Lower Foothills opens for tundra travel

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources opened state lands in the lower foothills of the North Slope to oil and gas exploration Dec. 14. The department said in a Dec. 15 statement that the decision allows the use of vehicles that are not approved for year-round tundra travel. This is, the department said, the earliest opening for the foothills area this decade and is based on measurement standards developed by the Division of Mining, Land and Water through a scientific study completed in 2004. The new snow depth and soil temperature standards developed through the study allow the department to length the oil and gas winter exploration season without increasing impact on the tundra, Commissioner Mike Menge said in a statement.

The department said that monitoring of some of the early exploration activity allowed last winter season, followed by additional study this summer, showed that last year’s early opening did not result in any increased impact on the tundra. The department said it will continue to monitor the effect of exploration based on the new standards developed.

“The division has responded to the need to lengthen winter oil exploration seasons while still maintaining the existing level of production,” Menge said. “While the new measurement standards have resulted in a longer season, the seasonal weather conditions play a vital role as the standards are reflective of the changing conditions.”

The department said it will continue to collect data in the upper foothills areas to determine when opening standards have been met.

The east and west coastal areas of state-owned lands on the North Slope were opened to oil and gas exploration activity Dec. 6, the earliest opening since 1995.

—Petroleum News