Old Crow Flats, Alaska and The Oil Industry

Old Crow Flats

Old Crow Flats village is small village with 300 residents situated in North America, in Yukon, close to the American border.

It is an area of low relief around 300m above sea level made up mostly of peat bogs. Spruce forests cover most of the mountains to the north, while tussock tundra vegetation exists on the more gentle slopes. The Shahtlah Mountain is nearby and the braided Old Crow River flows along the edge of the village. To the North are the Ivvavik and Vuntut National Parks, with mountainous areas, hills and pediment slopes. There is also much wildlife such as Caribou and other species that form a large, but fragile ecosystem.

The area is considered a fragile environment due to the many complex and sensitive ecosystems in existence here. It is also largely untouched by human activity, so is fragile to any changes. The un-spoilt landscapes and other physical aspects of the area would also be at danger from being exploited by harmful activities. Once this sensitive area has been disrupted and violated by oil and mining companies, it would be extremely difficult to restore it.

The population largely consists of an indigenous people called the Vuntut Gwitchin. They are an isolated community of around 7500 people spread across 19 villages. They have a large history and own a ‘Traditional Territory’ which is approximately 50000 square miles, this is needed to hunt Caribou, on which the Vuntut Gwitchin rely heavily for food, shelter and medicine. Their originally nomadic lifestyle is now very settled.

The Caribou

The Caribou in the Vuntut Gwitchin’s traditional territory migrate heavily around the area and even go as far as Alaska and the Northern Territories. The specific species is called the Porcupine Caribou herd are made up of around 125000 animals today, down from a peak of around 160000 in 1989. They move according to seasons and year to year climate variations. Crow Flats harvest most of their Caribou in autumn and spring. The Gwitchin people use the caribou for food, clothing, tents and tools such as needles and spears.

Resources

In 1902, oil was discovered in the area and added to the other industries such as gold and copper mining, whaling and fur trapping. The area’s potential for oil industry was not fully realized until the 1950s when commercially productive wells started to be built. Other resources extracted in the area include a gravel quarry, which was begun in 2003 on the side of Crow Mountain, 6km from the town. The gravel is used in building and improving roads in the area, as at the moment all outside contact is by boat or air. This has provided some local jobs which will help to entice the economically active to remain in the area, unlike in the past, which has left the village with a disproportionally large population of young and old people.

A large area of the arctic refuge know as the 1002 lands has been proposed to be open to petroleum companies for exploitation and development, this is because it is the only area of the refuge that does not have protected wilderness designation. However, a large part of the 1002 lands is the calving area for the caribou and has other unique wildlife. Oil companies, Alaskan congressmen, those that argue America must become resource independent and many who benefit from the oil industry in Alaska argue the lands should be open. Native Alaskans that rely on the caribou, the tourist industry and wildlife conservationists all argue it shouldn’t to protect the area arguing that there is only a 50:50 chance of finding oil and any found is unlikely to be a large enough amount to meet US needs for more than 90 days.

Alaskan Pipeline

Oil companies that have developed gas fields in northern Alaska have sent gas out via ships through the Bering straits until now. However, there are plans to transport the gas to Alberta, in mainland USA by a pipeline. This would save the long journey by sea around Alaska to US ports, and it could be supplied continuously and with more reliability.

Overall, like with the oil industry, the disruption of massive areas of wildlife reserves and national parks for short-term energy supplies does not seem sensible, and instead the USA’s energy consumption should be tackled.