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!

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

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Near the city of Rifle, the Roan Plateau towers more than 3,000 feet above the Colorado River valley below. The Roan is a unique landscape cherished by Coloradans, where locals and visitors have been camping, hunting, hiking and ranching for generations.  But the Roan Plateau is a landscape in peril.  Oil and gas companies have long had their sites on these public lands.

Large volumes of natural gas exist throughout the region, knows as the Piceance (PEE-ance) Basin, one of North America's most prolific gas fields.  Already more than 90% of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands in the area are leased or available for energy development, and oil and gas companies operating in the region have acknowledged that they have a decade's worth of drilling sites.  There is no need to rush into leasing these few remaining, and critically important, undeveloped public lands.  Approved drilling permits have increased exponentially in the past several years all around and even on the private land within the Planning Area, with 2007 setting another all time record for drilling permits in Colorado.  In Garfield County alone, over 2,500 gas wells permitted last year.  Unfortunately, rather than priortize the multiple traditional uses of the Roan Plateau, the proposed plan for the region would turn much of these popular public lands into an industrial zone.

Athough the Roan Plateau Planning Area is just about 1% of the public lands in the Piceance, the Roan Plateau itself is recognized as a “biological hotspot” for its unusual diversity of important species, and as a backcountry paradise for its unique recreational opportunities. Home to pure strains of native trout, rare plants, wildlife and raptors, old-growth Douglas fir, waterfalls and box canyons, the Roan Plateau is an oasis that offers unique public and natural resources…all surrounded by one of America’s fastest growing natural gas fields.

© 2007, Ecoflight

Colorado can maintain its treasured landscapes and outdoor lifestyles while still contributing to meeting the nation’s energy needs without turning our public lands into a sacrifice zone. Together we can ensure that some of our most important public lands will remain as they are today for ourselves, our economy, and for future generations to enjoy.