**REPORT TITLE:** Beaufort Sea Region Socioeconomic Baseline.

**STUDY TITLE:** Beaufort Sea Region Socioeconomic Baseline (TR-11).

CONTRACT NUMBER(S): BLM: CT6-61; MMS: 14-12-0001-29002

SPONSORING OCS REGION: Alaska.

APPLICABLE PLANNING AREA(S): Beaufort Sea.

FISCAL YEAR(S) OF PROJECT FUNDING: 1977.

COMPLETION DATE OF REPORT: 1978.

COST(S): FY 1977: \$68,665; CUMULATIVE PROJECT COST: \$68,665.

PROJECT MANAGER(S): W. Pyle.

AFFILIATION: Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Company.

ADDRESS: 601 West 5th Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska 99501.

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR(S)\*: W. Pyle.

KEY WORDS: Beaufort Sea; Alaska; socioeconomics; baseline; historical
review; human population; Inupiat; sociocultural change; development;
impacts; North Slope Borough; Barrow; Kaktovik; Nuiqsut; Wainwright;
Alaska Region.

ACCESS NUMBER: 29002

**BACKGROUND:** This report was prepared under the auspices of the
Alaska Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Socioeconomic Studies Program, a
multi-year, multi-disciplinary research program designed to assess the
social, economic, and physical impacts likely to result from future oil
and gas development on the Alaska OCS. This study effort was implemented
to provide a baseline upon which projected socioeconomic impacts on the
Beaufort Sea Petroleum Development Region could be based given a variety
of OCS petroleum development scenarios.

**OBJECTIVES:** (1) To provide an analysis of existing socioeconomic
conditions and trends in the Beaufort Sea Region in the absence of OCS
petroleum development; and (2) To provide standards for future impact
analyses.

**DESCRIPTION:** Based on a review of peer-reviewed literature and other
data sources, researchers compiled a summary of the history and social
organization of the permanent regional population of the Beaufort Sea
Region, including the Native Inupiat population. A thorough
documentation and analysis of the population, economy, services, land
use, and governance of the Region and its four coastal communities
(i.e., Barrow, Kaktovik, Nuiqsut, and Wainwright) was completed. A short
analysis of the susceptibilities of the natural physical environment to
potential OCS activity was also prepared.

**SIGNIFICANT CONCLUSIONS:** In order to maintain a viable existence
within Arctic Alaska, a complex, homogeneous system of social
organization and technology needs to be developed to offset vagaries of
weather and resource availability. Environmental extremes were countered
by intense social cooperation, invention, and adaptation. The Inupiat
have adapted quickly to new technologies without necessarily losing
their cultural heritage, managing to blend modern tools into traditional
activities. Over time, the introduction of new food staples, tools, and
occupations resulted in creation of larger settlements. Introduction of
stores, churches, hospitals, schools, and government agencies and
facilities added to the centralization and westernization of the Native
population. Each change brought about a new adaptation between
traditional and modern ways of life. Intermittent developments (e.g.,
whaling, trapping, reindeer herding, military construction, oil
drilling, pipeline construction) allowed time for accommodation to
socioeconomic change and cultural adaptation.

**STUDY RESULTS:** A review of the literature clearly indicated that the
Inupiat were quick to adopt technological and institutional changes from
outside their culture to meet their own needs. Inupiat involvement with
the non-Native world was compressed into a short period of time, and
this, coupled with their cultural adaptability, lead to a great
confusion regarding the actual traditional or \"acculturative\" status
of the North Slope population. Since 1969, a new phenomenon has begun,
particularly on the North Slope. The population of smaller, more
traditional villages is growing, and three communities (i.e., Atkasook,
Nuiqsut, and Point Lay) have been resettled. This is largely due to
settlement of Alaska Native land claims in late 1971, formation of the
North Slope Borough in 1972, and the population\'s preference for a
lifestyle which vastly differs from that postulated as \"favored.\"
Previous suppositions did not take into account the fact that the
Inupiat were reacting to the only alternatives available to them.
Schools, health care, transportation, access to other necessary
supplies, and availability of cash work were primarily centered in
Barrow and, to some extent, communities outside the region. Smaller
communities (e.g., Kaktovik and Wainwright) had experienced a growth in
population because of jobs available through the Federal government
(e.g., at Distant Early Warning \[DEW\] Line facilities) and a conscious
choice on the people\'s part for a more traditional lifestyle.

Barrow is the only traditional community in the Region that has
experienced substantial inmigration. Federal activities in the Region
center around Barrow, establishing the community as the dominant
population hub. Inmigration of researchers, service agency employees,
and their families was more than matched by that of Eskimos from other
North Slope villages attracted by new services and employment
opportunities. Further growth for Barrow was predicted to depend on
activities of the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation and the North Slope
Borough. Success of the regional corporation\'s investment and
development programs will largely determine the number and kind of new
job opportunities it can offer in the future. The corporation has
already invested heavily in the community and appears likely to continue
to do so. The Borough\'s impact on future employment and population
should continue to be very significant; however, extent of impact will
be largely determined by tax revenues and taxation ability.

At present, Kaktovik has a very limited economic base. The community
exists not because of the presence of some economic activity and
attendant employment opportunities, but primarily because it was a
convenient location from which to provide services to people with family
and cultural ties traditionally living in the area. Opportunities for
employment and cash income are seen as the primary factors determining
future rates of growth in the community.

The existence of Wainwright was not based on any specific economic
reason, nor did this community have any specific economic function.
Instead, Wainwright exists because it was a convenient location from
which to provide services to people who had traditionally lived in the
area, and it has survived mainly because of cultural and family ties.
However, although cultural ties will be the major reason for
Wainwright\'s continued survival, opportunities for employment and cash
income were identified as the primary factors determining future growth
rates. There were several existing and potential sources of employment
noted in the Wainwright area including an expansion of services by the
North Slope Borough, investments made by the Arctic Slope Regional
Corporation and the Olgoonik Corporation, development of coal and
petroleum resources within the Wainwright region, and miscellaneous
other activities such as reindeer herding and tourism.

Nuiqsut presently has a very limited economic base. The community does
not exist because of any specific economic activity and attendant
employment opportunities but because families traditionally living in
the area have returned. It is doubtful, however, that this return would
have taken place without the impetus of the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act and assistance of the Arctic Slope Corporation;
opportunities for employment and cash income will be the primary factors
determining future rates of growth in this community. Several sources of
employment in the area have potential for encouraging population growth,
including further expansion of North Slope Borough services, investments
by the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation and locally based Kuukpik
Corporation, and Nuiqsut\'s proximity to Prudhoe Bay.

Evaluation of baseline environmental conditions of the North Slope and
Beaufort Sea identified four important related potential impacts or
conflicts to existing socioeconomic and cultural infrastructure from
offshore petroleum development. Fresh water was recognized as a key
resource for both domestic and industrial (e.g., petroleum industry)
use. The possibility of use conflicts over water resources between users
may exist in future offshore petroleum activities. Petroleum development
may also adversely affect water quality and availability through
activities such as gravel extraction. Water extraction for industrial
use and changes in water quality may in turn impact fish populations
which are important subsistence food resources. Gravel and sand were
noted as important construction materials which will be required in
large quantities for offshore development. Gravel and sand resources
owned by Natives have important economic implications and user
conflicts, including those described above. Terrain features were noted
as an important input to the evaluation of water availability because
there is a close correlation between the two. General environmental
concern with degradation of fish and wildlife populations was noted as
being both socioeconomically and culturally important as subsistence
resources. Mapping of species distributions and critical habitats for
such subsistence resources as the bowhead whale, ringed seal, Arctic
char, and caribou was deemed essential in the analysis of potential
impacts of offshore petroleum development.

**STUDY PRODUCT(S):** Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Company. 1978. Beaufort
Sea Region Socioeconomic Baseline. A final report for the U.S.
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management Alaska OCS Office,
Anchorage, AK. NTIS No. PB‑294339/AS. Social and Economic Studies
Program Technical Report No. 11. Contract No. 14-12-0001-29002. xxii +
636 pp.

P.I.\'s affiliation may be different than that listed for Project
Manager(s).