RIFLE, Colo.—While some energy development has been approved for the top of the Roan Plateau, environmentalists and others hope federal land managers keep areas deemed environmentally sensitive off-limits.
A final plan issued in June for managing the federal land on the western Colorado landmark authorized up to 1,570 new oil and gas wells, including some on the top. But the Bureau of Land Management is taking comments until Aug. 10 on areas considered to have critical environmental concerns, about 30 percent of the 73,602 acres of federal land.
The BLM has said part of the decision was delayed because the areas weren’t adequately described in the plan. The agency expects to announce a decision by the end of the year.
Those sensitive areas are the essence of what people think of when they describe the Roan Plateau, said Steve Smith, assistant director of the regional office of The Wilderness Society.
Environmentalists, hunters and anglers and several area communities oppose drilling on top of the plateau because of its wildlife and wildland qualities. They say the roughly 21,000 acres in four “areas of critical environmental concern” are especially important.
The BLM has said it will keeping drilling rigs off that land by prohibiting anything on the surface. All the equipment would be offsite and the well would be drilled by angling the bit underground.
“No dirt is going to be turned,” said Sen. Josh Penry, R-Fruita. “That’s the way it should be, from my perspective.”
But Smith said he worries that the prohibition might not be enough.
“Those no-surface-occupancy protections are tied to very specific characteristics,” Smith said. “If you don’t have those characteristics on one portion of the (area), you can put a gas well there.”
Critics have also said the BLM often waives restrictions when companies complain they can’t reach the gas.
The BLM’s release of the final management plan drew criticism from Gov. Bill Ritter, who wanted more time to study it. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., has officially blocked the confirmation of President Bush’s nominee for BLM director in hopes of getting more time for Ritter.
Ritter, who took office in January, said his administration wants to more thoroughly review the plan because of the Roan Plateau’s importance for economic and environmental reasons.
BLM officials have said the plan was been through years of study, comments and discussion.
The Roan, about 180 miles west of Denver, reaches nearly 9,000 feet in altitude and stretches out at points into lush, rolling hills, flat spots and dramatic mountain valleys. It is home to some of Colorado’s largest elk and deer herds, mountain lions, bears, peregrine falcons and genetically important native cutthroat trout.
The area generates an estimated $5 million a year for the local economy from hunting, fishing and wildlife watching, according to the Colorado Division of Wildlife.
Industry groups say the plateau could also provide enough natural gas for 4 million homes for the next 20 years.
The BLM plan projects up to 13 well pads and 210 wells on top of the plateau. There are some wells on private land. Multiple wells can be drilled from one pad. Wells would be clustered on pads spaced a half-mile apart.
BLM officials say the plan specifies that roughly 50 percent of the surface not be disturbed to protect wildlife and habitat.
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On the Net: Bureau of Land Management Roan Plateau Resource Management Plan:
