Happy Birthday to the National Petroleum Reserves in Alaska!
On this day in 1976, the administration of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A) was transferred to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) by authority of President Gerald Ford.The NPR-A, a vast 22.8 million acres on Alaska’s North Slope, was initially identified for emergency oil supply for the U.S. Navy by President Harding in 1923 and named the Naval Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. It is nearly the size of Indiana and is the largest single block of federally managed land in the United States.
Under the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976, the BLM is required to balance the exploration and development of oil & gas resources with the protection of wildlife, habitat, and the subsistence values of rural residents and Alaska Natives.
BLM Alaska manages 72 million acres of public lands, including the NPR-A, and its oil and gas programs generated $475.7 million in Fiscal Year 2015, contributing to a total output of $528.7 million for BLM across the state.