Escalating Gas Production, Disappearing Wildlife Protections in Pinedale Area

by Kelly Matheson

Officials from both the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM's) Pinedale Field Office and the State Director's office have confirmed that they expect industry to submit three major oil and gas project proposals by next spring. Yet, despite this admission, the officials refuse to disclose any details about the projects, claiming that such information is "proprietary."

If current trends continue, the Upper Green River Valley could soon be transformed into a nearly continuous oil and gas field. Images provided by SkyTruth and the Upper Green River Valley Coalition

Industrial-Scale Development Proposals

Through other sources, however, WOC has confirmed that a Canadian company, EnCana, has proposed to drill 1,250 additional new wells from 850 well pads in Pinedale's Jonah Field gas project.

WOC also has reliable information that Infinity Oil and Gas expects to submit a proposal to drill 125 coalbed methane wells on the western edge of the Pinedale Resource Area adjacent to the high peaks of the Wyoming Range. If this project moves forward, it would be the first large-scale CBM project in the Upper Green River Valley, foretelling times to come.

Finally, unofficial reports suggest that industry seeks to develop a gas field in the Merna area. Merna is located in the northern portion of the resource area and abuts oil and gas Management Area 21 in the Bridger-Teton National Forest (BTNF). It is precisely this area that industry is pushing the BTNF to open up to development. If this full-field development is proposed and approved, an industrial network of gas wells, roads, compressor stations and other facilities could soon stretch from the forest boundary down through the Pinedale Anticline gas field and into Jonah.

If industry proposes these projects, WOC will immediately challenge them, since the BLM cannot approve major oil and gas development proposals while the agency is updating its overarching Resource Management Plan. To do so would violate national environmental laws.

Impacts on Wildlife

Industry not only seeks the authorization to drill more wells, it also wants unrestricted access to drill for gas any time and anywhere. Recently, Questar Exploration and Production Company asked the BLM's Pinedale Field Office for the right to drill throughout the coldest months of the year in crucial mule deer winter range. The BLM approved this request in express violation of the agency's own directives that are designed to protect mule deer when they are highly stressed and at their most vulnerable.

Ironically, the BLM's approval of Questar's over-winter drilling request comes when many other lands within Wyoming are being closed for the winter to protect wildlife. State and federal agencies have wisely closed a number of areas to hunters, skiers and other recreational users to protect wintering wildlife. Yet, when the energy industry seeks to set up a noisy, polluting industrial site that runs 24 hours a day right smack in the middle of crucial winter range, the BLM and Wyoming Game and Fish Department fold, giving their full support and approval.

This unprecedented waiver of stipulations to protect wintering wildlife illustrates the energy industry's increasing influence in the management of public lands throughout the West. Further, it demonstrates the BLM's eagerness to accommodate the industry's desire to obtain complete and unfettered access to public lands, regardless of the consequences to Wyoming's wildlife.

To deter the BLM from continuing to grant such exceptions, WOC and three other environmental groups filed a protest with the BLM's State Director in late November urging him to overturn the Pinedale office's approval of Questar's winter drilling request. A decision is expected in early 2003.