The Upper Green River Valley is important winter range for the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem’s migrating mule deer and pronghorn herds and an essential sage grouse nesting area. The Upper Green is also home to the Pinedale Anticline Natural Gas Project, managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

The BLM has formally designated “crucial big-game winter range” areas in the Pinedale Anticline and generally prohibits winter drilling to safeguard winter-stressed wildlife. Despite this prohibition, Questar Exploration and Production Company has repeatedly requested to drill throughout the winter in crucial winter range. In 2002, the BLM granted the company’s request with no public input or review of any kind.

The BLM justified Questar’s request as a continuation of an ongoing mule deer study to evaluate the impacts of drilling on wildlife. However, the existence of the study does not excuse the BLM from compliance with the Pinedale Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision. Before it grants an exception to its prohibition of winter drilling, the BLM must consider five factors: animal presence or absence, animal condition, weather severity, habitat condition and availability and the timing of the requested exception.

Last year, Questar proposed drilling five wells in crucial winter range a half-mile mile south of the 2002 drill pad. WOC and other groups submitted comments encouraging the BLM to protect wintering wildlife and deny the winter drilling request.

However, true to its pattern of approving nearly all industry exception requests, the BLM granted Questar’s winter drilling request in late November. Therefore, Questar will be able to drill all winter in the middle of crucial winter range for mule deer. WOC will continue to hold the BLM accountable by working to ensure that the agency’s avowed commitment to wintering wildlife protections is not meaningless.