Responsible for consultation, pre-listing, listing, and recovery activities pursuant to the Endangered Species Act. Other activities include developing recovery plans, recommending species for listing, development of listing rule-making documents, conducting field investigations, and providing the public with information on the protection of endangered species. Puts additional stress on animals. Specifically, the Prudhoe Oil Field plays a significant role in the lack of development within the caribou herd. Scientists have found that calves born and raised near the fields are typically smaller and more apt to become sick or even die.
Mothers tend to leave their dens because of the noise.
The risk to animals would increase should commercial amounts of oil be discovered. It is expected that the average temperature will be 3 degrees ferenheit warmer in 2030 due to global warming. This increase in temperature will cause an increase in the amount of melting sea ice. This is not good because the sea ice cools the Earth when the sun's rays reflect off of it. With less sea ice, the ocean will get warmer by absorbing more heat.