withdrawing water from ice-covered river pools may reduce the size of winter fish habitats or change the quality of the habitat or water source. Flooding in spring or after summer rains inundates large areas along rivers, particularly when there are ice jams; this may affect use of riparian areas. 28 Limiting Physical Factors Several aspects of the physical characteristics of NPR-A_ tend to limit development or use of natural resources. The paragraphs below highlight a few of these factors. Natural erosion is generally minimal during the eight or nine months per year that the ground surface is frozen and snow covered. Most stream- related erosion occurs during and immediately following breakup in the spring of the year when extensive flooding, high flow velocities, and rafted ice can undercut (by thawing and abrasion) the stream banks and cause large blocks of material to slump into streams. Wind erosion is probably most severe during the summer months, although it is believed to be active throughout the year to some extent, especially adjacent to streams or in sandy and silty areas where the wind may scour away all of the snow and attack the underlying materials where the vegetation has been removed by slumping, landslides, traffic, or surface water. Coastal erosion essentially ceases during the winter months, but erosion rates can be high during the brief summer period. During winter the beaches freeze and are covered by snow, as well as by shore-fast ice. During summer, however, the beaches are ice free, and waves driven by the prevailing winds can undercut the steeper scarps along the shore, causing large blocks to break away. Ero- sion rates vary along the shoreline and are greatly increased by severe but infrequent storms, particularly when the ocean is ice free (Plate 4). The maximum recorded earthquake for the NPR-A area was 4.8 on the Richter scale and occurred some distance outside its boundaries. No active tectonic features are known to exist within the Reserve. Nevertheless, planning and design should not ignore potential earthquake hazards. The small amount of total annual solar radiation and the seasonal distri- bution of daylight hours combine to limit the growing season to about 90 days. The soil is cold, and the few frost-free days further restrict the use of land for agriculture. The long, dark winter tends to limit surface travel. Wind chill hazards are particularly severe in winter. Specially designed clothing and buildings can prevent heat loss, but the cost of living is increased by the need for interior lighting and heat during the long winter. OOOOOOOOOOOOSOOOOOOOOOOOGOOOOECOOEOOEEOOOOOEOGOLEOOEEGOEOOLOOOEEEELOEEEEOE, (For a fuller discussion of physical characteristics, see National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, 1978, National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, Physical Profile: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, 105(c) Land Use Study, Study Report I. That volume contains a list of references including the sources of illustrations used herein.) 29 ALLO LAPEER ALN LLL ADL ALLA ALE ADEE : : a Socioeconomic Profile sams—- SOCIOECONOMIC PROFILE - SUMMARY The Inupiat (northern Eskimo) people and their predecessors have occupied arctic Alaska for thousands of years. Two complementary adaptations developed among them. One group of people occupied small settlements along the coast and was strongly dependent on products of the sea. A second, more nomadic group was more oriented toward terrestrial resources. Considerable cultural overlap existed between these groups. Extensive contact with Europeans occurred in the latter half of the nineteenth century. In the ensuing years, the Inupiat have demonstrated a capacity to make technological and cultural adaptations necessitated by contact with the non-Native culture. Most people in northern Alaska live either in the traditional communities of Anaktuvuk Pass, Atkasook, Barrow, Kaktovik, Nuiqsut, Point Hope, Point Lay, and Wainwright or in the Prudhoe Bay area; at industrial enclaves comprised of numerous more or less self-contained company facilities; or at the military establishments associated with the DEWLine, and the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory. Very few people live in other areas of the region, although people commonly temporarily move to camps used as bases from which to conduct subsistence activities. Numerous population changes have occurred in northern Alaska in the last 150 years. Contact with Europeans brought diseases that had decimated the Native population by the beginning of the twentieth century. Since then, the Native population has gradually increased. The non-Native population of northern Alaska has fluctuated widely in response to the several periods of intense economic activity. In 1977 the total population for the region was approximately 10,000, which represents a significant increase since 1970. Well over half of the people living in the North Slope Borough in 1977 were associated with the Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse area. In 1970 less than 300 people were residing in that industrial area, while in 1976, the height of the pipeline construction phase, nearly 9,000 people lived there. Since that time, the population has decreased there as the oil field development moved into production. The population of the region's traditional communities increased by approximately 33 percent during the 1970 to 1977 period. The largest increase occurred in Barrow, but some growth occurred in all the communities. In addition, the numbers of military and civilian personnel associated with the DEWLine and the Cape Lisburne AC&W facility have averaged about 200 every year. Thus, the population in northern Alaska has increased from less than 4,000 in 1970 to a high of nearly 13,000 in 1976, then declined to less than 10,000 in 1977. In 1970, the population of northern Alaska was more than 80 percent Alaska Native, concentrated in five traditional communities then in existence. Since 1970 the racial composition of the region has changed dramatically. In 1977, nearly 60 percent of the borough's total population was non-Native. In the eight traditional communities in existence then, Inupiat still pre- dominated; but in the nontraditional communities, including the military establishments and the Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse area, non-Natives far outnumbered Natives. The age and sex characteristics of the North Slope Borough in 1970 were fundamentally unlike national norms. The median age in 1970 was around 19 31 years, 9 years younger than the national median. Males outnumbered females in 1970 by a significant margin, unlike the 1970 national picture in which females slightly outnumbered males. Land tenure in arctic Alaska is divided between areas of fixed ownership and areas in which ownership is still undecided. Most of the land in the region is managed by the federal government. The largest single block of land under federal ownership is the 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A). This Reserve, formerly managed by the U.S. Navy, has been managed by the Department of the Interior since June I, 1977. A second large block of federal land is the Arctic National Wildlife Range, located in the eastern part of the North Slope Borough. The federal government also manages lands at each of the seven DEWLine sites, the Cape Lisburne AC&W site, and the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory near Barrow. The State of Alaska has 3.4 million acres of patented land in the region with an additional |! million acres pending or tentatively approved. The North Slope Borough is entitled to 10 percent of the State's general grant lands conferred under the Statehood Act and has applied for more than 33 thousand acres, but none has yet been conveyed. Addition- ally the Borough will be entitled to select another 10 percent from state selections in the region, but federal land boundaries must first be formally defined. The Arctic Slope Regional Corporation has received interim con- veyance documents to almost 3 millon acres, nearly all the land awarded to it under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). Each of the traditional villages in the region has obtained interim conveyance documents to lands immediately surrounding their villages. Finally, about 250 parcels of land have been granted to Natives under the Alaska Native Allotment Act of 1906 (none within NPR-A). Communication facilities in the region are operated by state and federal agencies for civil aviation and national defense installations and by private companies, such as RCA Alascom and Wien Air Alaska. Until recently, radio and radio-telephone were the Primary communication systems serving individual communities. However, the construction of telecommunication satellite earth stations by RCA Alascom at Barrow, Anaktuvuk Pass, Cape Lisburne, and Prudhoe Bay has brought long-distance telephone service to some otherwise isolated locations, and more stations are planned. Citizens' band radios are the most common form of intravillage communication. Airplanes are the most frequently utilized transportation mode in northern Alaska and carry most passengers and freight into the region. Regularly scheduled commercial flights serve Barrow and Deadhorse daily and other communities less frequently. Air taxi services at Barrow and Kaktovik Provide intraregional travel. Military installations are served by commercial contracts. Marine transportation is also important, especially for bulky and nonperish- able items. During the short navigable summer season, most traditional villages are serviced by the North Star Ill, a resupply ship operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Industrial and military sites and some com- munities are serviced by tugs and barges. Nearly every community and DEWLine site has a rudimentary local road system. The only extensive high-quality gravel road system link to the 32 rest of the state is the pipeline haul road from Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse to just north of Fairbanks, but at this time it is not open to the general public. Off-road vehicles, particularly snow machines, are extremely im- portant to most individuals in the traditional communities and help compen- sate for the lack of extensive road systems found in other parts of the country. The trans-Alaska pipeline corridor crosses the Arctic north to south, con- necting Prudhoe Bay with Valdez and shipping routes to the south. This 48-inch petroleum pipeline, which transports crude oil, began operating in the summer of 1977. The North Slope Borough became the regional government for all of arctic Alaska in 1972. The Borough has a mayor, elected to a three-year term, and a seven-member assembly. There is also a seven-member school board. This is a home-rule borough, which means that it has all legislative powers not prohibited by state law or its own charter. Sources of revenue for the North Slope Borough include property tax, sales tax, and state and federal government revenues. Barrow, Wainwright, and Point Hope levy local sales taxes. The Borough has assumed responsibility for an extensive capital improvement program designed to provide the residents of the region with many of the services and amenities of modern life. The Arctic Slope Regional Corporation and village corporations in each of the traditional villages were created by ANCSA in 1971. The primary pur- poses of the regional corporation are to receive and disburse money and to select, own, and manage land made available under ANSCA and to conduct business for profit for the benefit of its 3,900 Inupiat stockholders. The Arctic Slope Regional Corporation has made numerous investments and has formed six subsidiary corporations. In June 1977 the total assets of the corporation exceeded $12 million. Activities of the village corporations have varied from village to village. They have established a number of small businesses throughout the borough, and such opportunities seem to be increasing. Each village also has an elected mayor and council. In 1972 the North Slope Borough assumed responsibility for areawide education from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the State of Alaska. Educational facilities are found only in the traditional communities and vary from single-room structures in the smaller villages to the large multibuilding complex found in Barrow. The villages offered only an elementary school curriculum before 1975 when an areawide high school program was initiated. The Inupiat University of the North was founded in 1974, and the Univer- sity of Alaska has an extension program in Barrow which provides post- secondary education to residents throughout the region. Health and social services in the North Slope Borough's traditional com- munities are provided by the U.S. Public Health Service which operates a hospital in Barrow and provides itinerant medical and dental care to the smaller villages of the region; the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, which sponsors the Barrow Health Center and the public health nurses based in Barrow who travel to other communities in the region; and the North Slope Borough Health Department which operates health clinics in 33 the villages outside Barrow and is in the process of setting up health services in Barrow to supplement those of the U.S. Public Health Service. Health services are lacking in areas outside the region's traditional com- munities except for modest facilities at some industrial and military camps. None of the North Slope communities has public water or sewer systems. Most residents obtain drinking water by hauling water and ice from nearby lakes and streams. Water pollution is a problem at the source and at use points in most communities. The principal method of sewage disposal used by North Slope Borough residents is the "honey bucket." Human wastes are collected in plastic bags or barrels and then hauled to a community dump. Waste water from cooking, washing, and bathing generally drains through pipes from the dwelling out to the ground nearby, undoubtedly one major factor contributing to recurrent outbreaks of infectious hepatitis within communities. Modern water treatment and waste disposal facilities are located in the Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse area and at the village of Wainwright and are currently under construction at Barrow. Houses in the North Slope Borough are generally more crowded, less thickly insulated, and have fewer major utilities than houses in other Alaskan urban areas. Many dwellings are being renovated or replaced. The North Slope Borough housing agency is currently constructing public housing units throughout the borough in an effort to meet population growth and replace delapidated dwellings. The Arctic Slope Regional Corporation is sponsoring resettlement of Nuiqsut and is supporting Atkasook and Point Lay in building their new communities. Low-income housing is subsidized with construction funding from general obligation bonds. Contact with Europeans quickly changed the nature of the Inupiat economic system. An immediate effect was movement of inland peoples to the coast where opportunities for trade and employment with the Europeans were readily available. Another effect was introduction of new materials and items to the Natives. Ready adoption of new technologies and materials was a prime characteristic of the Inupiat well before European contact. Thus, incorporation of these new items did not initially disrupt their culture. A cash economy has not replaced subsistence in northern Alaska. The Inupiat seem to be evolving a culture that satisfies their cultural needs and is both appropriate to the twentieth century and to the environment of northern Alaska. The opportunities for cash employment have increased dramatically in recent years. The largest single employment sector in the region is contract construction, that is, work associated with construction of the Prudhoe Bay /Deadhorse area and construction in the traditional villages. The second largest employment sector is petroleum-related mining activities, including operations associated with Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse oil fields and petroleum exploration activities in NPR-A and elsewhere. The third largest employ- ment is government, with the majority of positions falling in the category of state and, especially, local government. Work associated with the petroleum activities is located primarily outside traditional villages; contract construction jobs are available both in and outside traditional communities. Most government positions are located in the traditional villages, principally in Barrow. Employment opportunities within traditional villages are few. 34 On the whole, the labor force in northern Alaska is highly skilled. However, a great disparity in skill levels exists between the resident Native population and nonresident workers. In recent years job-training programs have tended to raise the skill levels of the Native population, but unem- ployment and underemployment comprise a serious problem in the North Slope Borough, particularly in the traditional communities. Job oppor- tunities in the area tend to peak in late summer and early fall and reach seasonal low levels in mid- to late winter. The average annual wage in the North Slope Borough region in 1976 exceeded $46,000. That figure was more than double the average for the rest of the state. However, over the region there was a great range of salaries. In 1975, the median family income was less than $10,000 in two villages, and averaged only $23,000 in Barrow. In spite of recent economic opportunities, the Inupiat people continue to depend on subsistence. During the extreme fluctuations in economic oppor- tunities that have become typical of the region, the Inupiat have retained strong ties to their homeland. Their resource use patterns were determined by custom and not by Western notions of land ownership. Today, high prices, high unemployment, and limited economic opportunities combine so that subsistence continues to be an economic necessity. Cultural values that accompany subsistence activities are important to the Inupiat. Communities and families were, and continue to be, organized around the hunt. Culturally and esthetically valuable ceremonies attend the preparation, harvest, and distribution of subsistence products. The Inupiat language evolved from and gains meaning from hunting activities. Hunting skills impart a knowledge of natural systems, an important aspect of adaptation to an otherwise hostile environment. The continued practice of subsistence is the very cornerstone of the Inupiat culture. However modified by future events, subsistence in some form, will continue as a functional and cultural imperative of these people. Regional differences in subsistence resource availability are extremely important, but most subsistence products come from whales (primarily bowhead), caribou, or several species of seals. Other important resources include water birds and their eggs, fish, fur bearers, moose, Dall sheep, grizzly bear, and polar bear. Some berries and edible roots are also harvested. There are two distinct resource districts in northern Alaska--coastal/ marine and terrestrial/aquatic. The coastal/marine district uniformly shares the same basic food resources (whales, seals, walrus, waterfowl, and fish), though they vary in numbers and seasonal availability at different villages. Migratory marine mammals and waterfowl are available in western communi- ties, such as Point Hope, before they arrive at eastern ones. Generally, caribou arrive earlier and are available to a somewhat greater extent near inland villages than near coastal ones. Dall sheep are restricted to the mountains, and grizzly bear are more common there. Normally, villages exploit those resources that are the most available to them. If, for some reason, a normally harvested resource becomes tem- porarily unavailable, pressure is shifted to another component of the sys- 35 tem. The distribution of animal resources, their migration routes, and seasonal and cyclic variables determine in an extremely complex fashion what, where, and when resources will be harvested. It is, therefore, not possible to delineate restricted zones of subsistence activity in northern Alaska. Certain areas are only infrequently used, but when they are, they are extremely important. Change is a characteristic of life, but the degree of change occurring in northern Alaska is far greater than in most other segments of modern society. The Inupiat community is having to make numerous adjustments to changes in the economic, cultural, and governmental forces. A second important group of people living in northern Alaska, the white component, has been virtually unstudied. Typically, this group is transient, separated from their families, and highly paid for the brief job period. Not surprisingly, both of these groups exhibit a number of social problems that have arisen at least partially from the amount of change and other stresses that they are currently undergoing. Alcohol abuse is a problem throughout Alaska, but particularly serious in northern Alaska. Drinking consumes valuable time and cash and severely disrupts normal social and family structure. A number of illicit drugs are also readily available and widely used, particularly among the young. Alcohol abuse ranked as the fourth leading cause of hospitalization in the Barrow hospital from 1974 through 1976. Most crime in northern Alaska is directly related to drug and alcohol abuse. The period 1973 through 1975 saw a large increase in the reported number of attempted suicides in northern Alaska, and the number of persons hospitalized for mental illness from the Barrow census district was one of the largest in the state. With the passage of the ANCSA and the creation of the North Slope Borough and the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, the opportunities for Native residents of the region to participate in their political and govern- mental affairs increased dramatically. All Native residents are stockholders in the regional corporation and, in addition, many are members of advisory councils and boards for the borough, regional and village corporations, and various federal and state governmental agencies. Non-Native residents can Participate, but usually do so as advisors and consultants. The types of social and recreational events in North Slope villages today come from a mixture of traditional and modern sources. The most important ceremonial event in coastal villages is the whaling feast or Nalukataq. Christmas and the Fourth of July are the two most important nontraditional celebrations. Recreation, as a distinct group of activities in the Western sense, did not exist in traditional Native culture. Activities that non- residents might consider recreation, such as hunting, fishing, and dancing, were either utilitarian or ceremonial to the Natives. Nontraditional recrea- tional facilities are limited but heavily used in most traditional villages. In the Prudhoe Bay area extensive indoor facilities are available to some workers but not to others. Newspapers are brought into the region by air freight, most of them a day late. Two current events newsletters are being produced in Barrow. Satellite and cable television are available in some communities, and movies are frequently shown in most traditional villages. 36 Conclusion Greek philosophers long ago concluded that the whole person combined well-developed sensory, affective, and logical faculties. In this view, the person whose individual and social life did not exercise these faculties would be deficient and deformed. In tradition-strong Inupiat society the subsistence complex is the principal medium that permits whole-person development, that exercises the culturally distinct physical, emotional, and mental faculties of the Inupiat people. If it were possible to convert the values of Inupiat subsistence to Euro-American terms, the list would include family responsibilities, friendships, club and volunteer activities, work, church, recreation, education, public service, and probably a host of others. The noted conservationist Raymond Dasmann has distinguished between eco- system people and biosphere people, the former being those whose lives and sustenance derive mainly or in significant part from a traditional homeland, the latter being those whose sphere of action--through technological outreach--is worldwide. Today the Inupiat and their biosphere neighbors face decisions revolving around subsistence that will determine whether those Inupiat who wish to do so can remain ecosystem people. The decisions relate only in part to marketplace economics. They also relate to a cluster of values central to the well-being of the permanent inhabitants of northern Alaska. These people do not wish to be ethnolo- gical oddities--throwbacks to pre-European contact times, to please romantic visitors and novelists. In any case, they cannot go back since modern subsistence requires an integrated natural resource and cash economy. Most of these people wish to retain the option--through retention of the natural resource base that is their homeland--to participate in varying degrees in the subsistence lifestyle. Using the social and economic combinations discussed above, some Inupiat would be full-time subsisters, others would participate selectively or part time in both a cash job and in the harvest of natural resources, and others would be sponsors and dependent beneficiaries who would share in the use of cash and subsistence products. Through ceremonies and holiday activities, essentially the whole community would continue to share in both material benefits and the cultural values that make up the Inupiat way of life. Retention of the subsistence option, through cooperative planning and decision making, is one of the most important conditions for amicable resolu- tion of national and local interests in NPR-A and bordering areas of northern Alaska. If those responsible for carrying out the national interest protect the physical health and traditional uses of Inupiat homeland, the Inupiat people will see to their own cultural evolution. Unless these social and cultural goals are firmly set at the beginning--with land-use planning and development organized around them and, where necessary, subordinated to them--amicable resolution will be impossible. Across the Arctic lands and elsewhere in the world, ad hoc or strictly profit-motivated developments have almost uniformly degraded Native homelands, peoples, and cultures. The chance to reverse this trend exists in northern Alaska today. ROOOOOOOEEOOOOGOOOOEOOOOEELEOEOLOEELGEEOEOEOOEOOEEOEEOOEOEEEOEOEEOEEEEOOOEOEOOEEEEEE (For a fuller discussion, see National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska Task Force, 1978, Nation- al Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, Socioeconomic Profile: | U.S. Department of the Interior, National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, 105(c) Land Use Study, Report 3.) 37 ECOIOGICA! Profile mm ECOLOGICAL PROFILE - SUMMARY Introduction Productivity in biological systems in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A) is severely limited by physical factors which include low temperatures, a short season for photosynthesis, and the presence of permafrost. Primary productivity is only a fraction of that occurring in temperate or subarctic ecosystems. The aboveground portion of plant biomass is small compared to that of other ecosystems, especially in the wet sedge meadows, and little woody material is produced. Even though seasonal biomass production is very low due to the short growing season, daily production rates can be relatively high, especially if below-ground growth is included; up to five times more production may occur under- ground than aboveground in tundra plants. Consumers of vegetative resources (herbivores) are in turn limited by the low production of plant material. The biomass of large herbivores (mainly caribou) in the North American tundra averages about 100 pounds per square mile (Ib/mi2). A greater variety of large herbivores in the African savannas may produce 100,000 Ib/mi2. In temperate areas, biomasses of up to 20,000 Ib/mi2 are common. Use of specific portions of NPR-A by caribou is essentially seasonal and such’ short-term usage permits biomass production of up to 1,300 Ib/mi2. Lemmings, the most important herbivores of the wet sedge meadows, exist at the peak of their 3- to 5-year cycles in densities comparable to those of small mammals in tropical zones. These peaks are reached through con- sumption of both seasonal and accumulated nutrients and minerals. The peak years are followed by periods of extreme scarcity; the ratio of peak density to lowest density may be as great as 400:1. Several Arctic animal populations fluctuate in a cyclic manner, making it difficult to determine the impacts of man's activities and to manage harvests by the maximum sustained yield concept. Arctic ecosystems can be treated as stable systems only over immense geographic areas, and they require long periods of time to recover following disturbance. The ecological sys- tems of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A) are described in the Ecological Profile at a level sufficient to provide a basis for broad management and land use decisions. The Ecological Profile divides NPR-A into five major ecosystems. These systems are (I) the coastal and marine zone, (2) the wet sedge meadows, (3) the upland tussock tundra, (4) the riverine systems and floodplains, and (5) the alpine tundra (fell-fields). The geographic distribution of these systems is shown in Plate |. Because of its overlapping use and key influence on all the above five systems, the caribou population is treated as a sixth system. Coastal and Marine Zone The Beaufort and Chukchi Seas extending from NPR-A are shallow, and the nearshore and shore areas are subject to ice scour except where lagoons, bays and inlets are protected by barrier islands and spits. These pro- tected waters, together with the estuaries of the major rivers, have the greatest primary productivity of this zone. Marine mammals and fish are 39 ultimately dependent on this productivity. Emergent grasses and sedges occur in brackish marsh ponds, and submergent plants grow in some pro- tected lagoons. Kelp beds are rare but have been reported near Wain- wright and in Peard Bay. Walrus, ringed seals, bearded seals and beluga whales are the zone's common marine mammals. In winter, the ringed seal is the most common species using the nearshore ice environment. It in turn is preyed upon by polar bear. The diversity of marine fish is relatively low. Of the 60 species reported for the Arctic coast, many are rare. Thirteen of the species are anadro- mous, spending only part of their life cycles in the marine environment. Because the barrier islands are low-lying and exposed to ice scouring and summer storms, vegetation is sparse or absent. These islands provide nesting sites protected from predation for common eiders and glaucous gulls. Especially during post-breeding molt and the fall migration, the shores of barrier islands and the lagoons are used by large numbers of oldsquaws, brant, phalarope, and other shorebirds and waterfowl. Densities of more than 620 birds per mile of shoreline have been reported as being common along barrier island beaches in August and September. Wet Sedge Meadows About one-half of the coastal plain and one-fourth of the foothills of NPR-A consists of wet sedge meadows. These meadows are characterized by peaty soils with a shallow active layer above the continuous permafrost and a water-saturated surface in summer. On the coastal plain, the meadow plant community occurs in a mosaic with innumerable, small, relatively shallow lakes. Carex aquatilis and Eriophorum angustifolium are the dominant sedge species. The microrelief features associated with low and high center ice-wedge polygons provide drier sites supporting a variety of other plant species. A few dwarf woody plants occur on the drier sites, as do lichens. Pendent grass (Arctophila fulva) is an important emergent species on the shorelines and in the shallowest zones of ponds; it is extensively used by waterfowl! and shorebirds. An important limiting factor to plant productivity in the wet sedge meadows is the low rate of decomposition. This results in net accumulation of dead organic matter and slow release of nutrients. Only a small percentage of the nutrients present are in the living components of the system at any given time. Soluble soil nitrogen and phosphorus are in short supply, due to slow decay of dead plant material, and phosphorus in particular appears to be a major limiting factor for plant growth. Ponds in the wet sedge meadow areas are therefore usually deficient in nitrogen and phosphorus and thus have low productivity. Plant consumption in wet sedge meadows is dominated by a single species, the brown lemming. This rodent shows extreme fluctuations in numbers in 3- to 5-year cycles. These cycles are of such a magnitude as to greatly influence the vegetation, the competitors and the predators of this species and, indirectly, all other components of the ecosystem. Certain specialized predators of the brown lemming, such as pomarine jaegers and snowy owls, may be absent or may not breed during periods when lemming populations 40 are at their cycle lows in a given area. The Arctic fox populations also increase and decrease in cycles, but by using alternative prey, such as birds, and scavenging, foxes in this area are not entirely dependent upon lemmings. The annual freezing of lakes and streams to depths of about 6 feet (ft) has a major influence on fish distribution, in both numbers of fish and variety of species present. Shallow lakes without outlets usually freeze to the bottom, and most are devoid of fish life. A few of these lakes contain ninespine stickleback and Alaska blackfish which either overwinter in deeper holes in lake bottoms or enter from the wet tundra marshes with runoff water during the spring thaw period. Shallow lakes with outlets usually support relatively larger summer fish populations and up to six species of fish. These fish either migrate from the lakes each winter prior to freeze-up or are replaced each spring by new fish. Deeper lakes, with or without permanent outlets, generally have substantial numbers and several varieties of fish, especially if spawning substrate is present. Lakes of the wet meadow zone are usually of thaw origin, and productivity is limited by low levels of phosphorus. Flooded areas and shallow lakes may support dense and diverse populations of invertebrates in summer. These include fairy shrimp, springtails, snails, water fleas, and midge larvae. In terrestrial habitats, invertebrates that feed on dead organic matter are most common, but species that feed on the below-ground plant parts are also important. Invertebrates are utilized by a variety of waterfowl, shorebirds, other birds, and fish. The number of birds that feed primarily on invertebrates in NPR-A is relatively stable from year to year. Large carnivores (wolves and grizzly bears) are relatively uncommon in the wet sedge meadow zone. Their numbers may increase seasonally in con- junction with movements of caribou and moose. Upland Tussock Tundra Upland tussock tundra is the most abundant vegetation type on NPR-A, covering a_ significant portion of the coastal plain, especially in the southern part, most of the foothills, and portions of the mountains up to altitudes of 3,000 ft. In spite of its prevalence, this zone has only recently become the subject of intensive ecological study. The dominant plant species in upland tussock tundra is the tussock-forming cottongrass, Eriophorum vaginatum. Individual tussocks are typically 1/2 to | foot in diameter and height, and are separated by troughs about | foot in width. Scattered among and on the tussocks are secondary species, including grasses, sedges, and dwarf shrubs. Lichens are more abundant here than in wet meadows, especially in association with the drier tussock communities. Mean annual aboveground production of vascular plants in tussock tundra biomass near Umiat was 0.13 pound per square foot. Of this, nearly 50 percent was from cottongrass and the remainder from low shrubs. The live biomass of tussock tundra vegetation contains less than | percent of the total organic matter, nitrogen, and phosphorus in the system. Most of the nitrogen and phosphorus is held in the organic soil layer. Al ALASKA LOCATION MAP \ “S404 raw UNIVERSAL TRANSVERSE MERCATOR PROJECTION BATHYMETRIC INFORMATION DISPLAYED IN METERS Source: USGS openvtie 76-323 mab, sheet 1 RANGE ANO TOWNSHIP GRIDS BASED ON ALASKA COORDINATE SYSTEM + —— ——— « 152” J ff NATIONAL NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE - ALASKA US. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NERA STUDIES. PLATE NO. 1 Major Ecological Systems MARINE and COASTAL ZONE RIVERINE. SYSTEMS and FLOODPLAINS UPLAND TUSSOCK TUNDRA ALPINE TUNDRA RIPARIAN HIGH SHRUB (approx. limits) Modified trom: Wanrnattig, 1965; Murray and Batten, 1977, Joint Federat-State Land Use Planning Commission, 1973. The microtopography formed by tussocks, together with wind action on fresh snow, results in accumulation of snow in the depressions between tussocks and exposed or thinly covered tussock heads. The accumulation between tussocks provides a favorable environment for small rodents, and the presence of exposed tussock and hummock tops provides opportunities for caribou winter foraging, particularly on lichens and vascular plants associated with the tussocks. The exposed or thinly covered dark tussock tops warm rapidly in the spring under the influence of increasing solar radiation in the lengthening days. Flowering of the cottongrass begins in early May on the most favorable sites, and is the first new growth of the year on the Arctic Slope. Small mammals associated with upland tussock tundra are the tundra vole, red-backed vole, Arctic shrew, and ground squirrel. Generally speaking, large carnivores are more abundant in tussock tundra than in the wet sedge meadows. Wolf density in this area is approximately | per 150 mi2 but wolves may be locally more abundant where caribou are present. Con- versely, during the winter months when few caribou are found in the tussock tundra, wolves are largely absent. Alternative prey species for wolves are lacking in upland tussock tundra. Grizzly bears are present and have home ranges predominantly in tussock tundra, as well as in associated river valleys and on dry tundra ridges. Bears use a variety of food sources, including plants. Caribou are fed on opportunistically and provide a supplementary protein source. A _ large portion of the bear's protein is obtained through scavenging. Wolverine are also opportunistic feeders and are probably even more depen- dent on scavenging. No quantification of their densities or food habits has been reported for the Alaskan Arctic. The tussock community, particularly the associated low heath shrubs, could provide important range for muskoxen in NPR-A, should this species be restored in the area. Birds species closely associated with tussock tundra include willow and rock ptarmigan, whimbrels, buff-breasted sandpiper, parasitic and long-tailed jaegers, and the ubiquitous Lapland longspur. Peregrine falcons, rough- legged hawks, and gyrfalcons forage over this vegetation type. In spring, ptarmigan concentrate here to take advantage of favorable forage conditions in tussock communities. Annual changes in bird numbers are not as pro- nounced as for small mammals and are probably random. Waterfowl utilize lakes interspersed in the tussock tundra. Common species include pintails, green-winged teal, oldsquaws and greater scaup. Other species which breed mainly in the coastal zone, such as_ white-fronted geese, use the tussock tundra and river valleys during migration. Riverine Systems and Floodplains Tributaries of the Colville and Utukok Rivers begin in the Brooks Range and enter the main rivers at lower altitudes. Smaller rivers and streams orginate within the foothills and lowlands at altitudes ranging from 2,000 ft to 100 ft before flowing north through the coastal plain to the ocean. All 45 streams are frozen for seven to eight months each year. Unfrozen water is restricted to deep holes in the larger rivers. Ice breakup in the late spring results from warmer weather and rains in the foothills. Heavy runoffs, usually in mid-June, cause turbid water, scour the stream channel with ice blocks, and may flood downstream areas. Water levels quickly lower after breakup, and some streams are reduced to a series of pools along the channel. Although little information is available, this reduction may be very important to the distribution and well-being of various aquatic species. The floodplains of the major rivers in NPR-A represent distinct ecological systems dissecting and interacting with the upland systems. Oxbow lakes and their emergent vegetation, as well as wet sedge meadows, occur inters- persed with higher terraces, especially in the foothills. However, the most distinctive riparian vegetation type in the foothills and mountain zones is the shrub thicket. The riparian shrub zone, existing as it does in narrow bands transecting other zones and in a mosaic of various successional stages, cannot be addressed out of context. It is in part this edge effect which makes riparian floodplain zones of great ecological importance. High shrub stands are found along much of the Colville River and its major tributaries and on parts of the Utukok and Ikpikpuk River valleys. The dominant species are willows. Willows up to 25 ft high have been reported. These apparently take several decades to develop. The active river channels are commonly braided or meandering with bars of gravel, silt and sand. These bars are used by many bird species including peregrine falcons and especially migrating geese in late summer for resting, drying and sunning. Thus, many bird species associated with wet and lake habitats are found in the floodplains even where these pass through the drier habitats of the foothills and mountain zones. Moose are dependent upon the riparian high shrubs of the Colville River and its major tributaries. Moose are the major herbivores utilizing the highly productive shrub thickets and in turn are utilized by man. Muskoxen and the tundra hare are two species now lacking that were once part of the fauna of riparian shrub areas. The endangered Arctic peregrine falcons depend to a large extent upon passerine birds (warblers and tree sparrows) that in turn are dependent upon the various riparian shrub habitats. Gyrfalcons are probably less dependent on riparian habitats, per se. The bulk of their diet is composed of ptarmigan, rodents such as lemmings and ground squirrels, and water- fowl. Rough-legged hawks show a strong preference for mammalian prey derived from a variety of habitats. A dramatic decline in peregrine falcon numbers in and around NPR-A has occurred since the 1950's. The decline is thought to be due entirely to the Physiological effects of organochlorine pesticide residues accumulated from feeding while migrating outside of the Arctic. Present numbers are thought to be about 25 percent of those previously breeding in the area. On the Colville River, the decline has been greater in upriver areas and tributaries than in areas downriver from Umiat. It has been suggested that prey 46 availability and hunting conditions may be better on downstream areas and that there has been a shift of remaining peregrines to these areas con- current with the decline. The willow ptarmigan is by far the most abundant of the two ptarmigan species along the Colville River drainage. These birds nest at the edges of lowland dwarf shrub communities and are also frequently seen in tussock tundra. Ptarmigan presumably use the high shrub vegetation in winter when lower growth-forms are snow covered. in general, the river valleys, and the high shrub communities in particular, provide a great variety of life on a year-round basis. The availability of several alternative prey species and remains for scavenging induce the presence of large carnivores in generally greater abundance than in sur- rounding uplands, particularly in the winter months. River valleys also include good denning habitat for bear. Twenty-four species of fish are thought to occur in NPR-A riverine systems in the NPR-A, but only |I8 species were captured during the 1977 field investigations. A high percentage of the fish captured had empty stomachs. For those fish actively feeding, food items included caddis fly and midge larvae, terrestrial and aquatic beetles, aerial insects, snails, bivalves, amphipods, plankton, and ninespine stickleback. Increases in turbidity, water flow, and water temperature during breakup probably stimulate the downstream migration of young anadromous fish and the up- stream migration of spawning adults. Arctic grayling migrate and spawn in upper stretches of the Colville and other rivers during June. Most other migratory fish reach spawning areas in late August or September. Alpine Tundra (Fell-Fields) The vegetation of the mountainous zone of NPR-A is complex and variable, and is influenced by a number of factors including bedrock type, degree of soil accumulation, slope exposure, drainage, snow cover and_ altitude. Because of the relatively low altitudes of passes in the western and central Brooks Range, the areas of alpine tundra are discontinuous. Tongues of riparian shrubs, meadows, and tussock vegetation extend to the crest of the range in some places. True alpine tundra is most commonly found in drier sites. Mountain avens and other mat-forming species, lichens, and mosses are the dominant plants. Dryas-dominated dry tundra meadows are also found on the tops of long east-west trending ridges in the Foothills province and on other areas of shallow, coarse soils such as rubble slopes. Fruticose lichens are a conspicuous component of this vegetation. Dryas-dominated communities also occur on dry, rocky slopes in stripes or "steps". Above 4,500 ft, large expanses of unvegetated substrate are common. Marmots are a characteristic herbivore of the alpine tundra, being found only there; they are, nevertheless, sparsely distributed. All the large mammals must be considered as only partly dependent upon alpine tundra. They use other ecological zones at some point in their annual cycle. Wolves are more common in alpine areas and associated river headwaters area than elsewhere in NPR-A. 47 Dall sheep usually are found in the Arctic alpine tundra but make altitudinal movements during the course of their annual cycle. These movements are made to avoid snow accumulation and in response to patterns of snow cover and vegetative greening. Plant communities associated with rock outcrops and talus slopes, usually blown clear of snow, are especially important. Particularly in spring, sheep forage low in the river valleys where new growth is available. There are approximately 50 species of birds that regularly use the alpine zone of Arctic Alaska. Passerines make up 2! of the 50 species. However, relatively few species actually breed in the dry alpine tundra. The passes of the Brooks Range are important migration routes for birds, especially willow ptarmigan and waterfowl coming to and from the Arctic coastal areas. Many lakes in the mountainous areas are of glacial origin and are both larger and deeper than most coastal thaw lakes. There are few fish species present and old fish dominate the population, indicating low fishing pres- sure and slow growth rates. Fish found may include lake trout, grayling, round whitefish, burbot, ninespine stickleback, and slimy sculpin. Caribou The caribou occupying northwestern Alaska form a loose-knit population designated as the Western Arctic Herd (WAH). The total area over which this herd ranges is about 140,000 mi2. Patterns of habitat use shift from season to season and vary from year to year. At all seasons, ranges outside of NPR-A are utilized by some individuals and are apparently necessary for the maintenance of a large caribou population in northwest Alaska. Caribou winter in areas south of the Brooks Range when popula- tions are high. However, almost every year some caribou winter on the Arctic coastal tundra. In 1976-77 and 1977-78, about half of the population remained north of 70°. Other principal wintering ranges are located south of the Brooks Range. In recent years, wintering groups have concentrated in the Kobuk River drainage and adjacent drainages to the south. In the wet sedge meadows, lichens are in insufficient quantities to support winter- ing caribou which must therefore supplement intake with sedges, grasses, forbs and willows. The large carnivores of the Arctic are to a great extent dependent upon caribou through both predation and scavenging. Similarly, man in both prehistoric and historic times has depended upon caribou for meat and other products. During the calving period from late May to mid-June, females use the new growth of cottongrass tussocks in the foothills of western NPR-A. After calving, the Arctic caribou form large, dense, rapidly moving aggregations and move into the southern foothills and areas of alpine tundra where greening vegetation is now available. In summer, caribou disperse widely over the wet sedge meadows and tussock tundra of NPR-A and also use browse in riverine habitats. Caribou numbers have fluctuated widely in the range of the WAH over the past century. Lows were recorded in the 1890's and 1970's. A known peak of 250,000 or more animals occurred about 1970. Such changes have un- 48 doubtedly had great impacts on predators, competitor herbivores and alternative prey species, but these effects have not been well documented. Evidence suggests that human hunting pressure has had a role in these population changes, but that other factors were influential as well. An understanding of migratory Arctic caribou will require an integrated approach to management, encompassing all of northwest Alaska. Caribou are successful in the Arctic environment only through adaptive behavior patterns that take advantage of rapidly changing conditions in snow con- ditions, vegetative growth and other physical parameters. Unrestricted mobility is essential to the well-being of this key species. Sensitivities The marine and coastal zone is potentially highly sensitive to activities, such as quarrying or construction on barrier islands or exposed beaches, which could increase erosion and change depositional and current patterns along the mainland coast. Because of the exposed and concentrated nature of wildlife here, aircraft and ship traffic may create noise and visual dis- turbances which could disrupt wildlife usage and cause desertion of nests, abandonment of feeding, resting, and molting areas, and possible overuse of adjacent undisturbed areas by birds. Arctic fox and polar bear may change feeding and denning patterns. Fuel or oil spills occurring during development activities or transportation may take place along the coast. A spill on land could destroy coastal vegetation and increase erosion, but deaths of wildlife directly attributable to the spill should be limited. A spill at sea could have major impacts on waterbirds through direct mortality and destruction of habitat. Some deaths of Arctic foxes, polar bears, and seals and degradation of denning habitat would be expected. The reintroduction of reindeer could affect vegetation and waterfowl! popula- tions through trampling, expecially along coastal bluffs. Lichens in tussock areas can also be destroyed by reindeer trampling or overgrazing. Five species of whales that may occur within the coastal and marine zone are classified as endangered species. The Eskimo curlew, now possibly extinct, previously occurred in this zone. Activities which would kill or harass these animals or destroy their key habitat are illegal under the Endangered Species Act. Vehicular traffic can destroy or damage vegetation and underlying soil in wet sedge meadows and upland tussock tundra zones; it has less severe effects in alpine tundra zones. Blading of vegetative cover and peat layer disturbs the land surface by causing thermal erosion, channeling of water flow, long-term changes in plant species, ground surface collapse, drainage of lakes, and eroded gullies. In summer, even vehicles which exert low pressure to the surface can cause moderate to heavy damage to vegetation and long-term effects on permafrost and active layer of soil. Effects of traffic in the alpine tundra would normally be restricted to direct damage to shallow rooted vegetative mats. Less damage to the wet sedge meadows and upland tussock tundra results from winter traffic, but even here, repeated or continual traffic will damage or reduce vegetative cover. The construc- 49 tion of winter roads by compacting snow or ice can minimize direct damage to vegetation, although this process changes the rate of freezing of vege- tation and soils underlying the roadway ice and the thaw and growth patterns. Aquatic systems may be adversely affected by removal of large amounts of water from lakes for winter road construction. Transportation corridors tend to parallel river valleys and _ traffic may reduce water quality, increase erosion, and adversely impact riparian vege- tation. These riverine zones are especially critical because these narrow ribbons of habitat fill special needs for numerous animal species that also range into adjacent upland tundra areas. Oil spills also have major impacts in inland areas. Oil adversely affects root systems in dry cottongrass tussock sites. Studies show that emergent vegetation and nearly all macroinvertebrates are destroyed or greatly reduced where oil enters ponds. Contaminated ponds are rendered useless to waterbirds. Fish and eggs can be destroyed or stressed by oil spills in aquatic systems in nearly any zone of NPR-A. Potential sources of oil contamination are drilling sites, fuel storage, transportation activities or operation of equipment. Riparian shrub habitats are vital to the well-being of the endangered pere- grine falcon, other cliff-nesting raptors, and cliff-nesting Canada geese. All these birds are known to be sensitive to disturbances. Because rivers are human travel corridors, both for boats and small aircraft, attention should be given to regulation of the level of human activity in the major riparian areas, such as along the Colville River and its major tributaries and along the Utukok and Ikpikpuk Rivers. A number of plant species, especially in dry, rocky tundra areas, are recognized as endangered or threatened and should be given special attention. Dall sheep are sensitive to disturbances and could abandon their limited range in NPR-A if not carefully managed. Reoccupation of abandoned ranges could be a long-term process. Large amounts of gravel are required for construction of roads, pads and airfields in the Arctic to prevent degradation of the permafrost and vege- tation damage. Sources of gravel in NPR-A may be in great demand if petroleum or other mineral resources are developed. Removal of gravel from streams could reduce available spawning area, increase turbidity and sediment, lower oxygen levels, divert flows, and generally have adverse effects on fish life and habitat. The spring breakup of ice from the streams is a natural phenomenon which can adversely affect fish life. Fish and eggs may be stranded by the rapid decrease of runoff. Activities which aggravate these effects should be avoided. Lakes and rivers in NPR-A freeze to depths of about 6 ft by late winter, and no potable ground-water sources have been developed. Domestic and industrial uses of free water are relatively low at present, but could expand greatly with a possible development in NPR-A of an oil and gas complex 50 similar to Prudhoe Bay, construction of more winter ice roads, and sewerage and domestic water systems for the villages. Such high water uses could seriously deplete the already restricted overwintering fish habitat through water removal, deeper freezing of remaining water, and effects of reduced oxygen and accumulated waste products from crowded fish populations. Use of frozen lakes and rivers for winter roads and landing strips could affect aquatic life by causing deeper freezing through compaction or removal of snow cover and damage from pressure and vibrations from traffic. Wildfires in the tundra occur less often than in forested regions. Their effects are not well understood, but are related to size and severity. Fires can change plant communities by removing (by burning) the insulating mat of vegetation and deepening of the active layer of soil. Fires in cotton- grass tussock tundra may release nutrients which promote rapid regrowth of plants which have greater nutrient content and more flowering. In some areas, destruction of cover, browse, and nesting materials for some wildlife species may be balanced by increases in burrowing rodents and predatory mammals and birds. Since lichens recover so slowly, fires in lichen areas can have long-term adverse effects on caribou (or reindeer) winter ranges. Unique Ecological Areas Six areas within NPR-A have been identified as having unique ecological attributes or combinations of attributes worthy of special attention. These areas are shown in Plate 2 and are as follows: Teshekpuk Lake Area. This area appears to have greater concentrations of molting geese than any other area in North America and eastern Siberia. It also is important as a caribou summering, wintering, and calving area. Waterfowl, shorebirds and other birds use the area for feeding, and large flocks gather here prior to _ migration. Excellent examples of large "oriented" Arctic lakes occur here. Delta of the Colville River - This, the largest delta in Arctic Alaska, contains an unique combination of sand dunes, "perched" ponds, high numbers of ground squirrels and foxes, polar bear dens, and a rich bird life, especially whistling swans. Seals enter the lower reaches of the river and the delta contains important fish spawning and overwintering habitat. Utukok Uplands. This area is the major calving area of the Western Arctic Caribou Herd. It also is important to birds during spring migration as well as to large carnivores such as grizzly bear and wolverine. The area is one of early snow melt and greening. Colville River, Bluffs, and High Shrub Zone. This area contains critical nesting sites of the endangered peregrine falcon, gyrfalcon, and other birds of prey. The tall shrub vegetation is the most extensive in the Alaskan Arctic and supports the largest concentration of moose north of the forest zone. Fish resources here are probably the greatest of the North Slope. The intermixing of shrubs with other tundra vegetation types and extensive alluvial deposits provides habitat for a rich array of animal species and research opportunities. Si n° ALASKA CHUKCHI UNIVERSAL TRANSVERSE MERCATOR PROJECTION BATHYMCTRIC INFORMATION DISPLAYED IN ME Source: USGS open-file 76-823 map, sheet 1 Tir RANGE ANO TOWNSHIP GRIDS BASED ON ALASKA COORDINATE SYSTEM a {eo eed? "tomers 138° I 156° 134? BEAUFORT midway as fw tao “S\prupnor ay rsx et a (PEEL TOE SAGAVANI RE TOK US. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIO! INPR-A STUDIES, NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE - ALASKA PLATE NO. 2 Unique Ecological Areas a AREAS TENTATIVELY IDENTIFIED: COLVILLE DELTA COLVILLE RIVER ICY CAPE PT. BARROW ‘TESHEKPUK UTUKOK UPLANDS Moditied trom: Underwood, 1977; U-S. Dept. of the interior, Yo77: NPR-A Task Force ~ Unpublished Report - Fish and Wiiatite Populations and Habitat, 1978. I — Point Barrow Area. This area exhibits a number of extremes in physical and biological characteristics. The long history of research conducted in this area make it imperative that representative sites be protected, even though most of the area has been transferred to Native or other ownership. Icy Cape. This area is the best example of a system of barrier islands, protected lagoons, and shorelines along the Chukchi Sea. It has high densities of waterfowl, especially geese, and gulls, and is an important area for migrating shorebirds. The area has also been used for research into coastal erosion processes. FSFFFRREFRRRRRRARRRRRARRRRARRRARARRRARARRAARRRRAAARRRRARRRRRRRARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR: (For a fuller discussion, see National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska Task Force, 1978, Nation- al Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, Ecological Profile: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, 105(c) Land Use Study, Study Report 4.) 55 REGIONAL PROFILE As part of the 105(c) planning effort, a Regional Profile supplemental folio has been prepared; it serves as Study Report 5. This report material is included with related folio/maps in the Socioeconomic Profile (Study Report 3) as Folio K, and is titled Regional Map. It is not reprinted here, and readers are referred to Study Report 3 for this element of the 105(c) reports. Study Report 5 (Folio K) is a brief regional overview that presents social, economic, physical and biological aspects of the North Slope area, and includes a land status map. It thus covers more than the study area for the 105(c) planning effort, but does not give as much detail about the area as the work it updates and supplements, the Arctic Profile, Volume II of the Alaska Regional Profiles series prepared by the Arctic Environmental Information and Data Center of the University of Alaska. That profile was published in 1975 under the guidance of Lidia Selkregg and is widely available in libraries and state and federal offices in Washington, D.C. 57 PLANNING AREA ANALYSIS - SUMMARY Economic Overview The present economy of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A) area is a combination of cash and direct utilization of natural resources. The cash economy is primarily based on government employment and expen- ditures; more than 90 percent of the jobs available in NPR-A are in either direct government employment or indirect support functions. Utilization of resources is primarily for food, with decreasing amounts used for clothing, fuel and handicrafts. This use of natural resources is about equally divided between land and marine provenances and accounts for about 1|5 percent of the total goods and services produced in the area. Their use is closely integrated into the cash economy because substantial amounts of cash purchases are made in support of subsistence activities. About 25 percent of the consumer's after-tax budget is normally spent on food. Apparel and recreation represent expenditures of nine and five percent respectively. If about half of the food budget and smaller amounts of the apparel and recreation expenditures were obtained via direct resource utilization, this activity would account for about I5 percent of the total economy. The North Slope Borough (NSB) has assumed programs formerly handled by the State and has also greatly expanded services in the area. There have been major expenditures in education, housing, roads, and_ sanitation facilities. General Borough revenues have increased from $551,000 in FY 1973 to a projected $37.8 million in FY 1978. In 1978, 6 percent of this revenue was from federal sources, 18 percent from state sources, and 70 percent from a general property tax. Of the property tax base, 93 percent comes from oil and gas property located at Prudhoe Bay, outside of NPR-A, but within the borough boundaries. Federal employment in NPR-A is centered around defense, research, ser- vices, and oil exploration. Oil activities have little impact on the local economy or communities because the workers spend minimal time in NPR-A. Only a few local residents are employed at Prudhoe Bay. Other resource- based economic activity includes tourism which supports about 20 jobs. The Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC) was established in I971. As of September 1977, it had received about $17 million of its $52 million entitlement under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). The corporation has invested in construction, communications, and _ service industries. It has received $10 million in lease options from its land base and is anticipating larger returns. Social security and assistance program payments to the local residents have been minor in recent years. No economic activity on NPR-A has statewide or national importance. The oil and gas development at Prudhoe Bay is the only activity in the borough that has such significance. There is no agriculture, manufacturing, or mining in the study area. 59 The Borough has all legislative powers not prohibited by state law. Taxes supply borough revenue, and are limited by statute to $1,500 per capita for real and personal property. Federal and state governments supply money to health and education programs and "in lieu of taxes", through revenue sharing. There are local sales taxes. Government is expected to continue to play the major role in the economy. The NSB will increase its position of economic importance and will continue to rely on its oil and gas tax base. The ASRC will also increase its input into the local economy. The demands for wildlife harvest will continue, and mineral exploration and development may become a significant factor in the economy. Social Overview Demographic Factors Having increased since a post-European contact low in the I9th century, the population in traditional communities reached 3,075 in 1970. The Prudhoe Bay development at its peak added 9,000 people to the population of the North Slope. Recent figures indicate about 4,500 people at Prudhoe Bay, 4,100 in traditional communities. In the latter communities about 80 percent of the residents are Eskimo; in the military and industrial communities, more than 90 percent of the people are non-Natives. Barrow is the largest settlement in the area and in 1977 had between 2,200 and 2,700 residents; the population figures vary with source. In the traditional communities the population is younger and includes more males than does the state or national population. The non-traditional community population is almost all male and of employable age. The small traditional communities will grow at the rate of about one percent annually, Barrow at 2.25 percent, and military/industrial populations will not increase (unless there is significant resource development). In the last century, the Inupiat have changed from nomadic hunters to village dwellers, at least part of the year employed at a cash job, in- fluenced by new health care and education facilities and new laws and regulations. White domination in the recent past is being countered by a resurgence of cultural pride, nurtured by the ramifications of ANCSA. Lifestyles Most Natives now participate in a cash and subsistence-based economy. Most feel that the economic opportunities are fluctuating and unpredictable and that cultural integrity depends on subsistence activities continuing. Employment from late 1975 to late 1976 ranged from 58 to 47 percent. Between 37 and 20 percent of the residents did not have jobs and did not want them; on the average less than !0 percent did not have jobs and wanted them. Beliefs and Opinions A survey by the University of Alaska's Institute of Social and Economic Research in 1977 of the adult Native community in the North Slope Borough showed that more residents felt that job opportunities, air transportation, facilities, size of houses, and schools and health care had improved. 60 They also indicated that they felt that prices, drug and alcohol problems, fish and game conditions, housing costs, sharing, and racial problems had worsened since 1970. The overall impression left by the results of the survey is that while some things have improved, life is not as good as it was in 1970. Natives see the subsistence activities adversely affected by job responsibilities and, at the survey time, restrictions on caribou harvests. (The bowhead quotas were imposed more recently.) More than half the people surveyed said they did not have as much time to hunt and fish, did not eat as much Native food, and did not receive enough sub- sistence articles in 1976. More than 60 percent of those interviewed preferred a job-and-subsistence lifestyle. Slightly more than half of the surveyed people felt that the NSB and ASRC were meeting their needs, but most were not sure about the oil companies, state and federal governments. Five villages were concerned about improving water conditions, three wanted better roads. Sewage and fish and game conditions were also concerns in other villages. Social Well-Being Most non-Native residents do not stay long in the study area. They bring special skills, tend to endure the stay, and leave. Some, of course, stay and become part of the community. Their lifestyle has not been studied, nor has that of the transient populations. Native Alaskans on the North Slope identify alcohol and drug abuse, crime, suicide and mental illness as major social problems. The creation of the Borough and Regional Corporation has provided residents opportunities to participate in political and governmental affairs. Most jobs are government related, as are some elected positions. All Native residents are corporation stockholders. Most members of the corporation's board of directors and advisory councils are also Natives. Recreation is not a well-defined concept in NPR-A. Many activities which non-Natives would classify as recreation are intimately tied to ceremonies and subsistence lifestyle. However, movies and sports activities (basketball and outdoor winter sports, for example) are part of most communities' entertainment. Newspapers (a day or more late) are available, and radio and TV are widely used in the region. Some broadcasts are locally generated. Social events in the villages stem from modern and traditional sources. Trading and messenger feast gatherings are no longer common, but whaling feasts and Point Hope's celebration of the return of sea ice in the fall continue. The Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day are major social events, accompanied by feasting and traditional games. Day-to-day ties are provided by cooperation in hunting, meeting, sharing, and church activities. The Borough is responsible for education. It has run the elementary schools for several years. In 1975 high school classes were offered for the first time. Adult education is available through the University of Alaska Extension Service and Inupiat University of the North. Courses are primarily geared to practical needs. 61 Scientific activities have been dominated by the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory which has facilities throughout the region. Efforts are being made to emply more Natives and increase their direct involvement with data collection and analysis. Artistic achievements of Eskimos are widely recognized, and art objects are in demand. Production of these articles is by the older individuals, but is not a profitable venture in most instances. Traditional art forms may die out when the artists die. Younger Natives are also taking art training and learning traditional skills. Public Facilities Communications (telephone systems) are not yet adequate and will require major expenditures to serve additional demands. Some expansion is planned. Transportation in and out of NPR-A is by air. Each village has an air- strip, but not all can accomodate large planes on a year-round basis. Roads are strictly confined to the village environs. Winter trails connect some communities. Road construction, particularly in wetter coastal areas, may cost more than $I million per mile. Freight and large bulky shipments are brought to the area by barge and lighters to shore. There are no deep water ports. Existing schools are being improved, but cannot absorb a major influx of students, such as might accompany major developments in resources. Health care is adequate at Barrow, but generally not so in smaller com- munities. Present and future demands require some improvements. Water and sanitation systems are not like those in urban communities. Water is obtained on a household basis in most places; in Barrow some water is hauled by truck from a community source. Water pollution by wastes is a critical problem. The "honey bucket" is the principal means of waste disposal. Wainwright and Barrow have resident law enforcement officers; plans call for other villages to have them as well, and public safety buildings in each community are part of a capital improvement plan. Existing personnel and facilities are unable to meet present needs. Homes in the borough area are more crowded and less thickly insulated than in other urbanized areas of Alaska. Very few homes have major utilities. "Imported" fuel oil (and in a few places, local coal) is used to heat homes and power’ generators. Electrical systems are barely meeting current needs. Increased demand will require expansion of the facilities. Cost of fuel oil is high. The federal and state governments have facilities in Barrow; these entities will probably respond by expansion to meet resource development needs. Barrow has the greatest amount and variety of retail trade and services in the study area. Throughout the region, much merchandise is ordered by 62 mail. The present level of retail trade could not meet major increases in demand. Fire-fighting capabilities are adequate at Barrow and DEWLine stations. Other communities are vulnerable and are not well equipped. Police and firemen are trained emergency personnel. Native Livelihood and Dependence Reliance on Resources for Livelihood Prior to the commercial whaling period Natives relied on the lands and waters for all their food, clothing, shelter, utility items, and through a complex barter system enhanced their economic status and well-being. Subsistence resources are and will continue to be a strong economic main- stay for the foreseeable future; however, the past total reliance has undergone a number of and considerable modifications. A study of three northwestern Eskimo communities (1959-1961) showed that about four-fifths of village food demand is met by harvesting and one-fifth by importing food. A 1964 study estimated that in Barrow the people obtained 30 to 50 percent of their food through subsistence resources. The precentage appears to have declined slightly on a regional basis in recent years. Other studies emphasize the importance of caribou especially to Arctic Slope and the Northwest Alaska Native Association (NANA) residents. An analysis of numerous reports provides the following summaries of per capita consumption by sub-area and region: Number of Annual Meat Sub-area_and Region Time Span Communities Consumption, in pounds* St. Lawrence Island 1965-1974 2 960 Cape Thompson 1959-1961 3 1,063 Bering Strait 1969-1973 15 1,013 NANA Region 1969-1973 a 1,000 NANA (excluding Buckland Deering, Ambler) 1969-1973 8 900 Arctic Slope 1965 5 1,321 Arctic Slope 1969-1973 5 890 Arctic Slope 1972-1976 8 838 Arctic Slope 1978 8 566 *Residents of semi-urbanized Barrow and Kotzebue comsumed amounts at the low end of the above range. 63 The tabulation below compares estimates of 1978 and earlier harvests and suggests increased pressures on other wildlife following caribou and whale restrictions. Berries and greens contribute insignificant amounts to the totals shown. 1978 1972 - 1976 Average Field Total Average Total Weight Number Pounds Number Pounds Category per Animal Harvested Harvested Harvested Harvested Bear, grizzly 225 21 4,700 14 3,150 Bear, polar 450 45 20,250 30 13,500 Caribou 150 900 135,000 6,850 1,027,500 Moose 700 100 70,000 27 18,900 Sheep, Dall 100 70 7,000 100 4,500 Oogruk 340 600 204 ,000 600 204,000 Seal, hair 72 4,000 288 ,000 1,800 129,600 Walrus male 1,000 440 175 female 600 60 476,000 25 190,000 Whale, beluga 550 100 55,000 20 11,000 Whale, bowhead 22,000 9 243,000 28 756,000 Wildfowl] 35,000 31,000 Fish 160,000 124,000 TOTAL 1,697,950 2,513,150 Pounds per capita 566 838 Difference -815,200 Protection of Biotic Resources The biotic resources are the foundation of the subsistence system and are a base for Inupiat culture. Three primary forces operate upon these resources: natural change and cyclical environmental phenomena; human activity directed at the resources; and human activity which might affect the resource indirectly through habitat alteration. Protection of Subsistence Access Game animals that support subsistence activities will be of no value if access to these resources is curtailed. Some land classifications may limit subsistence access. Conflicts may also arise if extensive development is carried out in major subsistence zones. Provision may need to be made for subsistence use of sites as for hunting and fishing camps; many such camps are located far from villages and are vital to the conduct of subsis- tence activities. Preservation of Cultural and Historic Sites Sites, both ancient and relatively new, either still used or abandoned, form a palpable archaeological and cultural link to the past for the Inupiat. This tie is vital to the peoples! feeling of belonging on the land. The knowledge 64 that their forebears traversed, used, and understood the land is a powerful cultural force. Major conflicts with this resource could come from construction and other development activities and from disturbances by sightseers. The latter could present increasing difficulties as recreational uses expand. Related Social and Political Views Inupiat culture is based upon land, sea, and ice environments and upon the biotic resources harvested from them. The Inupiat have chosen certain cultural norms which allow them to relate to their environment. One of the key choices made was in their family and kinship structures, in which subsistence activities can take place, and through which subsistence resources may be shared amongst the people. This pattern is not the only one which could have been devised. However, it has proved to be a remarkably resilient tool for cultural survival, indeed is its basis. Despite the enormous stress of recent changes, the family and_ kinship structures remain functional. It appears that so long as a worthwhile resource base remains, the biotic/human relationship, or subsistence, through which the Inupiat define their culture, will remain viable. Cultural (Archaeological) Resources Current Use Cultural resources within NPR-A are not being heavily impacted at present. Archaeological sites and more recently used areas are important to the Native residents as a tie to their cultural past, present subsistence practices, and as a support to their rights to continued use of the area. Potential The scientific potential for the resources is presently unlimited. Some of the major research areas are antecedents of the known archaeological traditions and the relationship and interchange between the prehistoric peoples of the coast and the interior. Cultural processes need to be studied. Availability of funds will be the primary limiting factor. Demand There will always be a demand for scientific studies of the cultural resources. Of concern is the indiscriminate collecting of antiquities, whether for personal use or for sales to dealers. Economic Aspects Scientific studies will not have an impact on the local economy nor will the government personnel responsible for managing the cultural resources of area. Relationship to Planning Cultural resources are protected by several environmental and_ historic preservation laws and regulations. A management program to inventory, 65 interpret, and protect cultural resources would be required for any planning option selected. Management of key sites that are to be left intact may require protective withdrawals. Wilderness Resources Potential No areas of NPR-A are now designated as Wilderness. Recreational use of the potential wilderness resources is limited. These resources will not support as much recreational activity as areas of similar size elsewhere in Alaska because of the fragility of the Arctic tundra and its slow recovery from major disturbances. The open terrain makes it difficult to preserve "solitude" when human use is introduced in even small quantities. Demand There is a high, general national demand for wilderness in Alaska because in Alaska are the last remaining opportunities in the United States for preserving untrammeled natural areas of such large size. Wilderness is regarded as a cultural heritage of which the American public wants at least a portion preserved. Because much of the pristine natural area of the conterminous states has been lost, many Americans are concerned lest the same occur in Alaska. Forest Service statistics indicate an annual increase of visits to wilderness areas of about 8 percent since 1969. This is a faster growth rate than other forest-based recreation demands and may be a representative figure. Economic Aspects Considered independently, the NPR-A wilderness-type land resource is not significant to the state economy. However, the NPR-A area is part of a statewide wilderness resource which may be economically significant when considered as a whole. Alaska wilderness attracts thousands of visitors to the state each year, and tourism is a major state industry. Relationship to Planning Unless development proccesses are carefully planned and controlled, the solitude, wildlife populations, and landscapes of the area may be altered to the detriment of wilderness resources. Nearly all of NPR-A qualifies as wilderness. If large areas are designated as Wilderness, this would have substantial influence upon development. Land use conflicts may arise in areas where resources are to be extracted or transportation routes required. Recreational and Visual Resources Potential The recreational opportunities offered by NPR-A are not as outstanding as those provided in many other areas of Alaska. However, opportunity to view wildlife in the relatively open expanse of the Reserve is unusually good. The comparative lack of topographic relief in most of NPR-A, the 66 costly access, the large areas covered by tussocks and wet, bog-like terrain, the frequent harsh weather conditions, especially the long, severely cold winters, and the relatively short summer seasons, all work to decrease recreational opportunities. Use levels and viewer positions are used as indicators of how the visual resources of an area should be managed. Based on the national standard for levels of use established in the Bureau of Land Management 6300 manual, use is low (less than 20,000 visits per year) for all of NPR-A. The areas frequently seen from villages, trails, rivers and low-altitude flights were delineated as "seen areas" and the remainder as "seldom seen," based upon present use patterns. Distance zones were not identified in the potential Wilderness areas because the visual resources would be managed as Class | to comply with the Wilderness Act whether they are seen or seldom seen. Current and past uses of NPR-A that adversely affect visual resource quality are oil and gas exploration; construction of military facilities, communication facilities and airstrips, and littering by most users. Two potential uses, oil and gas development and mining, could substantially lower visual resource quality in the impacted area(s). Otherwise, the existing visual resource quality should be retained and/or improved by rehabilitation, as described in the Values and Resource Analysis - Visual Resources. Change of the visual resources through man's activities is a significant factor to consider because the visual variety of most landscapes in NPR-A is low, as is their capacity to absorb change. Demand Tourism is the activity that will probably account for the most significant increase in the total number of recreational visits to the Reserve in the future. (See tabulation which follows.) The increase, however, will depend on the development of additional visitor-oriented facilities such as a Native culture center, or activities such as guided trips to archaeological sites and other points of interest, scenic overflights, and guided dog team or snow machine trips. Sport hunting may also increase. However, by the year 2000 sport hunting demand may exceed what the wildlife resource can provide due to the low productivity of the Arctic ecosystems. Current and Projected Recreational and Tourist Visits 1 Number of Recreational Activity Annual _ Visitors 1977 2000 Backpacking 20 50 Floatboating 20 200 Sport Hunting 200 1,500 Winter Activities 10 50 Tourism 4,400 20,000 ‘Most visitors engage in more than one activity during a typical recreational visit. For example, the 20 floatboaters in 1977 may well have done some backpacking, sightseeing and sport fishing. 67 Native recreational use of the Reserve (not well defined at the present time) will undoubtedly increase in the future, Particularly in or near villages. Demand for visual resources is expressed in terms of the number and types of people viewing an area and their attitude toward change of visual resource quality. For residents, the sensitivity toward change of the visual resource is believed to be low. Federal agencies' sensitivity is high for potential Wilderness, Wild and Scenic Rivers, and cultural sites, and moderate for potential natural landmarks. High sensitivity was also expressed by agencies for landscapes of statewide significance. Economic Aspects Three people, each paid about $1,000 per month during the summer season, are employed at Barrow to conduct group tours. Two tour buses, costing about $1,500 per month to maintain, are used in Barrow. Twenty-three master and registered guides operated in Game Management Unit 26 during 1977; less than one half of their hunting activity took place within NPR-A. One master guide reports that the cost for a typical guided hunt on the North Slope is $4,500 per person. Some air taxi services out of Barrow and other communities in NPR-A may be used in conjunction with recreation. In 1964 and 1972, Barrow was visited by 4 percent of all tourists in Alaska. By 1976, this had dropped to less than 2 percent. However, while the percentage figures have dropped, the total number of visitors is generally increasing each year. Costs for the 1978 tours range from $184 to $340 per individual (from Fairbanks). In 1977 participants in the group tour program added about $59,000 to the local economy through payments for hotel rooms. This contribution may rise to over $540,000 by the year 2000. Additional money will be left in the community through purchase of meals, Native handicrafts, and miscellaneous items. The high costs of transporting goods to the Arctic communities, however, will mean that some of this revenue will be drawn off into the state and national economy. Relationship to Planning The limits to extensive recreational use are the same as for heavy use of wilderness-type land. Addition of a structure generally creates a long-term adverse impact, and rehabilitation is generally not technically and economi- cally feasible. NPR-A offers a very small portion of the recreational resources available in the state for all activities except sightseeing, particularly viewing wildlife. NPR-A includes nearly half of the Arctic Slope and, therefore, contains a large portion of the scenery and other features of this area which interest visitors. The locally abundant populations of some species, combined with the relatively flat, treeless terrain, make the wildlife viewing opportunities in NPR-A better than in much of Alaska. These resources might provide for less than half of the recreational demand on the North Slope. However, on a statewide basis the area may provide for, at best, | percent of the 68 recreational activities; tourism may possibly approach 2 percent of the total use. The middle Colville River, Liberator Ridge and De Long Mountains are of Class A scenic quality and outstanding examples of the scenic quality found in the region. Twelve areas of NPR-A were identified as having superlative landscapes. NPR-A's natural landscape is its single most important attribute, in terms of visual resources. Potential oil and gas development and mining could sub- stantially alter the natural landscape. Managers need to be aware of how proposed projects would change the visual resource because of the ex- pressed high sensitivity to visual changes in potential Wilderness areas, along Wild and Scenic Rivers, at cultural sites or superlative landscapes and because of the potential increase in recreation and tourism. Emphasis should be placed on preventing adverse changes rather than rehabilitation because rehabilitation is limited technologically and economically. Fish and Wildlife Resources Demand Fish and wildlife resources in NPR-A are presently being harvested by subsistence and sport hunting, fishing and trapping, and one commercial fishery. Fish and wildlife resources are also being utilized for research (ecosystems, NARL) and wildlife viewing (see Recreation Summary, Volume | of Final Study). Some current populations and harvest levels for six key wildlife species are shown in table 2. Very few ducks and geese are taken in NPR-A relative to harvests elsewhere, but waterfowl contribute about 35,000 pounds to subsistence harvests. Approximately 123,840 pounds of fish are harvested annually in the Arctic region by subsistence fishermen. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has placed a maximum limit of 60,000 fish on the commercial fishery in the Colville River delta. Sport fishing harvest in NPR-A is insignificant. Insufficient data are available to estimate potential fish populations or harvest levels. Restrictions on both commercial and subsistence fish harvest in the Colville River drainage, the area of deep lakes in the east part of NPR-A, and in the vicinity of villages may become necessary in the future to prevent overfishing of whitefish and other fish resources in NPR-A. Very little information is available relative to future demand on fish and wildlife resources in NPR-A. Alaska Department of Fish and Game figures for 1976 from sales of hunting and fishing licenses in Alaska list 77,736 sport hunters and 167,873 sport fishermen; of these figures, 9.2 percent of the hunters and 29.3 percent of the fishermen were nonresidents. Pro- jected state populations of 430,000 by 1980 and 583,000 by 1990 and 400,000 people in the Anchorage area by 1990 may be falling behind present growth rates for Alaska. North Slope populations are increasing at the rate of about 2 percent per year. These estimates suggest a 25 to 50 percent increase in people exerting a demand on the fish and wildlife resources of the state in the next twenty years. Only the moose (possibly also Arctic fox) is believed to be an underutilized species in NPR-A, but without careful management, these animals could be easily overharvested. 69 OZ Table 2. Approximate population and harvest levels for six key wildlife species in NPR-A and entire planning area. Current Projected to year 2000 Statewide NPR-A Planning Area Harvest NPR-A Planning Area Species Population Harvest Population Harvest (Approximate) Population Harvest Population Harvest Moose 1,200 50 1,800 80 8-10,000 1,200 150 1,800 200 Caribou -- ca. 1,000 75,000 2,700-3,500 8-10,000 —- 3-5,000 150,000 10-15,000 Dall sheep 400 5 10,000 110 ? 400 10 10,000 120 Grizzly bears 450 30 1,000 70 600 450 30 1,000 70 Arctic fox -- 600 _ 950 2,400 = 800 -- 1,100 Notes: Moose: Adjacent portions of Colville River drainage included as part of NPR-A. Caribou: Planning Area used for this species is range of Western Arctic Herd. "Central Arctic Herd" and "Porcupine Herd" are not considered. Dall Sheep: Estimate of numbers is very crude. Grizzly Bears: Wolves: Arctic fox: Estimate of numbers is very crude. Estimate of numbers is very crude. Unreported harvest may be substantial. No population data. Harvest estimates very crude and actual harvest varies greatly from year to year. It is assumed that full utilization of this species is not usually reached. This assumption is based on very few data. Economic Aspects Fish and wildlife (both marine and terrestrial) continue to be of the highest significance to the local economy, as described elsewhere in this document. However, the contribution made by most species to the statewide economy is relatively insignificant even when compared only to fish and _ wildlife resources elsewhere in the state. NPR-A cannot begin to satisfy demands of other state residents. For caribou, Arctic fox and grizzly bears, current demand is near or at the sustainable yield level. There is little current basis on which to relate role of fish and wildlife subsistence to cash equivalence. There are some Alaskan and Canadian data, but the projection value of this information is questionable. Even in the event that current quantitative data were available, cash equivalence calculation for subsistence fish and wildlife involves a complex set of economic and social factors. Using an estimated annual per capita meat consumption of 566 Ib, a Native population of about 3,600, and a replacement value of about $2.50 per pound (for hamburger, for example) a value of about $5 million would be placed on the subsistence harvest. Using a geater per capita consumption would, of course, give a greater replacement cost, up to nearly $l2 million. About $600,000 is spent annually to hunt waterfowl migrating to and from Alaska. Estimated meat value is about $65,000 nationally. These figures are based on inadequate bird population figures and tenuous extrapolations, but they indicate that the long-term value of NPR-A waterfowl and habitat may be significant. This value relates primarily to the sport hunting harvest of NPR-A birds which is a very small percent of the national harvest. The subsistence harvest of waterfowl! on NPR-A is known to be minimal, but the number of eiders taken near Barrow, for example, is important in the total subsistence harvest there. NPR-A is important as a molting site; nesting and production of young are relatively less important here than elsewhere in Alaska or the nation. Annual sustained commercial fish harvest on the Colville delta has been about 3,000 broad whitefish, 1,000 humpback whitefish, 20,000 least cisco, and 40,000 Arctic cisco. The main fresh fish markets are in Barrow, although some fresh fish and fish for dog food are occasionlly sold at NARL, Fairbanks, and Hawaii. Fish average about | pound each and are sold at Barrow for about $0.30 to $0.85 per pound wholesale and $2.50 per pound retail. Total market value of the fishery is thus about $105,000. Unsold fish are returned or sent to Fairbanks or other communities to be used as dog food. Relationship to Planning The North Slope has relatively simple natural ecosystems that are largely unaltered by man except for subsistence and minor sport hunting and fishing. The ecosystems function over a much broader area than NPR-A, including areas and species offshore. Protection of critical areas, while important, cannot preserve ecological systems, and specific or broad, general changes in human resource use in NPR-A and the region could have direct or insidious effects on the natural ecosystems. 71 Constraints based on recognition of ecological factors will affect economic and other human activities as follows: I. Restrictions on gravel removal from protective barrier islands and rivers and streams will preserve important habitat. 2. Transportation corridors and resource development may destroy parts of key ecological areas and disrupt caribou migration. Development could significantly increase consumptive and nonconsumptive, recrea- tion and resource use. Management schemes can reduce such impacts. Ry Restriction of offroad vehicles and aircraft for hunting some furbearers is a likely need if the wolf, bear and wolverine populations are to remain viable with increased human populations. Wildlife resources continue to be of the highest significance to the local economy. In most cases, harvest to meet current demand is near or at the sustainable level. Except for polar bear, economic values of NPR-A fish and wildlife are relatively insignificant when compared to the total fish and wildlife resources of the state. However, fish and wildlife here cannot alleviate increasing demand pressure elsewhere in the state. Planning for wildlife resources should include management of the entire caribou herd range even beyond the NPR-A_ boundaries, nesting and feeding sites for endangered birds, habitat for threatened and endangered plants, and summer offshore habitat for threatened and endangered whales and seals. Reindeer and Muskoxen Grazing Resources Demand The historically used coastal area of NPR-A is assumed to be suitable for reintroduction of domestic reindeer, but no inventory of the range has been made to determine carrying capacity. If five reindeer per square mile is a reasonable carrying density, a total of 93,750 reindeer might be grazed on NPR-A. This figure assumes no competition with caribou and herding Practices which avoid overgrazing or other adverse effects on range resources. Demands for reindeer meat will likely increase sharply in the next several years. Population increases, meat preferences of Natives, increased purchasing power, price increases of beef or other meats, and restrictive caribou quotas will contribute heavily to the demand. To date, larger communities having preponderantly Native populations but no reindeer herds have been only partly successful in meeting the demand for reindeer meat. This meat has been marketed in Anchorage and Fairbanks, and there is a demand for such meat in tourist-related facilities. In documents leading to the preparation of the Planning Area Analysis it was determined that domestic muskoxen offered no significant economic or subsistence opportunities for the study area. Therefore, muskoxen grazing resources are not considered in this report. Economic Aspects The costs of managing reindeer herds as treated in this summary assume an 72 existing healthy herd, adequate herding, no predation, and substantial government assistance in the form of no grazing fees, assumption of pre- dator control costs, fencing, marketing costs, as well as assistance such as management advice, research, range study and administration, and slaughter facilities. In general, minimum amounts of income as profit will be generated with a small herd, random slaughter and part-time herding. Improvements will come with selective breeding, selective slaughter that takes advantage of weight gain, and improved fawn survival. Offsetting increased income will be increased costs of labor for more intensive herding and slaughter facilities. Antlers, another marketable item, can only be gathered with the aid of corrals, which also provide, at a cost, improvement in herd management. Antler sales now contribute more income than sales of meat or other products. The cost vs profit position of a herd of 2,500 animals with less intensive herding and including antler harvest is better than that of a herd of 4,000 animals herded year round. In the long run, however, it would seem that intensive management of the larger herd would be advantageous; income as high as $69,000 per herd of that size has been estimated. With larger herds and maximized reindeer meat production, supplies might be so large that prices would decline as the market became satisfied. Relationship to Planning Herding techniques that avoid trampling or overgrazing of ranges (parti- cularly winter ranges) will be necessary to protect both the range and reindeer resources. Fences are one means of preventing the mixing of caribou and reindeer, but fences can cause some range areas to be over- grazed and may interfere with migratory patterns of caribou, to the detriment of the wild population. Transmission of disease can be expected where wild and domestic animals mix. Predator control may upset natural prey-predator relations and direct predator pressure to other species. Reintroduction of reindeer can offer an alternative to imported foods, replace to some extent the dependence on or desire for whales and caribou, and provide some local employment and income. However, costs to initiate, maintain and expand herds to a profit-making position may be prohibitive. Key to success will be recruitment of trained personnel, some of whom may be available from Seward Peninsula operations. The constitutionality of the Reindeer Act has been challenged, and other provisions of the act are not suited to modern range management or administration methods. If reindeer meat production expands to the point of supplying markets beyond the region, a statewide benefit may accrue. State (or other government) support of the herds could then be reduced. If Native leaders choose to support herds and the corporations invest in them, the herds may be important to local economies. On the other hand, pastoral activities are not part of traditional Inupiat culture; herding as a lifestyle is not well received, and a inclusion of large amounts of non-game (reindeer) meat may also alter subsistence-oriented lifestyles to a degree that may be unwelcome. 73 Mineral Resources Demand Geologic investigation of NPR-A has emphasized regional reconnaissance, identification of geologic settings, and deciphering general stratigraphic and structural relationships. Therefore, estimating the relation of NPR-A mineral resources to demand is tenuous at best. Domestic production of minerals will have to be increased significantly to even begin to satisfy national demand, and supplies will be very short for some materials. Table 3 indicates the increase in domestic demand to 2000 for commodities identi- fied on NPR-A. Although it is uncertain how much of any of these mineral resources exists on NPR-A, national self-reliance in minerals could affect NPR-A in the future. Local coal (as opposed to more costly imported fuels) can be important to the several villages close to potentially available deposits. The demand, statewide or nationally, for this coal cannot yet be quantified; other Alaskan or more southern coal sources are more accessible. The size of the NPR-A resource is likely to assume national significance in the future. (See table 4.) Local demand for gravel by the year 2000 could be as high as 150 million cubic yards if large quantities of oil and gas are developed in NPR-A. Without this petroleum development demand, nearly 50 million cubic yards of gravel and possibly considerably more sand could be used for road construction and related activities. Since the local sand is not suitable for cement, alternative materials may have to be sought as_ substitutes. NPR-A's sand and gravel will not affect the national or state supplies. Although uranium is at this time only a hypothetical resource, projections of demand for it are such that intensive exploration is warranted. Unless appropriate industries are developed in NPR-A, the demand for phosphate rock (aside from related possible uranium production), clays or fluorite is not likely to be great; other sources of these materials will probably meet demands for some time to come. The use of local barite could offer substantial savings to drilling projects. Economic Aspects With the exception of natural gas (and the petroleum exploration program), there is no employment or income attributable to the mineral resources of the study area. Funds for the federal geologic resources investigations are spent largely for logistical support of field activities supplied by the Anchorage and Kotzebue areas. The mineral resources have the potential, if they are ever developed, to afford a very significant opportunity to local and state economies, not only in the mining itself but also in the support facilities required. In particular, the coal resource represents a potentially great contribution in terms of energy cost savings, employment and revenues. A recent study by Stanford Research Institute notes that without the impact of (d)(2) legislation, development of mines in Alaska could be providing up 74 SZ Table 3. Recent and projected production and demand for mineral resources known to occur on NPR-A. From U.S. Bureau of Mines. Aver. Ann. Growth in Estimated Forecast Domestic Forecast 1974 U.S. 2000 U.S. Domestic Demand Worldwide Domestic Domestic Demand 1974-2000 Demand Commodity Units Production Production 2000 (Percent) 2000 Arsenic Short tons NA 5,100 26,200 0.1 56,000 Barium Short tons* 619 1,100 1,585 2./l 6,685 Chromium Short tons* “+ ro 1,100 2.6 5,300 Colbalt Pounds* 7 40,000 43,000 3.0 137,000 Copper Pounds* 1,597 3,800 4,200 3.0 22,200 Fluorine Short tons* 137 80 1,930 4.0 7,330 Gold Troy ounce 1,127 2,200 15,300 5.4 58,000 Lead Short tons* 664 970 1,530 1.9 7,570 Mercury Flasks* 2 25 47 -0.5 269 Molybdenum Pounds 112,011 383,400 193,000 3.6 586 ,000 Nickel Short tons* 14 270 385 2.6 1,590 Palladium Troy ounce* 9 22 1,340 2.7 5,070 Platinum Troy ounce* 4 6 1,225 1.4 4,850 Silver Troy ounce* 33,800 50,000 230,000 2.4 680,000 Vanadium Short tons 5,368 8,700 33,000 5.4 90 ,000 Zinc Short tons* 500 1,100 3,050 2.9 12,350 Clays Short tons* 61 190 181 4.4 1,061 Phosphate rock Short tons* 45,686 85,000 69,000 2.7 456 ,000 Sand and gravel Short tons** 978 2,090 2,090 3.0 17,290 Bituminous coal and lignite Short tons** 603 1,655 1,555 4.1 4,785 Uranium (Nuclear) Short tons 9,776 60,000 69,500 8.7 193,000 7 Thousands xx =~ Million NA Not available 92 Table 4. The coal resources of NPR-A in the national and worldwide contexts, in billions of tons. USA and world resources from U.S. Bureau of Mines mineral commodity summaries for 1978. Identified Subeconomic Resources Percent of Total for USA: Estimated Total Resources Percent of Total Known World Depth in Feet Bituminous Subbituminous Totals (Other than NPR-A) Resources (Other than NPR-A) 0-1,000 9.76 11.53 21.29 0.54 0.24 1,000-2,000 8.63 5.20 13.83 0.35 0.16 2,000-3,000 5.54 0.14 5.68 0.14 0.07 3,000-4 ,000 2.05 -- 2.05 0.05 0.02 4,000-5,000 1.07 -- 1.07 0.02 0.01 5,000-6,000 0.07 0.07 0.002 0.0008 TOTAL 27.12 16.87 43.99 i 0.51 Undiscovered Hypothetical Resources Percent of Total for USA: Estimated Total Resources Percent of Total Known World Depth in Feet Bituminous Subbituminous Totals (Other than NPR-A) Resources (Other than NPR-A) 0-6,000 1,868.00 983.00 F 2,851.00 1 71.85 32.72 (612.00) (322.00) (934.00) (23.54) (10.72) 1 Resources based on more conservative interpretation of coal from Kaolak and Meade Rivers drillhole electric logs. to $1 billion in metals and as many as 11,000 jobs. The report estimates that about $600 million would go directly to the state as benefits of mining and related services. Only part of this job and income potential could be provided by the mineral deposits of the Brooks Range, and therefore an even smaller part would be played by NPR-A. Nevertheless, some analysts feel that the lead, zinc, copper and silver minerals of the area have economic potential. Other studies, such as one by B.H. Tuck, note that the development and export of NPR-A's minerals could be the most costly in the world and that little if any development of minerals in Alaska can be expected for many years. Mineral resources elsewhere in Alaska would be extracted long before deposits in NPR-A because of the _ latters' inaccessibility. With the exception of jobs created by the extraction and transportation of sand and gravel, very little income can be expected from that type of resource. The value lies in their usefulness to other activities. Relationship to Planning The role of NPR-A's potential mineral resources in meeting regional, state, or national demand can only be determined by additional exploration, and if warranted, development. Market conditions can be affected by economic or technological changes and potential uncertainties in supply (interruptions in imports, energy shortages, political conditions). Certain physical factors may constrain development of at least certain mineral commodities, even if mineable quantities are delineated. The cold climate is an inhibiting factor in general; permafrost may have significant positive and negative effects. Water supplies are not available everywhere. Surface transportation to and in much of the study area is essentially nonexistent, and routes and methods of transporting products to market are lacking. Construction of permanent roads that are passable year round will be costly and maintenance expensive. Winter ice on the Chukchi Sea limits shipping to about three months a year; lighters or barges are necessary to move ores offshore. The construction needs and environmental impacts of roads are greater than those of airports, but those factors may be out- weighed by the economics of the materials to be transported. Conventional methods of air transport are prohibitively expensive at the present time, and innovative methods have not been tested. The possible transportation system for minerals will have great impact on NPR-A and affect many resources besides minerals. Until such trans- portation is actually needed and developed, however, only local .use of mineral resources is likely. Watershed Resources Demand For the next few years water use will probably continue at its present level, about 125 million gallons per year. If the oil exploration program is terminated, that use of water will cease, and demand may be reduced to about 25 million gallons. If oil and gas are developed, industrial demand will probably be double the current demand. 77 Watersheds currently supply more than enough water to meet these demands. Water sources may not be close to future points of use, and transportation and storage facilities may be needed. Economic Aspects Watershed resources of NPR-A and the coastal waters contribute about 60 percent of the local subsistence harvest. Little if any cash income or employment (other than the commercial fishery in the Colville delta) is attributable to water resources. Construction of storage or distribution systems would probably be handled on a contract basis and provide only a small economic return to the area. Relationship to Planning Because of the location and nature of fish overwintering sites, there are constraints on withdrawing water from deep lakes or river pools in winter. In addition, federal laws require that the disposal of waste water or sewage be monitored so as to avoid pollution of surface water. During low- or no-flow periods (winter) water sources may be especially susceptible to contamination. As currently envisaged, use of NPR-A watersheds will have no relation to state or national planning. In terms of plans for NPR-A, the critical problem will be that of transportation of the resource to points of use. Development of such systems will be a major and costly challenge. Land Resources Demand Other than some acres yet to be conveyed to the Native village corpora- tions, no known change in land status is pending. If petroleum resources prove inadequate to warrant development, Congress may wish to open lands under general land and mining laws or continue their reserved status for some other use. If general land laws become operational, demands for land might include use of sites for temporary hunting and fishing camps, Native allotments for those who previously were rejected as not meeting the "exclusive use" requirements, and filings for oil and gas exploratory and drilling permits, and land and mineral land-use applications. Land now conveyed to the village corporations is expected to meet future needs for residential and commercial expansion. Other demands might include land for research sites, utility and transportation corridors, and community sand and gravel pits. Development of other minerals resources would likely require small areas for intensive use. Economic Aspects The land as a raw resource contributes little to the local cash economy. Spin-offs include renewable resource utilization, federal monies spent on management and exploration programs, and funds returned to the Borough from "payment in lieu of taxes" from the U.S. Treasury ($203,200 in 1977; 78 NPR-A lands represented about $110,000 of this). No mineral royalties are Known to have been paid the Borough. Subsistence gathering by Natives contributes to the economy on a non-cash basis from the standpoint of lessening dependence solely upon cash for maintaining a standard of living. The dramatic increase in borough govern- ment workers cannot be directly attributed to the NPR-A land resource. Tourism income is not dependent on federal land. The significance of land as a raw resource to local and state economy in this case is not clearly defined; as a base for all other resources and uses, it is basic to any economy. The extent to which land as a separate entity contributes directly to the local or state economy is contingent upon use which, on NPRA, is vastly more extensive than intensive. Relationship to Planning Recognizing that industrial or domestic construction is expensive, it is reasonable to assume that labor-extensive industry may not be part of resource development. At the present time, industries are using facilities of a temporary nature and operating when they can take advantage of the frozen ground. It appears that there will be little demand for land for intensive industrial use or accompanying large residential areas. The special "reserved" status of NPR-A has constrained "open market" or "economic use and development" of the raw land resource. The Secretary of the Interior is directed to convey the surface of lands properly selected by the involved Native village corporations under ANCSA. Other uses could probably be made of these lands without jeopardizing the primary purpose of mineral (petroleum) exploration while maintaining historic sub- sistence activities. Major Issues Issues or concerns expressed by groups, individuals, the State of Alaska, and the North Slope Borough which would be significant to the preparation of a land plan are summarized in this section. North Slope Borough, Villages and Native Interest Groups. The primary concern of the Natives and local government is protection of the subsistence lifestyle, traditional land use sites and the Native culture. Fairbanks Environmental Groups. The primary expressed concern is for wilderness values. They believe the study should recommend Wilderness Study Areas, not interim wilderness. State of Alaska. The State expressed the belief that the report should consider oil and gas resources, cover the haul road's implications to the Arctic and believes all options in the study should reflect the Native position, not just the "Native option". Trustees for Alaska. Trustees were concerned for the protection of scientific, educational, intrinsic and intangible values, and the significant wildlife areas of NPR-A. Some recreational use of the area was favored. 79 Alaska Chapter of The Wildlife Society. Concern was expressed for the protection of wildlife and the subsistence lifestyle of the Natives. National Audubon Society. The society believes that the wilderness evaluation of the area should be liberal and the selection criteria followed exactly. Institute of Northern Forestry. Concerned about the wilderness values of NPR-A, they suggest that large Wilderness areas are necessary for protection and study of the ecosystems and note the importance of the coastline to the marine mammals. Sierra Club. The Sierra Club's concern was for the wilderness values of NPR-A; they believe that the Wilderness designations should be used to protect the ecosystems. Arctic Environmental Information and Data Center. The Center expressed concern for the wilderness values of NPR-A. University of Alaska. Concern was expressed about future management changes which might limit their ability to do research; they wish to conduct research freely and under land management systems less stringent than a Wilderness designation. Intergovernmental Relationships There are three overlapping jurisdictional bodies, the federal, state, and local (North Slope Borough), active in NPR-A. All three governments have numerous authorities over a large number of subjects. Some large areas of overlap include wildlife regulation, mineral extraction, submerged lands, the power to regulate commerce (navigation), the coastal zone management, and air and water quality protection. In general, regulation by the next lower level of government prevails unless the federal government chooses to preempt or unless the more local government entity's regulations are not more restrictive. In NPR-A the Borough's powers rest largely in the planning and zoning areas, whereas the State has interest in waste disposal. FRRRRRRRARRRRARARARARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRERG (For a fuller discussion of topics in this summary, see National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska Task Force, 1978, National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, Planning Area Analysis: — U.S. Department of the Interior, National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, 105(c) Land Use Study, Study Report 6.) 80