Cape Thompson has a unique research history. The small bay immediately southeast of the cliffs, at the mouth of Ogotoruk Creek, was the site of "Project Chariot" in the late 1950's and early 1960's. This was a proposal to excavate a harbor by means of underground nuclear explosions. The explosions were never carried out, but extensive environmental research was done on the surrounding ecosystem, including the seabird colonies at Cape Thompson. Swartz's thorough seabird study (1966) was the earliest in Alaska by more than a decade.

The information presented here is a revision, based on the original IBA nomination by Olga Romanenko (Audubon Alaska) and G. Vernon Byrd (AMNWR).

Whole-colony counts of the area have not been done since the earliest surveys in 1959-1961 and 1976-1977, making estimation of current population size problematic. This remote, high-latitude colony is difficult to census, and the USF&WS has focused on tracking population trends by repeatedly counting representative plots. Populations reported are best estimates based on the original whole-colony size estimates from 1959-61 and 1976-1977, population trend data from plot counts between 1976 and 1995, and personal observations of the site (last visited in 2005).

A conservative best estimate for the current murre population is 320,000 individuals; of these, 70% are Thick-billed Murres and 30% are Common Murres. Thus, this site currently supports an estimated 224,000 Thick-billed Murres and 96,000 Common Murres.

Note that of the federally owned Refuge portion, 44% of acreage is "selected": Arctic Slope Regional Native Corporation 34%, Tikigaq Native Corporation 5%, and State of Alaska 5%.

Note that categorization and percentages of habitat types presented here are estimates, and are not based on field data, remote sensing data, or other rigorous analysis of habitat types. The proposed IBA currently includes only terrestrial habitat. The marine birds that dominate this site, however, are also critically dependent on marine habitat. We aim to include a science-based delineation of essential marine habitat associated with this site in the future.

*Invasive species: Shipwrecks of commercial cargo ships and other ships regularly occur and can result in the accidental introduction of non-native species. Invasive species can also be brought to islands or coasts by visiting ships (e.g. fishing, ecotourism, military, or research vessels).

*Shipping: Shipwrecks regularly occur and can result in spills of fuel oil, petrochemical cargo, or other damaging cargo, and can also result in the introduction of non-native species, such as rats.

*Climate Change: Climate change has been shown to alter food webs and is likely to change species populations and distributions; though it is important to note that this is not strictly a threat in the sense of population reduction, since some species may increase while others decline.

Specific current and known threats to birds at Cape Thompson include:

*Potential for oil pollution from current vessel traffic supplying a small number of Alaskan coastal villages and the oil industry around Prudhoe Bay. This threat will increase if oil drilling goes ahead in the Chukchi Sea, and/or if the Bering Strait becomes a major vessel route (global warming may open ice-free shipping lanes north of Asia and North America).

Potential threats to birds across the region, including Cape Thompson, include: *Fishing bycatch *Fishing alteration of food webs or damaging benthic habitat *Contaminants