Seismic exploration in the Western Arctic: The damage before the drilling

Last November, the administration rushed through approvals for exploratory seismic and drilling operations, clearing the way for ConocoPhillips to launch this damaging activity this winter in large swaths of the Western Arctic, including in ecologically sensitive areas near Teshekpuk Lake and the Colville River.

Many of these areas had only recently been granted stronger protections under the previous administration, thanks to years of advocacy by The Wilderness Society’s members and supporters—protections that have now been rescinded.

This approval is a real and immediate escalation of industrial activity in one of the last intact landscapes in the United States, and the impacts could last for generations.

Seismic exploration uses massive industrial vehicles, including heavy “thumper trucks” and  vibrations to map oil and gas deposits beneath the surface.

The use of such heavy, harmful equipment barreling across sensitive tundra ripples through entire ecosystems—irreversibly scarring vegetation, destabilizing fragile soils and disturbing wildlife.

The Western Arctic is a fragile ecosystem and it does not easily recover from industrial development.

Seismic exploration brings more than vehicles and heavy equipment. It increases traffic, aircraft activity and human presence across the landscape, disturbing wildlife and putting additional stress on sensitive ecosystems.

Tire tracks and seismic scars can remain visible for decades, fragmenting wildlife habitat and destabilizing ancient permafrost. As permafrost thaws, the landscape itself changes—permanently altering land and water systems and releasing massive stores of greenhouse gases that accelerate climate change.

There is no “undo” button for this kind of destruction. The damage is irreversible.

For Arctic wildlife, seismic testing is much more than an annoyance or disturbance. It’s a threat to their survival.

Caribou depend on intact, connected environments to thrive. In an environment with extreme seasonal changes, they rely on movement to access food, migrate and raise their young. The Western Arctic provides a rare haven for this sensitive species to forage, calve and move across large, undisturbed areas.

More than 40 years of scientific study have shown that caribou are sensitive to roads and other forms of development, which alter their movement and habitat use. The noise, vehicle traffic and habitat fragmentation from seismic exploration can displace herds from critical feeding and calving grounds, increase their stress and interfere with migration routes that have been passed down in their herd for generations. And the most sensitive animals—pregnant females—are especially likely to spend the winter in areas proposed for development.

Once disrupted, caribou movement patterns and habitat use may not recover.

Caribou are vital to the health and stability of Arctic ecosystems. They help keep permafrost cool and fertilize plants; they support predators like bears, wolves, eagles, wolverines and lynx; and people—especially Alaska Native peoples who have lived with caribou since time immemorial—rely on healthy herds and their habitat.  

Protecting caribou means conserving vast ecosystems—and the many species within them.

Supporters like you power The Wilderness Society’s defense of the Arctic.

Your support enables our team of scientists, legal and policy experts, advocates and more to:

• Track damage in real time
• Bring rigorous science to decision-makers
• Fight destructive development in court and in Congress before it permanently scars the landscape
• Work with Indigenous communities and local groups to safeguard Alaska’s irreplaceable public lands

What happens in the Western Arctic will echo for generations. Your support helps ensure decisions are guided by science, Traditional Knowledge and respect for the rights of Indigenous peoples who have stewarded these lands since time immemorial—not by unchecked industrial development.