Fish Habitat Management and Monitoring Related to Oil and Gas Exploration in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska: 2008-2009

In 2008 a consulting firm under contract to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) completed a fisheries monitoring plan for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A). The plan outlined a strategic approach to monitoring fish habitat where oil and gas activities are occurring. This report addresses how the BLM’s Arctic Field Office implemented this plan to manage and monitor fish habitat during oil and gas exploration in the NPR-A during the winter of 2008–2009. Two operators, Conoco Phillips Alaska, Inc. and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, conducted exploration operations during this time. The BLM’s multifaceted strategy relied on Required Operating Procedures, lease stipulations, permit-specific stipulations, permitting by other regulatory agencies, compliance inspections, and additional effectiveness monitoring. Primary concerns about fish habitat included impacts on water source lakes, ice- and snow-road stream crossings, and water quality. Data and observations confirmed that the majority of management objectives were accomplished. However, one lake was over pumped and a potential barrier to fish movements was left at one ice-road crossing during spring breakup.