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Fight for Protection of the Roan Plateau Continues!

Coalition Protects Roan from New Drilling until Legal Challenges are Decided in Federal Court

The fight for protection of the Roan Plateau continues, with some good news to report from recent weeks.  You may recall that in September, the Bureau of Land Management issued leases for the public lands on the Roan Plateau, and dismissed over 15,000 protests filed by concerned parties ranging from local citizens to the State of Colorado.  On the same day, a team of sportsmen, recreation and conservation groups filed for an injunction in federal court to prevent full-scale drilling of the Roan Plateau and protect its important natural values as they are today.

Last Friday, all parties involved, including the Bureau of Land Management and the oil and gas companies holding the new leases on the Roan, agreed to a ban on surface disturbance on the Roan Plateau until June 2009.  This ensures that the concerns expressed in our litigation will be heard and carefully considered before any development will be contemplated. 

It has been a long time since we began our work to protect the Roan Plateau, and it is as a result of the tenacity (and patience!) of the citizens and communities of Colorado that the public lands in the Roan planning area still remain undeveloped.  As we move into this next phase, it is important that citizens continue to advocate for the protection of the Roan. 

Remember that conservation successes are often not won in single moments, but in a series of small wins that add up, over time, to save the places that we cherish.  Despite this administration’s best efforts to fast-track drilling on the Roan, we have built a powerful alliance that has succeeded in preventing new drilling until we get our day in court. And, there is no doubt that the tremendous effort built around protecting the Roan has helped change the dynamics of citizen involvement in energy and environmental issues in Colorado, regardless of the outcomes of our fight for the Roan Plateau.  Thank you so much for your efforts on behalf of the Roan!

Last Updated ( October 22, 2008 )
 
Press Release: More than 17,000 protest BLM decision to lease the Roan Plateau

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-July 30, 2008

Making it clear that the public is vehemently opposed to natural gas drilling on the Roan Plateau, public officials and dozens of citizens gathered in Glenwood Springs Wednesday to celebrate the submission of more than 17,000 letters to the Bureau of Land Management protesting the planned leasing of the Roan.

"For a number of years now, the City of Glenwood Springs has repeatedly requested that the BLM take a slower, more measured and environmentally friendly approach to the Roan,” said Bruce Christensen, mayor of Glenwood Springs.  “We would have liked the federal government to acknowledge the wishes of local communities but in general we have been ignored, along with the Governor and members of our Congressional delegation.  Our hope is that the federal government fully considers what citizens are telling them, again, today with these protests: the Roan Plateau deserves stronger protections than what the BLM is offering.” 

On August 14 the BLM is planning to lease more than 55,000 acres of undeveloped, wildlife-rich public land on the Roan Plateau, a broad island of natural tranquility amid the vast expanse of industrial energy development between Rifle and Parachute, Colo.

Even though Sen. Ken Salazar, Rep. John Salazar and Rep. Mark Udall have sent letters to the BLM objecting to the leasing, which Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter also opposes, the BLM intends to buck the wishes of the public and sacrifice one of the last tracts of undeveloped, unleased wild land in the Piceance Basin.

Citizens are protesting the leasing because drilling will have permanent impacts on the area’s important wildlife habitat, watersheds, and the region’s air quality.  Most of the natural gas beneath the Roan Plateau can be developed without drilling public lands on the surface. Directional drilling techniques are used elsewhere in the Piceance Basin and are a reasonable alternative to industrializing prized wildlife habitat.

What’s more, drilling natural gas on the Roan Plateau won’t reduce the price of gasoline at the local filling station, despite claims from oil and gas industry advocates, who are working overtime to confuse gasoline with natural gas. Destroying the Roan’s prime wildlife habitat will only degrade the quality of the air, water and recreational opportunities there, while having absolutely no effect at the pump.

“The Roan Plateau is prime hunting and angling ground, and drilling there will irreparably harm elk and deer habitat, industrializing one of the last unspoiled refuges for prized big game species,” said Bill Dvorak with Sportsmen for the Roan Plateau. “This is a historic moment in our efforts to protect the Roan because it’s the only time in recent memory, maybe ever, that so many people have voiced their opposition to a single lease sale.”

Drilling the Roan Plateau could also have serious consequences for water quality and trout streams. Just this year, at least five energy companies have been cited by the state of Colorado for violating rules governing water quality for toxic spills into streams in the area. Energy development will threaten the quality of the plateau’s watersheds, potentially contaminating the Colorado River and harming the drinking water supplies of municipalities that rely on the river.

“Again this week we have learned of more creeks and streams being contaminated by chemicals from the gas drilling on and around the Roan Plateau,” said Ken Neubecker with Colorado Trout Unlimited. “The BLM's plan is inadequate for protecting this unique resource, jeopardizing the rare trout populations and the thousands of hours of work volunteers have logged to protect these streams.  Under the BLM's plan all of this could be lost forever from a single spill in one of these watersheds.”

Ten conservation groups have filed suit to prevent the BLM from leasing parcels atop the Roan. Of the more than 17,000 protest letters submitted today, most came from groups involved in the litigation, including more than 13,000 letters from members of The Wilderness Society and 2,300 from Sierra Club members. An additional 1,600 protest letters were submitted by EarthJustice and more than 700 citizens joined a single citizen protest, including several county commissioners and other elected officials.  

At least 12 organizations have also filed detailed protests of the Roan Plateau lease parcels including the Colorado Wildlife Federation, National Wildlife Federation, Colorado Environmental Coalition, Center for Native Ecosystems, Colorado Trout Unlimited, Colorado Mountain Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, Rock the Earth, Sierra Club, The Wilderness Society, Environment Colorado and Wilderness Workshop.

 Contact:
Bruce Christensen, Mayor of Glenwood Springs

970-945-2306

Bill Dvorak, Sportsmen for the Roan Plateau

719-221-3212

Ken Neubecker, Colorado Trout Unlimited

970-376-1918 

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Last Updated ( July 31, 2008 )
 
New Roan Plateau Ad

 Colorado can save the Roan Plateau...but we need to act now!

 

Click to view the ad. 

 
Mountain Mayors letter to Americans for American Energy

 mayors letter

Last Updated ( December 18, 2007 )
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