§3141 Overall Study Program

Summary

The Secretary must study all Federal lands in Alaska north of 68° north latitude and east of the western boundary of the National Petroleum Reserve—Alaska, but not lands inside that Reserve, not lands put into the Act’s conservation units, and not submerged Outer Continental Shelf areas. The study must use experts from different fields to estimate oil and gas resources (and needed transportation routes), review wilderness qualities and recommend wilderness designation, and study wildlife and recommend protections. After the study, the Secretary must report findings on five things: the oil and gas potential; the effect of development on wildlife, especially the Arctic and Porcupine caribou herds and the polar bear; the national need to develop resources; the national interest in preserving wilderness qualities; and the national interest in protecting wildlife. The Secretary must consult with the Secretary of Energy, other Federal agencies, the State of Alaska, Native Village and Regional Corporations, the North Slope Borough, the Alaska Land Use Council, and the Government of Canada, and must let the public review and comment on a draft. The final study and findings must go to the President and Congress no later than eight years after December 2, 1980, with annual progress reports to Congress. The study must not delay or change land selections or transfers to the State of Alaska or to Natives under the Alaska Statehood Act or the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.