Porcupine Caribou, Impact Assessment, and Political Agendas: Uncertainty and Inequity in the Arctic Refuge Conflict

Abstract

"This paper describes one aspect of the legislatively mandated environmental impact assessment process which took place from 1980 through 1987, an institutional arrangement which has been utilized by the U.S. federal government in its on-going Arctic Refuge decision making process. This aspect is the assessment of impacts of oil development to the Porcupine Caribou Herd. It is my intention that this description will provide insights into the effectiveness of this large-scale impact assessment process, illustrating how its techno-scientific approach to decision making was vulnerable to political interests, and how local indigenous communities have, in turn responded. This paper will examine the handling of matters of equity and uncertainty in the process, and will reflect on state-level and local-level reactions to the impact assessment process."