The Next Powder River Basin?

by Tom Darin and Kelly Matheson

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is feverishly implementing the Bush Administration's National Energy Policy in Wyoming, and the agency's assault on wildlife-rich public lands near Pinedale in Sublette and Lincoln Counties is no exception. These lands comprise critically important habitat for sage grouse and mountain plover and a vital big-game migration corridor.

In the late 90s, the BLM and industry, based on known oil and gas reserves and high development potential, predicted that "southwest Wyoming will become the country's major natural gas producing region by 2010." Already, 99% of the area that is available for energy-industry leases is leased for oil and gas development, including thousands of federal leases.

How Much is Enough?

The BLM recently announced industry's intent to begin a seismic exploration project that will cover 250 square miles of public lands in the region. As if that weren't enough, every 60 days, the BLM sells oil and gas drilling leases on the few remaining available acres in the region. In June and August, the agency leased another 50,000 acres of public land for oil and gas development.

On a more positive note, in August the BLM withdrew 2,703 acres from oil and gas leasing near the Trapper's Point wildlife-migration bottleneck immediately after their sale. The agency's action was prompted by concerns expressed by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and protests by area citizens mobilized by a public education campaign organized by Upper Green River Basin Coalition Grassroots Coordinator Linda Baker.

Huge CBM Reserves

With coalbed methane reserves in the greater Green River Basin of 314 trillion cubic feet (TCF), we are increasingly concerned that the Pinedale area could face CBM development that dwarfs the 51,000 wells anticipated in the Powder River Basin, already considered by industry to be "the hottest gas play in the nation." Compared to the Green River Basin's vast CBM reserves, the Powder River Basin contains a "mere" 39 TCF.

WOC will continue our efforts to ensure that oil and gas development in the region is properly balanced with protections for wildlife, air and water quality, recreation opportunities and scenic values.