Environmental Studies Section

Alaska Annual Studies Plan

The Alaska Environmental Studies Program (ESP) was initiated by the U.S. Department of the Interior (USDOI) in 1974 in response to the Federal Government’s decision to propose areas of Alaska for offshore gas and oil development. The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) requires the Secretary of the Interior to conduct environmental studies to obtain information pertinent to sound leasing decisions as well as to monitor the human, marine, and coastal environments.

The Plan contains brief profiles of ongoing and proposed studies. The Plan also describes background, strategic overview, projected Outer Continental Shelf activities, examples of affected decisions, information by discipline, and information needs.

An "electronic" version of the Annual Studies Plan can be viewed or downloaded from this web page in Adobe Acrobat pdf file format.