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Colville River Special Area Management Plan and Environmental Assessment

The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Arctic Field Office recently completed a management plan and environmental Assessment (EA) for the Colville River Special Area. The plan provides future direction for 2.4 million acres of BLM-managed public lands within the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska. The lands to be covered by the plan were designated as a special area in 1977, with additional lands added in 1999.

Land use within the special area provides maximum protection for Arctic peregrine falcons that nest on cliffs along the Colville River and its major tributaries.  Although protections for Arctic peregrine falcons have been provided in previous Federal Register notices and NEPA documents, this is the first plan providing consistent management direction throughout the NPR-A’s three major planning units (South, Northwest, and Northeast) for BLM-managed public lands along the Colville River Special Area.

In developing the new plan, the BLM

  • used recent survey data and new technology to identify key habitat features for the Arctic peregrine falcon and other raptors in the Colville River Special Area
  • developed and refined planning criteria for the BLM and other agencies within a single planning document
  • identified priorities for research and monitoring so that future planning and decision-making will include the best available information 
Below you will find links to the plan, the EA, and associated documents.  Unless otherwise noted, the documents are PDF files, which may be viewed with the free Acrobat Reader software.

PDF logo   Colville River Special Area Management Plan (668 KB)

PDF logo   Environmental Assessment for the Colville River Special Area Management Plan (1.4 MB)

PDF logo   Map 1 - Generalized Land Status (550 KB)

PDF logo   Map 2 - Colville River Special Area Proposed Action (697 KB)

PDF logo   Map 3 - Colville River Special Area No Action Alternative (643 KB)

PDF logo   Map 4 - Arctic Peregrine Falcon Nest Sites (620 KB)

PDF logo   Map 5 - Barrow, Wainwright, and Nuiqsut Community Subsistence Areas in the Colville River Special Area (383 KB)

PDF logo   Map 6 - Recreational Easement along Arctic Slope Regional Corporation Land and Colville River Special Area (458 KB)

PDF logo   Finding of No Significant Impact and Decision Record for the Colville River Special Area Management Plan (389 KB)