Targhee Releases Final Environmental Analysis of Oil and Gas Leasing
by Christine Lichtenfels
More than three years ago,
the Targhee National Forest released its draft Environmental Impact Statement
(DEIS) on oil and gas leasing. The document’s preferred alternative allowed
for extensive oil and gas development that posed substantial threats to
the forest’s wildlife, fisheries and other natural resources and ignored
legally proscribed limits on development. WOC submitted lengthy comments
outlining a number of concerns.
The Targhee recently released
its long-awaited final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). While the
document still recommends some drilling as its preferred alternative, it
addresses most of WOC’s other concerns.
The FEIS marks a significant
turnaround from the initial environmental analysis. The DEIS did not dismiss
the prospect of oil and gas development in Wilderness Study Areas; in the
FEIS, the Forest Service apparently found WOC’s comments persuasive, declaring
that these areas are not legally available for leasing. The DEIS proposed
leasing within potential Wild and Scenic River corridors; the FEIS’s preferred
alternative prohibits development within those corridors. While the DEIS
failed to adequately protect prime grizzly bear habitat, the FEIS’s preferred
alternative protects all Situation I and Situation II grizzly habitat from
leasing.
In sum, the FEIS’s preferred
alternative provides that 75% of the land legally available for leasing
will be off-limits to oil and gas development. And of the 25% that is available
for leasing, over 75% will be leased with a No Surface Occupancy stipulation.
Certainly, we believe that
the Targhee’s wildlife and wildlands would be best served by a decision
declaring that no oil and gas leasing will be allowed on the forest. Nonetheless,
the FEIS constructively addresses a number of WOC’s serious concerns and
better protects important wildlife habitat, streams and pristine wild places
in this important portion of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
What You Can Do
Please contact the Targhee’s forest supervisor and
thank him for making significant changes to the final oil and gas EIS that
will better protect the forest’s wilderness, water quality and wildlife.
Urge him to select the agency’s preferred alternative, as described in
the FEIS.
Jerry B. Reese
Forest Supervisor
Targhee National Forest
P. O. Box 208
St. Anthony, ID 83445
phone: (208) 624-3151
fax: (208) 624-7635
email: jbreese@fs.fed.us |
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