Alaska Wilderness League
Western Arctic (National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska)

Western Arctic
(National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska)

Defend the nation’s largest and wildest public lands

The Western Arctic – also known as the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska (NPRA) – is the largest block of public land in the country. These nearly 23 million acres of wild Arctic tundra, wetlands, and coastline sustain migratory birds, brown bears, caribou, polar bears, walrus, beluga whales, and the Alaska Native communities who have relied on its living resources for thousands of years.

Development pressures in the Western Arctic are accelerating, as evidenced by the construction of the controversial Willow project within the area’s boundaries. New drilling projects are moving forward, and industry is targeting protected Special Areas, including the fragile wildlife habitat around Teshekpuk Lake. At the same time, some in Congress are working to weaken safeguards and fast-track industrialization in this region.

Help Protect the Western Arctic
Western Arctic (National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska) Map

What's at stake

Colville River Wildlife

Colville River

The Colville River Delta is an Arctic stronghold. It is an expansive 2.4 million-acre Special Area where towering bluffs provide nesting habitat for peregrine falcons, gyrfalcons, golden eagles and rough-legged hawks, and abundant wetlands and rivers sustain caribou herds, arctic cisco, and the Alaska Native communities who depend on them. It’s the largest and most productive river delta in northern Alaska.
Peard Bay Wildlife

Peard Bay

Peard Bay is an irreplaceable Arctic landscape. Its 107,000 acres contain some of the region’s most vital and fragile habitats, supporting ice seals, polar bears, walrus, and the highest density of nesting spectacled eiders in Alaska. Thousands of thaw lakes and stretches of coastal tundra sustain this remarkable wildlife, and Inupiat communities rely on these lands and waters for nutritional subsistence and cultural sustenance.
Kasegaluk Lagoon

Kasegaluk Lagoon

Kasegaluk Lagoon is a 125-mile stretch of pristine Arctic coast and one of the largest undisturbed lagoon systems in the world. Its shallow, sheltered waters are vital for beluga whales, spotted seals, walrus, and denning polar bears. More than half of the world’s Pacific black brant stop here each fall, and Inupiaq communities have relied on these rich lands and waters for generations.
Teshekpuk Lake

Teshekpuk Lake

Teshekpuk Lake sits in the heart of Alaska’s Western Arctic and spans 3.65 million acres of some of the most productive wetlands on the planet. It is globally recognized for supporting massive flocks of shorebirds and waterfowl, providing essential calving and insect-relief habitat for the caribou herd, and sustaining Indigenous communities, including Atqasuk, Utqiaġvik, and Nuiqsut, whose ways of life depend on its lands and waters.
Utukok River Uplands Wildlife

Utukok River Uplands

The Utukok River Uplands cover nearly four million acres of Arctic grasslands and tundra, serving as the primary calving grounds for the Western Arctic caribou herd and supporting grizzly bears, wolves, and a rich diversity of birdlife. The Utukok River has long been a travel corridor for Iñupiat hunters, and more than 40 villages continue to rely on its lands and waters for subsistence. This Special Area anchors vital ecosystems and subsistence communities.
Victories Victories

We helped safeguard one of the Western Arctic’s most vital cultural and ecological landscapes. Now we are driving a growing movement for permanent protection, working in partnership with Indigenous leaders to ensure this region endures.

Here’s what we’ve accomplished:
Alaska Scenery

Special Areas

Secured enhanced protections for five existing Special Areas under the Biden administration

Flowers

Pushed Biden

Pushed the Biden administration to initiate a broader review of additional areas worthy of protection

Arctic Refuge Protestors

Drove Comments

Drove thousands of comments to federal agencies demanding increased protections for NPRA

Alaska Scenery

Special Areas

Secured enhanced protections for five existing Special Areas under the Biden administration

Flowers

Pushed Biden

Pushed the Biden administration to initiate a broader review of additional areas worthy of protection

Arctic Refuge Protestors

Drove Comments

Drove thousands of comments to federal agencies demanding increased protections for NPRA

Keep Fighting

We have a real opportunity to advance lasting protections in the Western Arctic, and your support is essential to carry this work forward.

Help Protect the Western Arctic
News News
Biden Administration Takes Next Step to Advance Statutory Protections for America’s Arctic

Biden Administration Takes Next Step to Advance Statutory Protections for America’s Arctic

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Safeguarding Our Western Arctic: A Quick Journey Through Time

Safeguarding Our Western Arctic: A Quick Journey Through Time

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100+ Organizations and Businesses Call on President Biden and Secretary Haaland to Realize Opportunities for Conservation and Our Climate in America’s Arctic

100+ Organizations and Businesses Call on President Biden and Secretary Haaland to Realize Opportunities for Conservation and Our Climate in America’s Arctic

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