Helen H. Richardson, The Denver PostThe eroded landscapes of the Book Cliffs are seen from the air on June 25, 2018 near Grand Junction. The flight was provided by EcoFlight.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver PostThe western slope town of De Beque can be seen from an EcoFlight plane on June 25, 2018.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver PostEcoFlight pilot Pilot Bruce Gordon flies over the eroded landscapes near the Book Cliffs on June 25, 2018 in Grand Junction. EcoFlight educates and advocates for the protection of remaining wild lands and wildlife habitat using small aircraft. The aerial perspective and their educational programs encourage an environmental stewardship ethic among citizens of all ages.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver PostExisting gas and oil development near the western slope town of De Beque can be seen from an EcoFlight plane on June 25, 2018 in De Beque. The Denver Post File
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver PostEcoFlight pilot Pilot Bruce Gordon flies over the eroded landscapes of the Book Cliffs on June 25, 2018 in Grand Junction. The Book Cliffs are a series of desert mountains and cliffs in western Colorado and eastern Utah. They are so named because the cliffs of Cretaceous sandstone that cap many of the south-facing buttes appear similar to a shelf of books. Stretching nearly 200 miles from east to west, the Book Cliffs begin where the Colorado River descends south through De Beque Canyon into the Grand Valley near Palisade, Colorado to Price Canyon near Helper, Utah. The cliffs are largely composed of sedimentary materials. EcoFlight educates and advocates for the protection of remaining wild lands and wildlife habitat using small aircraft. The aerial perspective and their educational programs encourage an environmental stewardship ethic among citizens of all ages.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver PostExisting gas and oil development near the Roan Plateau can be seen from an EcoFlight plane on June 25, 2018 near De Beque.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver PostEcoFlight pilot Pilot Bruce Gordon flies over the Thompson Creek roadless wilderness area with the Raggeds Wilderness area in the distance as he heads out to do aerial surveys of the effects of oil and gas development on landscapes in Mesa County on June 25, 2018 in Aspen.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver PostExisting gas and oil development near the Roan Plateau can be seen from an EcoFlight plane on June 25, 2018 near De Beque.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver PostExisting gas and oil development near the Roan Plateau can be seen from an EcoFlight plane on June 25, 2018 near De Beque.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver PostEcoFlight pilot Pilot Bruce Gordon flies over the eroded landscapes of the Book Cliffs on June 25, 2018 in Grand Junction. The Book Cliffs are a series of desert mountains and cliffs in western Colorado and eastern Utah. They are so named because the cliffs of Cretaceous sandstone that cap many of the south-facing buttes appear similar to a shelf of books. Stretching nearly 200 miles from east to west, the Book Cliffs begin where the Colorado River descends south through De Beque Canyon into the Grand Valley near Palisade, Colorado to Price Canyon near Helper, Utah. The cliffs are largely composed of sedimentary materials. EcoFlight educates and advocates for the protection of remaining wild lands and wildlife habitat using small aircraft. The aerial perspective and their educational programs encourage an environmental stewardship ethic among citizens of all ages.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver PostThe eroded landscapes of the Book Cliffs are seen from the air on June 25, 2018 near Grand Junction. The flight was provided by EcoFlight.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver PostEcoFlight pilot Pilot Bruce Gordon flies over the Thompson Creek roadless wilderness as he heads out to do aerial surveys of the effects of oil and gas development on landscapes in Mesa County on June 25, 2018.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver PostEcoFlight pilot Pilot Bruce Gordon flies past Mount Sopris in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness in White River National Forest on June 25, 2018 in Aspen. Gordon is flying to Mesa County to do aerial surveys of the effects of oil and gas development on landscapes in the area. EcoFlight educates and advocates for the protection of remaining wild lands and wildlife habitat using small aircraft.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver PostEcoFlight pilot Pilot Bruce Gordon flies over the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness with a view of Capitol Peak in the distance as he heads out to do aerial surveys of the effects of oil and gas development on landscapes in Mesa County on June 25, 2018.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver PostEcoFlight pilot Pilot Bruce Gordon takes off from Aspen Airport to do aerial surveys of the effects of oil and gas development on landscapes in Mesa County on June 25, 2018.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver PostEcoFlight pilot Pilot Bruce Gordon takes off from Aspen Airport to do aerial surveys of the effects of oil and gas development on landscapes in Mesa County on June 25, 2018.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver PostThis is aerial view of the Plateau Creek Valley including potential lease areas for oil and gas development as seen rom an EcoFlight plane on June 25, 2018 in Mesa County. The Mesa County Mudslide, which occurred in 2014, reflects unstable soils in the area.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver PostExisting gas and oil development in the Plateau Creek Drainage can be seen from an EcoFlight plane on June 25, 2018 near De Beque.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver PostThis is aerial view of Chalk Mountain, west of the Town of Mesa, where challenged BLM leases occupy most of the picture, as seen from an EcoFlight plane on June 25, 2018 in Mesa.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver PostThis is an aerial view of the Plateau Creek Valley from an EcoFlight plane on June 25, 2018 in Mesa County. The Mesa County Mudslide, which occurred in 2014, reflects unstable soils in the area.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
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The eroded landscapes of the Book Cliffs are seen from the air on June 25, 2018 near Grand Junction. The flight was provided by EcoFlight.
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By Helen H. Richardson | hrichardson@denverpost.com | The Denver Post
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Getting your player ready...
From the Book Cliffs near Grand Junction to the Thompson Creek roadless wilderness, the Western Slope’s geography is stunning. Denver Post photographer Helen H. Richardson flew over the Roan Plateau and Plateau Creek Valley on a flight provided by EcoFlight, which advocates for the protection of remaining wild lands and wildlife habitat using small aircraft.
The Trump administration is pushing to open more public land in Colorado for fossil fuel development, preparing to sell off access to minerals under 45,000 acres near a state park and bird habitat along the upper Colorado River.
But the intensifying efforts by the federal Bureau of Land Management face resistance.
Conservation groups are fighting in federal court to block this leasing in already-drilled areas around De Beque, accusing the feds of skipping required environmental reviews.
Read the full story: In Colorado, Trump administration and fossil fuel industry push to open more public land for energy development.