Industry Sets Sights on Upper Green River Valley

by Steve Jones

Like a silver thread, the Green River begins its journey atop the Continental Divide in Wyoming's Wind River Range. After tumbling down rock-strewn highlands of rugged granite peaks, the river loops around folded mountains, eventually stringing out into sagebrush mesas and hay fields fringed by cottonwoods. The river weaves its way across the Green River Valley until it is stopped, temporarily, by the Flaming Gorge Dam.

It is this incomparable landscape that oil and gas companies intend to drill. And if industry succeeds in its quest, rigs could line the banks of the Green River from near its headwaters all the way down to the Utah border and beyond.

Drilling a National Treasure

At 764 miles in length, the Green River is the Colorado River's largest tributary, providing about half of the Colorado's flow. From its headwaters high in the Winds to Flaming Gorge Dam on the Wyoming-Utah border, the upper Green River runs largely unimpeded through stunning vistas and wide-open spaces to its confluence with the Colorado. The river's watershed still contains much of its native riparian and aquatic habitats, harboring endangered native fish that have been extirpated further down the Colorado River system.

This landscape that industry would like to drill covers approximately 1,301,000 acres of mostly public lands situated in and between the high peaks of the Wyoming, Gros Ventre and Wind River Ranges. The Bureau of Land Management's (BLM's) Pinedale Field Office manages most of the area, approximately 931,000 acres.

The Bridger-Teton National Forest manages the balance of these threatened lands, nearly 370,000 acres, cradled between the Gros Ventre, Bridger, Teton and Fitzpatrick Wilderness areas. Rising up to the Continental Divide then falling more than 4,000 feet to the basin floor, these majestic mountains lands are the mother lode of the tourism-based economies of Jackson, Dubois, Lander and Pinedale.

The value of these lands to Wyoming citizens and the American public, as habitat for grizzly bear, Canadian lynx, Colorado River cutthroat and gray wolves, as crucial elk winter range, as a source of clean water and as scenic recreation areas far outweighs any short-term benefits from oil and gas development.

Rich Natural, Historic & Cultural Values

For further information or to support conservation efforts along one of our contry's most historic rivers, please contact: Linda Baker Grassroots Coordinator Upper Green River Valley Coalition lindab@wyoming.com (307) 360-7198 Kelly Matheson Coordinator Greater Yellowstone Program Wyoming Outdoor Council kelly@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org (307) 332-7031 ext. 20 Pamela Hyde Executive Director Southwest Rivers sylvs@go.com (928) 526-8557

Leaving the mountains, the Green flows into a wide-open basin of sagebrush shrubland and mixed-grass prairie. When properly managed, the upper Green River Valley provides valuable forage for pronghorn and Wyoming's largest herd of mule deer and is home to globally significant populations of sage grouse, a species being considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act.

While rich in natural values, the valley is also remarkable for its historic and cultural importance. Native Americans, buckskin-clad fur trappers and European explorers all passed through the valley, as did tens of thousands of settlers on the Oregon, Mormon and California pioneer trails. The first white man to boat the entire length of the Green was John Wesley Powell, beginning his epic journey of discovery through the Grand Canyon in 1869.

Today the river and its surrounding valley provide enjoyment for a new breed of adventurers. The area offers outstanding opportunities for hunting, wildlife viewing, fishing, camping, horsepacking, skiing and photography.

Fighting Back

Although the upper Green River and its surrounding valley have been altered by grazing, water development and dams for well over a century, they have never faced threats of the magnitude posed by industrial-scale energy development. Drilling thousands of wells and constructing thousands of miles of roads and pipelines will imperil many of the area's native fish and wildlife species.

To protect the Green River and its surrounding lands, WOC and a number of other conservation groups have launched a coordinated campaign centered on the BLM's Resource Management Plan revision process. (See related article on page 8.) In addition, Southwest Rivers recently announced its Green River Wild campaign which seeks to protect those portions of the Green River and its tributaries that remain relatively pristine.