Coalbed Methane Coalition Building

by WOC Staff

At public meetings across the state, ranchers and conservation groups are joining forces to protest unfettered CBM development.

WOC is reaching out to residents of the Powder River Basin, especially ranchers, who are confronting increasingly serious water problems and resource damage from CBM development on their lands.

We have forged an alliance with the Powder River Basin Resource Council (PRBRC), a grassroots organization of individuals and organizations dedicated to good stewardship of Wyoming’s natural resources, to challenge environmentally damaging CBM projects. In May, WOC staff will meet with PRBRC and a private landowners’ coalition in Gillette to discuss options for ranchers and other affected citizens of the Powder River Basin.

In addition, WOC recently attended a Citizens’ Oil and Gas Summit that attracted numerous groups from across the country concerned with coalbed methane and other gas extraction. WOC has teamed up with the San Juan Citizens Alliance, a group fighting CBM development in Colorado’s San Juan Basin.  "Such coalition building is critical to the success of efforts to rein in uncontrolled coalbed methane development in Wyoming and elsewhere," says WOC executive director Dan Heilig. "Citizens who believe that massive CBM extraction threatens our quality of life must speak with one strong, unified voice."