Nearly 1 million acres of land now protected for caribou herd within petroleum reserve [Video]

UTQIAGVIK, Alaska (KTUU) – Nearly one million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve will now be protected for the Teshekpuk Caribou Herd that lives within its boundaries.

Last week, the Bureau of Land Management issued a right of way to the Nuiqsut Trilateral, Inc. (NTI), providing durable, long-term protections for the Teshekpuk Caribou Herd. The protected land will include Teshekpuk Lake, a buffer around the lake and the migration patterns to the east and northwest.

This comes after ConocoPhillips was allowed to build the massive Willow Project oil development on Alaska’s North Slope last year. The facility includes three drill sites, a central processing facility, a new gravel mine and an airstrip.

ConocoPhillips previously saidthat the Willow Project site would cover roughly 380 acres of land on Alaska’s North Slope and, at its peak, would produce around 180,000 barrels of oil per day. They are expected to start producing oil …