H OCS Report Alaskan Outer Continental Shelf MMS 87-00 I0 U.S. Department of the Interior Minerals Management Service OCS Report MMS 87-00 I0 Surface-Transportation Networks of the Alaskan North Slope John D. Tremont Geographer U.S. Department of the Interior Minerals Management Service Alaska Outer Continental Shelf Region 949 E. 36th Avenue Anchorage, AK 995084302 Any use of trade names is for descriptive purposes only and does not constitute endorsement of these products by the Minerals Management Service. CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................iv I . INTRODUCTION ...................................................... I- 1 I1 . HISTORY OF PETROLEUM-RELATED SURFACE-TRANSPORTATION DEVELOPMENT BETWEEN THE COLVILLE AND THE CANNING RIVERS .......................I1 I- A . Development Activities That Occurred Prior to the Prudhoe Bay Discovery Well (1924-1968) .............................11 B . Historical Overview of Administrative Policies Affecting Surface-Transportation Development ............................I- 3 1 . Formulation of State Land Use Regulations .................11-3 2 . Passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act ........I5 I- 3 . Formulation of Alaska Department of Natural Resources Regulations .....................................15 4 . Regulations Affecting Construction of Gravel and Ice Roads ...................................................16 1- Development of Petroleum-Production Units Between the Colville and the Canning Rivers (1977-Present) ................11-8 1 . Prudhoe Bay Unit .........................................18 1- 2 . Kuparuk River Unit .......................................19 1- 3 . Milne Point Unit ..........................................I 1-10 4 . Gwydyr Bay Unit ...........................................I 1-11 5 . Duck Island Unit .......................................... I1-11 6 . Point Thompson Unit .......................................I 1-12 7 . Hemi Springs Unit .........................................I 1-12 D . Current Land Use Regulation of Development Between the Colville and the Canning Rivers ...............................I 1-12 1 . Alaska Department of Natural Resources (State) ............11-13 2 . U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Federal) ....................11-15 3 . North Slope Borough .......................................11-16 111 . SURFACE-TRANSPORTATION PATTERNS CREATED BY EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE-ALASKA .............I1 I- 1 A . Initial Phase of Exploration Activities in Naval Petroleum Reserve No . 4 (1923-1953) ..........................111- 1 B . Second Phase of Exploration Activities in Naval Petroleum Reserve No . 4 (1953-1976) ..........................111-3 CONTENTS (Continued) Page 1 . Husky Oil Corporation Exploration Activities in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska ........................111- 3 2. Environmental and Administrative Considerations Affecting the Second Exploration Phase in National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska ........................I1 I- 6 C . Post-Exploration Activities in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (1977-Present) ...............................111 7 IV . INUPIAT TRAVEL AND SUBSISTENCE-HUNTING PATTERNS ...................IV- 1 A . Introduction ..................................................1 1 B . Inupiat Surface Navigation in the Arctic ...................... IV- 3 C . Travel and Subsistence-Hunting Routes Among Inupiat Communities ...................................................I V- 5 1 . Kaktovik ..............................................1 6 2 . Anaktuvuk Pass ............................................ IV- 8 3 . Nuiqsut ...................................................IV-10 4 . Barrow/Atqasuk ............................................IV-12 5. Wainwright ................................................IV-16 6 . Point Lay .................................................IV-18 7 . Point Hope ................................................IV-20 v . SUMMARY ............................................................v- 1 A . History of Surface-Transportation Development Between the Colville and the Canning Rivers ................................V- 1 B . Surface-Transportation Patterns Created by Exploration and Development of the NPR-A .......................................V- 3 C . Inupiat Travel and Subsistence-Hunting Patterns ................V- 4 D . Summary Observations ...........................................V- 6 VI . REFERENCES CITED ................................................ V I- 1 Glossary of Acronyms and Abbreviations Appendix: Chronology of ~x~lorationand Development on the North Slope (1923-Present) LIST OF GRAPHICS, FIGURES, AND TABLES GRAPHICS Follows Page Graphic No. 1 Spatial and Temporal Growth of North Slope Surface-Transportation Infrastructure Envelope (Back Cover) Graphic No. 2 North Slope Activity Map Envelope Graphic No. 3 Historical Subsistence-Access Routes on the North Slope Envelope FIGURES Figure 111-A-1 Husky Oil Corporation Winter Trails (1975-1981) Figure IV-C-1 Areas of Arctic Alaska Village Subsistence- Hunting Interest in the Early 1970's IV- 6 Figure IV-C-2 Arctic Alaska Village Subsistence-Hunting Zones (1979) IV- 6 Figure IV-C-3 Kaktovik Subsistence-Access Routes IV- 6 Figure IV-C-4 Anaktuvuk Pass Subsistence-Access Routes IV- 8 Figure IV-C-5 Areas of Seasonal Surface Activity Near Anaktuvuk Pass IV- 10 Figure IV-C-6 Nuiqsut IV- 10 Figure IV-C-7 BarrowIAtqasuk Subsistence-Access Routes IV-12 Figure IV-C-8 Wainwright Subsistence-Access Routes (Includes Point Lay Subsistence-Access Routes) IV- 16 Figure IV-C-9 Point Hope Subsistence-Access Routes IV-20 TABLES Table 11-B-1 Production-Unit Development (1977-Present) 11- 8 Table IV-C-1 Spatial Distribution of Subsistence-Hunting Activities in the Kaktovik Harvest Zone IV- 7 iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Among the many fine people who provided both encouragement and information during the preparation of this report, I would like to specifically thank: William Schneider Curator of'0ral History, University of Alaska, Fairbanks John F. Schindler Chief, Environmental Assessment Section, Alaska OCS Region, Minerals Management Service Paul Dubsky Chief, Subarctic Unit, Alaska OCS Region, Minerals Management Service ABSTRACT OCS Report MMS 87-0010 presents a historical and geographical perspective on the evolution of surface-transportation networks north of the 68th parallel. This report is unique in the body of technical literature about the Alaskan North Slope in that it is the first document in which transportation networks are the focus of analysis. The report concentrates on the two principal generators of transport movement on the North Slope--the oil industry and the Inupiat (Eskimo) subsistence hunters. In addition to describing the evolution of transportation patterns, the report discusses the administrative regula- tions governing location and construction of transport infrastructure on the North Slope. The analysis of surface-transportation patterns is set against the economic and technological forces that have influenced activities on the North Slope during the 20th century. The report contains sections on oil and gas exploration within the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, the Prudhoe Bay oil-industrial complex, and subsistence-harvest-travel patterns among Inupiat communities. The report concludes that (1) modern surface-transportation technology has increased man's range within the arctic and made the Alaskan North Slope accessible during all seasons, leading to a gradual coalescence of the region into a single economic entity; (2) increasing regulatory require- ments generated primarily by environmental and cultural concerns have acted to shape and define the configuration of arctic oil and gas industrial- transportation networks; and (3) through the use of the snow machine and the resettlement of formerly abandoned community sites, Inupiat Eskimos have reasserted their presence within traditional subsistence-hunting areas. Methods of data collection included literature research, personal interview of experts, field research, and the use of color-infrared photography to estab- lish patterns of Inupiat snow-machine travel. I. INTRODUCTION The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the surface- transportation networks north of the 68th parallel by integrating the geographical, technological, and recent historical factors related to I the principal generators of surface movement on the North Slope. These are: (1) petroleum-industry and related mineral-exploration activities (Graphic No. 2) and (2) Inupiat (Eskimo) travel in pursuit of subsistence-harvest activities (Graphic Nos. 1 and 3). Previous arctic-transportation studies, particularly those sponsored by the Alaska Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Office, were oriented toward planning and dealt with systems-oriented issues (i.e., effects of the flow of goods and personnel, facility-siting require- ments and construction restraints, legal restraints, condition of existing facilities, etc.) . This report compiles some of the obtainable facts and issues regarding surface movement in the arctic and provides background information for evaluating the onshore effects of offshore petroleum development, specifically as they affect or relate to (1) the issues surrounding the Section 810 analysis required by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) , (2) the evolu- tion and design of stipulations regulating surface movement, and (3) the formulation