Agencies Push for Development Despite Community Opposition

by Kelly Matheson & Meredith Taylor

In response to the Bush Administration's push to develop Wyoming's oil and gas reserves, a coalition of more than 50 local businesses in Idaho and Wyoming recently sent a letter to President Bush telling him that western Wyoming's economic mainstay, tourism, depends on a responsible national energy policy, including conservation and a vision for the future.

The letter, delivered by WOC and the Natural Resources Defense Council, asks the president to reconsider his administration's plans to drill in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, the Upper Green River Basin and the Red Desert.

"The cost of oil is a lot more than what you pay at the gas pump. In Wyoming, we're paying with our landscape." -Joyce Evans, Fourth-generation rancher, Indian Rocks Ranch

"An escalation in drilling will surely threaten the natural splendor of the Greater Yellowstone area and jeopardize a fragile ecosystem that is home to a vast array of wildlife," the letter said. "This will, in turn, drive away the millions of sportsmen and other tourists who now visit the area and patronize our businesses."

In a press conference, Joyce Evans, fourth-generation rancher at Indian Rocks Ranch near Saratoga and president of WOC's board, summed up the business owners' concerns. "The cost of oil is a lot more that what you pay at the gas pump," she said. "In Wyoming, we're paying with our landscape."

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is escalating its plans to develop oil and gas resources in Wyoming's Green River Basin. Graced by the Green and New Fork Rivers and nestled between the high peaks of the Wind River and Wyoming Ranges, the Green River Basin is western Wyoming's sagebrush steppe, punctuated by ribbons of riparian habitat, stunning vistas and significant historic and cultural sites. The basin serves as the winter home of this country's largest herds of pronghorn antelope and mule deer, which migrate here from the highlands of Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. Despite the importance of the basin's winter habitat and the lack of a comprehensive analysis regarding the impacts of oil and gas development in the region, the BLM's Pinedale Field Office is moving forward with plans for development on an unprecedented scale.

On August 10th, the BLM approved a large oil and gas seismic-exploration project in the heart of the basin. According to the agency's environmental assessment, prepared by an industry consultant, the West Pinedale 3-D Geophysical Project will cover approximately 244 square miles of land, lay more than 1,600 miles of seismic-testing line and destroy at least 5,000 acres of wildlife habitat. The project will inevitably disturb nesting sage grouse and impact pronghorn antelope and mule deer as they follow the lower 48 states' longest land migration corridor on their way to winter range in the basin.

In addition to sanctioning damage to wildlife habitat and migration corridors, the BLM's environmental assessment violates national environmental laws by barring public participation in the decision-making process, failing to consider reasonable alternatives and inadequately addressing the impacts this project will have on Wyoming's natural values. In light of these failures, WOC, together with the Greater Yellowstone Coalition and the Wyoming Chapter of the Sierra Club, filed an appeal on August 28th, asking that this project be immediately stayed.

On September 25, the BLM announced a massive seismic exploration proposal in the basin, more than four times larger than the West Pinedale 3-D Geophysical Project. If approved, the Big Piney 2-D Seismic Project will cover 1,040 square miles - an area nearly the size of Rhode Island. WOC submitted extensive comments on the proposal's serious threats to wildlife and plans to appeal if the agency approves the project.

In response to a request from Questar Exploration and Production Co., the Pinedale BLM also recently considered rolling back existing environmental safeguards in the basin. This rollback would have allowed Questar to drill gas wells year-round in an area now off-limits from November 15th to April 30th to protect crucial big-game winter range.

If approved, the Big Piney 2-D Seismic Project will cover 1,040 square miles - an area nearly the size of Rhode Island.

While WOC supports Questar's efforts to directionally drill five wells from a single location, we opposed the BLM's efforts to eliminate regulations designed to protect wildlife. The BLM had claimed that removing wildlife safeguards would create an opportunity to study the level of damage caused to mule deer by winter drilling. However, the proposed study, an effort to placate the conservation community, did nothing to address the real issue: the relentless, cumulative impact of road-building, habitat fragmentation, human traffic, pipeline construction and industrial pollution throughout the entire Green River Basin.

On September 10th, the BLM denied Questar's proposal, citing the poor condition of the basin's winter range and admitting that a proper study plan could not be designed and peer-reviewed in the required time-frame. We applaud the BLM's decision and will continue to press the agency to uphold its own safeguards.