It’s been 15 years since the federal government has done an overarching resource plan on Grand County land it plans to lease for gas exploration.
Environmental advocates and some elected officials believe that report is too old to be of any use in figuring out whether to allow energy development in an area where there has been almost no exploration before.
We agree, and think that Sally Wisely, Colorado director of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, ought to delay the lease auction of 31,000 acres in Grand County until an updated assessment is completed.
As it turns out, the federal agency is in the thick of conducting a new assessment, a draft of which is expected early next summer. However, it won’t be done in time for the auction, set for Nov. 8.
A delay also would give federal and state agencies a chance to have in-depth conversations about environmental impacts. There seems to be some confusion on that count.
BLM spokeswoman Jaime Gardner said her agency is moving forward after having consulted with the Colorado Division of Wildlife. But a state wildlife spokesman said Monday that the DOW has serious issues with gas exploration in that area. Randy Hampton said the state plans to fully express them in a meeting Wednesday with federal officials.
“These leases are proposed in core areas for deer, for sage grouse and for elk wintering,” Hampton said. “We have some significant concerns.”
Josh Pollock, conservation director for the Denver-based Center for Native Ecosystems, said there is growing evidence that energy development would adversely affect wildlife, despite widely used mitigation strategies. At particular risk, he said, is the sage grouse, a species that is eligible for federal designation as an endangered species.
“From a biological perspective, it is not appropriate to lease in those areas,” he said.
Others are raising warning flags as well. Granby Mayor Ted Wang is circulating a letter that details a host of concerns, including environmental problems and traffic congestion. Grand County already is growing by leaps and bounds. The public, he said, deserves to be heard on whether drilling is allowed as well. “There have been huge changes up here in 15 years,” Wang said. “There needs to be some public involvement in this.”
U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, whose district includes Grand County, also has called upon the BLM to postpone the auction.
The BLM’s Gardner points out that if the agency were to move forward with leasing, it still could impose specific restrictions on energy companies when they turn in their drilling plans.
While that may be the case, we think there is significant public benefit to be gained from going through a new resource management plan before gas exploration is allowed.
That would give local residents and other parties an opportunity to comment on how the land has been used — whether it is recreation or conservation — and be heard on how it may best be used in the future.
