NPR-A Lease Sale - Live Blogging
Alaska Wilderness League Field Representative, Jeremiah Millen was on site, tracking and reporting the September, 24, 2008, NPR-A lease sale to help shine light on the process for the public.
NPR-A Lease Sale Has Ended
Right after the break they ended the sale and announced the highest bidders and acreage amounts. This sale ended much earlier than expected compared the the Chukchi Sea lease sale we covered last year.
These are rough figures for but here is what we came up with for numbers:
| Bidder | Total Spent | AVG |
|---|---|---|
| PC/APC | 3,422,483.00 | 311,134.82 |
| FEX | 4,069,685.00 | 369,971.36 |
| PC | 1,304,163.00 | 76,715.47 |
| APC | 1,291,289.00 | 258,257.80 |
| CP | 6,894,598.00 | 202,782.29 |
| PH | 12,927,884.00 | 190,115.94 |
By our calculations this comes our to be about $18.06/acre. A great deal for big oil.
What a bizarre thing to witness, lands on the chopping block in America’s already imperiled Arctic. To give The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) credit, they did listen to the overwhelming public opposition to opening up the entire NE area and protected Teshekpuk Lake and areas important for waterfowl adjacent to the north and east of the Lake.
We were happy to see that lands near the Colville River were kept to a minimum. As noted earlier the Colville and surronding lands is some of the most critical habitat for nesting sites and hunting areas for a large number of raptors such as the Short Eared Owl and other bird life.
We were also glad to see that lands near the Alaska Native village of Nuiqusut Alaska who have experienced serious impacts to human health and wildlife needed for subsistence.
The lands and waters in the reserve harbor rich and vital wild lands and wildlife which are important to the health and survival of the Inupiat people of Alaska’s North Slope. President Harding established the Naval Petroleum Reserve-Alaska in 1923. Congress transferred management of the Reserve from the Navy to the Interior Department in 1976, and required the Secretary of Interior to provide “maximum protection” for the Reserve’s critical biological and cultural resources. Though this balance is out of kilter today, conservation organizations and Alaska Native communities throughout Alaska are working together to protect America’s Arctic and Wilderness quality lands across the state.
Please take some time to find out how you can help protect Alaska’s Wilderness, wildlife and cultures.
A few photos of the NPR-A for your enjoyment. Thank you for your support in protecting Alaska’s Wilderness!
Jeremiah
NPRA Lease Sale: 15 Minute Break
We are headed back in after a 15 minute break(Alaska Time). Alaska Wilderness League’s BLM Program Policy Analyst Jen Hillman has been taking notes on the bids the players and the amounts during the last session. Looks like just over 150 bids have been taken.
Outside in the hallway our friend Eleanor Huffines from The Wilderness Society was talking to media reporters from Television news.
The conservation community has largely been supportive of a balanced approach to development in the NPR-A but has has concerns about development in or near the most sensitive habitat areas located in the Reserve.
NPR-A Lease Sale Bidding Underway- 9:55 A.M.
Update: The Auctioneer is currently reviewing bids with in the NE portion of the reserve. Several of the blocks currently being reviewed run dangerously adjacent to the Colville River. The Cliffs and surrounding lands around the Colville River provide critical nesting sites and adjacent hunting areas for peregrine and gyrfalcons, golden eagles, and rough-legged hawks; two tributaries, the Kikiakrorak and Kogosukruk Rivers also possess outstanding wildlife values.
Throughout the Reserve there is critical habitat for many species of wildlife including the threatened spectacled eider, the Arctic peregrine falcon, the Teshekpuk Lake caribou herd, and the yellow-billed loon – currently being considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act. The areas on the chopping block are included in this lease sale on land in the Northeast and Northwest planning areas of the NPR-A.
What is needed most is permanent protection for the most biologically rich and key wildlife habitat areas. We are told by industry that modern advances in drilling technology will ensure minimal impacts to wildlife, human communities and the environment. Unfortunately their facts don’t support these claims. Their track record remains dismal at best.
Is anything sacred anymore?
NPR-A Lease Sale Bidding Begins- 9:00 A.M.
Well its official, the bidding has started! Instead of protecting some of America’s most sensitive areas, resources and cultures, the Bush administration and the “drill baby drill” crowd have opted to give away more lands in America’s Arctic to the private interests of big oil. Instead of choosing a more balanced approach, we are witnessing the give away as oil and gas companies cast their bids.
The sale covers areas in both the Northeast and Northwest planning areas of the reserve. Federal Bureau of Land Management, Ted Murphy is currently reading off a list of the 186 bids submitted on the total 150 blocks in the reserve. One of the highest prices announced so far was $642,000 submitted by Petro Hunt LLC, a Canadian Oil and Gas company.
Industry and Federal Goverment propaganda would have the public believe that the NPR-A is a barren waste land with little to no biological value. As you can see by images such as this, the claims are false and designed to manipulate the public.
The decisions being made today will further fracture the ecological integrity of the North Slope which is already at serious risk from piecemeal development.
Preparing for the Sale-8:45 A.M.
Alaska Wilderness League is on site, currently at the Public Library in Anchorage, Alaska, as oil and gas companies prepare to bid on 4.8 million acres of land in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) located on Alaska’s North Slope.
Outside the bidding room high powered executives from big oil pace the hall in preparation to make deals.
As Oil Company profits continue to rise, the unquenchable thirst for more seems to never end! Stay tuned as we monitor this shameless give away.
NPR-A Land On the Chopping Block…
As oil and gas companies prepare to bid on 4.8 million acres of land in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A), conservationists are raising concerns about vital wildlife habitat that could be harmed by oil and gas development. Important habitat for many species of wildlife including the threatened spectacled eider, the Arctic peregrine falcon, the Teshekpuk Lake caribou herd, and the yellow-billed loon – currently being considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act – are included in this lease sale on land in the Northeast and Northwest planning areas of the NPR-A.
