The Bureau of Land Management said today that it will offer 8,036,486 acres in 696 tracts in the northeast and northwest National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska at a Sept. 27 lease sale.
Leases on 183,200 acres relinquished since the 2002 sale will be reoffered, along with some 373,000 acres north of Teshekpuk Lake which will be offered for the first time following the January 2006 completion of a revised land use plan for the northeast NPR-A planning area. BLM said Teshekpuk Lake and areas along the Colville River will not be leased.
The bid opening will be at 9 a.m. Sept. 27 at the Z.J. Loussac Public Library in Anchorage.
“In order to mitigate possible impacts to biological and subsistence values surrounding Teshekpuk Lake, BLM has crafted 11 additional stipulations that will apply to biologically sensitive areas,” acting State Director Julia Dougan said in a statement. “Some areas will also need to have another three years of monitoring and study before we will authorize activities beyond winter exploration,” she said.
