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The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) today announced that Director Neil Kornze will travel to the U.S. Arctic this week. His visit to Alaska's North Slope will include a tour of legacy well clean-up efforts in progress at Cape Simpson and Iko Bay. He will also meet with Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act corporations, local government officials and community leaders in Wainwright and Barrow. On March 15, Director Kornze will assist in the capping of the Simpson Core Test # 29 site located about 50 miles southeast of Barrow. The site is a dry hole that was drilled by the U.S. Navy in 1950 to determine the limits of production for the Simpson Oil Field. Later that day, Director Kornze will visit the Iko Bay # 1 well site near Barrow, which was drilled by the Navy in 1975. Cleanup at the site is ongoing. The BLM is addressing methane leaking into the atmosphere through failed wellhead components and other issues at the site. Simpson Core Test #29 and Iko Bay are among the 18 legacy wells that the BLM plans to clean up this year. The Director will also travel to the community of Wainwright on March 16 to finalize the transfer approximately 1,500 acres of land to the Olgoonik Corporation. The lands were previously used by the Department of Defense for national defense purposes and are being sold to the Olgoonik Corporation to support future economic development. The lands were purchased at fair market value following an appraisal. The Alaska congressional delegation introduced legislation in 2014 that made this land sale possible. "Cleaning up the legacy wells on the North Slope is a major priority for the Bureau of Land Management. Substantial progress is being made and I am looking forward to seeing this year's cleanup operations in person," said Director Kornze. "I am also pleased to be able to help finalize an important land transfer to the Olgoonik Corporation." After visiting Wainwright, the Director will return to Barrow to meet with representatives from the North Slope Borough, the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation and other government and community leaders. The 22.1million acre National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A) was established by executive order on February 27, 1923. From 1944 to 1981, the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S Navy drilled 136 test holes within and adjacent to the NPR-A for oil and gas resource exploration and gathering of geological data. The BLM was given responsibility for managing the NPR-A in 1976 and has been assessing, plugging, and remediating legacy wells since 1982. In 2013, the BLM conducted a detailed assessment of the legacy wells in coordination with the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and concluded that 50 still require remediation. Of those requiring remediation, three have already been cleaned up, and an additional 18 will be addressed by the third-party reclamation contractors. The BLM has contracted with Marsh Creek, LLC, and Olgoonik Construction Services, LLC, both Alaska Native Corporations, to complete the work. The trip is part of Director Kornze's ongoing effort to focus on Arctic issues and the important relationships that the Bureau has across Alaska's North Slope. This is his fifth visit to the area to meet with Native Alaskan groups, local representatives, and other stakeholders to discuss regional issues. In May 2015, the Director traveled to Nuiqsut to participate in a community town hall meeting and also traveled to Chicken in Alaska's Interior for a meeting with the Fortymile Miners Board of Trustees.