Today the Bureau of Land Management issued the final permit to drill and right-of-way grant for the first oil development project in the federal lands of the Western Arctic.  Greater Mooses Tooth 1 (GMT1) was developed under the balanced Integrated Activity Plan adopted in 2013 that authorized development of 72% of the commercially-recoverable oil and gas while protecting crucial, sensitive parts of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (Reserve).

Jim Adams, Policy Director at Audubon Alaska, said: “It is appropriate for development like GMT1 to take place under the balanced plan for the NPRA issued in 2013.  Our collective challenge is to make sure development has the minimum impact on the environment and to mitigate the damage that is inevitable.  We look forward to working with BLM and other stakeholders on a regional mitigation strategy and other ways to minimize impacts to wildlife and the Reserve ecosystem.”