Sportsmen and conservation groups have rallied behind a bill introduced in Congress on Thursday that would do more to protect important fish and wildlife habitat on the Roan Plateau in northwest Colorado.
The bill was proposed in the U.S. House by John Salazar and in the U.S. Senate by his brother, Ken Salazar.
The bill was hailed by the Colorado Wildlife Federation and Colorado Trout Unlimited, both having expressed earlier displeasure at a Bureau of Land Management declaration to lease critical fish and wildlife habitat atop the plateau as early as August.
The Bush administration directive would have denied protection of critical habitat for genetically pure populations of Colorado cutthroat trout, a species of concern, as well as key areas of importance for deer herds.
The Salazar bill would allow the energy industry to access the Roan’s subsurface natural gas reserves, but access would be granted in phases and would require comprehensive reclamation of disturbed land.
Concern has mounted with the failure by four drilling companies to contain massive sediment runoff, along with the spill of drilling mud and chemical-laden water at a nearby drilling site.
“It’s unfortunate that it takes an act of Congress to protect such a special place, but that just demonstrates the aggressive nature of the energy industry and our government these days,” said Corey Fisher, energy field coordinator for Trout Unlimited. “With the BLM’s ill-conceived plan staring us in the face, this bill is our last option.”
This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to a reporter’s error, it referenced an incorrect government agency. The Bureau of Land Management authored the declaration to lease critical fish and wildlife habitat atop the plateau as early as August.
