Media Contact
The Biden administration has blocked oil and gas development across a large swath of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska — a remote region rich with wildlife, including millions of birds that migrate from seven continents to nest there each year.
Gerrit Vyn
Filmmaker and producer at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Cornell Lab of Ornithology filmmaker Gerrit Vyn has been documenting the Reserve’s birds and wildlife habitats for a documentary project, “America’s Arctic.”
For media use: Images and video assets from the Reserve, including bird life, animated migration maps, and landscape and aerial footage, can be downloaded for media use here.
Vyn says:
“The 23.5 million acre Reserve is the single largest tract of undisturbed public land in the United States and yet not many people know about it because it is so remote. Our footage shows the incredible sights and sounds of wildlife in its extensive wetlands, especially around the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area, home to the highest densities of breeding shorebirds anywhere in the world.
“Today’s announcement reflects the Bureau of Land Management’s mandate to provide maximum protection for surface areas of the Reserve with significant subsistence, recreational, wildlife, and scenic values. The actions taken now are not permanent, but as a nation we have a tremendous opportunity to create more lasting protections for a wilderness that’s important to birdlife, neighboring communities, and everyone who shares this planet.
“The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is part of a multiyear effort to give voice to the birds and wildlife of ‘America’s Arctic.’ By revealing the tremendous abundance and beauty of wildlife, we can help provide a true accounting of the value of these lands and the life they sustain.”
