Dear Audubon Advocate,

The Teshekpuk Lake wetlands complex, one of the most important habitats in the entire Arctic, is threatened by a proposed ConocoPhillips oil development—the Willow Master Development Plan.

Significant portions of the project would be located within the irreplaceable Teshekpuk Lake Special Area, which has been protected for decades due to its significance for nesting Yellow-billed Loons, molting geese, polar bears, and caribou.

Urge the Bureau of Land Management to deny this environmentally destructive and misguided project. The deadline to submit public comments is Monday, August 29.

The ecologically devastating oil development would also have dire consequences for our climate. It would add over 287 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere—equivalent to the annual carbon emissions of 76 coal plants. In Arctic Alaska, where the Willow project would be built, the climate has already warmed four times faster than in other parts of the world, leading to catastrophic wildfires, melting sea ice, and rising sea levels causing coastal communities to relocate inland to higher ground. 

In one of the most egregious elements of the plan, ConocoPhillips has proposed using “chillers” to refreeze melting permafrost, which will be necessary to support the infrastructure they need to build. However, the hundreds of miles of gravel roads and pipelines to support the development, in addition to the emissions from the chillers themselves, would cause the permafrost to melt even faster. This project will also further disrupt the traditional way of life for Indigenous people living in communities like Nuiqsut, who have been continuously affected by oil development.

A federal court previously ruled that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service prematurely and illegally authorized the project, having failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act, forcing the agencies to reopen a comment period on a new Environmental Impact Statement.

Please send your comments today. The Bureau of Land Management must deny this harmful project and protect an irreplaceable and fragile area.