The following is the first in a series of articles, which will focus on a specific area within the National Petroleum Reserve and on the wildlife, and natural values, which make that region unique and valuable.

Of the 23.5 million acre expanse that makes up the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, perhaps the best-known feature is the Colville River. The Colville is the largest river on the North Slope of the Brooks Range both in length and total watershed area. This watershed includes a wide array of tributaries from the small streams and rivers, which flow from the northern foothills of the Brooks Range to the meandering tributaries, the Kikiakrorak and Kogosukruk rivers on the coastal plain. Crossing west to east over almost the entire width of the Reserve, the Colville eventually turns north to become most of its eastern boundary. This meandering river cuts out high cliffs and bluffs as well as huge expanses of gravel and sand bars, creating a distinctive high riparian community of willows, mosses, lichens and alders in an otherwise nearly continuous landscape of tussock tundra. This vegetation provides sustenance to a diverse and abundance group of passerines, ptarmigan, waterfowl and shorebirds as well as an unusual population of Canada geese which nest on the grassy bluffs above the river. Near the Beaufort Sea, the braided river fans out to create a wide delta, which provides vital habitat to an even larger number of waterfowl and shorebird species.

The Colville River is most notable for its phenomenal concentration of nesting raptors including arctic peregrine falcons, gyrfalcons, rough-legged hawks and golden eagles. Such diversity and density is found in few other places on earth. These raptors nest along the bluffs and cliffs of the Colville and its tributaries and prey on the birds and small mammals living within the riparian vegetation. The arctic peregrine falcon in particular depends on migratory passerine species of birds that winter in areas where chlorinated pesticides such as DDT were heavily used in the 1970’s. Consequently, the arctic peregrine falcon was the most heavily hit by the use of these harmful pesticides. However, with the US ban on these pesticides, the peregrine population has enjoyed a steady increase to the point where they have likely reached the carrying capacity of the area.

The Colville River and its tributaries also provide important year-round habitat for brown bears, wolves, and wolverines as well as vital winter foraging for over 1,500 moose. In addition, these rivers provide extensive spawning, rearing and overwintering habitat to over 20 species of anadromous and freshwater fish including arctic char, grayling and whitefish—the most abundant and important subsistence fish resource for the Natives of the region, the Inupiat Eskimos.

The Inupiat have inhabited the North Slope of Alaska for over 8,000 years. Prior to contact with Euro-Americans in the early 19th century, these Natives subsisted entirely on the fisheries and wildlife resources of the area. Rather than settling in one area, they traveled, hunted and fished along the major river drainages including the Colville. Today, while most Inupiat live in villages along the periphery of the Reserve and focus primarily on marine-based subsistence, the inland fisheries and wildlife resources are still a valuable part of their diet.

Many of the fishing camps, seasonal villages and hunting camps of the early Alaska Natives have been rediscovered within the Reserve through the work of archeologists. There are currently over 1,400 archeological sites within the Reserve, many of which are along the Colville and its tributaries. Archeologists believe that these sites will provide important clues about past cultures of the Arctic and North America as well as cultural patterns of movement on the trek across the Bering Land Bridge.

The Colville River area is also noted for the internationally significant dinosaur remains, which were discovered along the bluffs at Ocean Point, making them the northern most fossil dinosaur remains in the world. Five late-era dinosaur species have been identified within this area. Paleontologist are studying these fossils in hopes of answering questions regarding the mysterious extinction of dinosaurs as well as gaining information on past global climate changes. In addition, current data estimates that the amount of vegetation available at this latitude would have been insufficient for survival. Therefore, scientists hope to determine how the dinosaurs were able to survive during the winter months.

Following the discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay in 1968, Secretary of Interior Cecil Andrus was granted authority to identify and designate areas within the Reserve of extraordinary subsistence, recreational, fish and wildlife, or historical value. In 1977, three such areas were designated: the Utukok Uplands, the Teshekpuk Lake Area and the Colville River Corridor. The Colville River Corridor was identified primarily for the high density of raptors within the cliffs. In 1998, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released their completed environmental impact statement for the northeast section of the Reserve. In the chosen alternative for oil leasing, a buffer zone was established for the Colville whereby no permanent oil and gas surface facilities, except essential pipeline crossings, will be allowed within one mile of the west bluffs or banks of the river. In addition, the environmental impact statement laid the groundwork for a Colville River Management Plan, which would be developed by the Bureau of Land Management in cooperation with adjacent landowners to address issues concerning the Colville River Corridor.