Roan Plateau A Colorado Legacy Worth Protecting

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1 The Roan Plateau rises 3,000 feet above the Colorado River valley and is one of Colorado s most biologically diverse, yet unprotected landscapes. It is home to pure strains of native trout and rare plants. Roan Plateau is also a natural haven for wildlife and backcountry recreation. In an inventory of the area, completed in 2000, the BLM found that over 21,000 acres of the area included significant wilderness characteristics. Much of the Roan Plateau remains an oasis of natural beauty in a region of widespread drilling. Clean, clear streams atop the Plateau shelter some of the most genetically pure native trout in the nation. Important winter range at the base helps ensure the survival of healthy wildlife herds. Keeping it that way is a middle ground approach respecting sustainable environmental and economic values, while still allowing responsible energy development in roughly two-thirds of the planning area. Little Yosemite East Fork Canyon, photo by Colorado Environmental Coalition An overwhelming movement has formed over the past several years with the common purpose of protecting this unique place. Area residents, local governments, sportsmen, businesses, and conservation-minded individuals have spoken with a united voice - Do not drill Roan Plateau. Roan Plateau has become a symbol of what makes Western Colorado a great place to live or visit, as well as of what is at risk if energy development takes priority over the other uses and values of our public lands and shared environment. This packet will sketch the broad public support for protection; highlight its recreational and natural values; and, document why drilling Roan Plateau is simply not worth it for Colorado. This packet provides background that shows: The irreplaceable recreation and natural values of the Roan Plateau; The economic benefit of protecting the Roan Plateau; Unparalleled public support for the Roan s protection; No mandate to lease these special public lands; and, BLM s decision jeopardizes Roan Plateau s other values. Although the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) pledged to create a community-supported plan, many believe that it has failed to do so. The BLM s decision to lease the last of the Roan Plateau s undeveloped lands does exactly what the vast majority of the public has urged against. Regardless of the spin from special interest and energy lobbyists, Colorado can afford to save Roan Plateau. Colorado can maintain its unique lands and lifestyle and still do our share to help meet the nation s energy needs. But Colorado should not be a sacrifice zone. Together we can ensure that some of our most important public lands will remain as they are today, for ourselves and for future generations. August 13, 2007

2 IRREPLACEABLE RECREATIONAL AND NATURAL VALUES The top of Roan Plateau includes important elk calving grounds and summer security zones for elk and deer. Undeveloped lands at its base provide security zones and critical habitat for deer and other wildlife. Streams on the top provide habitat to pure strains of native Colorado River cutthroat trout. Over 21,000 acres inside the Roan Plateau Planning Area have all the wild and roadless qualities to make them eligible for wilderness designation. East Fork Falls, one of the tallest and most spectacular waterfalls in Colorado at 200 feet, lies hidden in a dramatic canyon nicknamed Colorado s Little Yosemite. Each year, hunting alone on Roan brings in more than $4 million into the local economy, according to the Division of Wildlife. THE ECONOMIC BENEFIT OF PROTECTING ROAN East Fork Falls Photo by Richard Compton/CEC Colorado can afford to protect the Roan Plateau. Opportunities in western Colorado for energy companies to drill and develop public minerals from federal lands are widespread. But public lands in the Piceance Basin that are not yet leased for drilling and development are increasingly hard to find. Outside the Roan Plateau Planning Area, some 95% of BLM lands in the region are already under lease. Roan Plateau is believed to have significant gas reserves, but any projected revenues must be viewed looking at development across the region, and considering the need to ensure that some of our best public lands remain havens for wildlife, solitude, and natural processes. Estimates of projected mineral revenue from the Roan are likely overblown, and the value of drilling this last unleased 1/3 of the planning area is overstated. The high end of the potential revenue generated from sacrificing the Roan Plateau to oil and gas drilling would only account for 1% of the total revenue generated from all the drilling occurring in Garfield County over the next twenty years, according to figures provided by the BLM. Meanwhile, and over time, as tens of thousands of new wells are drilled, natural refuges like the Roan Plateau will become both rare and priceless. UNPARRALELLED PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR ROAN PROTECTION Local communities understand the importance of Roan Plateau s undeveloped public lands to their quality of life. During the planning process, hundreds regularly turned out at meetings and other events to demonstrate strong support for the Roan s protection. Over 65 organizations, businesses, and at least 8 local or county governments submitted comments or endorsed positions to oppose drilling. And this was echoed across the state and nation: By the time the comment period closed on the draft plan in April 2005, almost 75,000 comments had been received with more than 98% of those opposed to drilling on Roan Plateau. 2

3 NO MANDATE TO LEASE ROAN PLATEAU In 1997, Congress transferred jurisdiction over the Roan Plateau from the Department of Energy to the Department of Interior/Bureau of Land Management. This law, commonly called the Transfer Act also directed BLM to immediately open to leasing certain of the transferred lands the developed tracts. BLM did this in The remainder of the transferred public lands was to be managed according to BLM s general land use planning authorities as well as to provide for some energy development. At the time one Colorado member of Congress noted that, BLM, through its planning process, will provide for [Roan Plateau s Autumn on the Roan Plateau. BLM s plans would open lands] continued protection and will these ridges and gentle valleys to gas development. Photo: CEC. consider whether some of these lands should be set aside as wilderness or given other special protected designation. Finally, there is no shortage of lands for energy companies to drill in western Colorado and elsewhere in the West. Energy companies have accumulated and stockpiled a surplus of oil and gas leases to ensure longterm development and profits. One energy company operating in Garfield County recently acknowledged that it had a ten year inventory of future drilling sites, suggesting that any rush to lease Roan Plateau will do little to address today s energy needs. BLM PLAN TO DEVELOP ROAN WOULD HARM UNIQUE RESOURCE The BLM has come up with some innovative ideas for energy development in the Roan Plateau Planning Area. However, a closer look at the plan reveals that claims made about the proposed plan weaken considerably in light of details included in the fine print. The result is that BLM s plan provides insufficient protection for Roan Plateau s unique natural resources and popular public uses. The industrial affects of oil and gas development would eventually spread across the landscape, impacting all other uses and values. With this surplus of drilling sites, and more leases being sold four times a year, we must ask: what is the rush to lease one of Western Colorado s most beloved places? The real question: Given the rapid industrialization expanding across Colorado s energy fields Can we afford to not protect places like the Roan Plateau? DRILLING THE ROAN--NOT WORTH IT FOR COLORADO Roan Plateau is worth protecting as part of our state s irreplaceable natural legacy. Now is the time for Colorado s Congressional delegation to work with the State of Colorado and area communities to ensure this magnificent landscape remains forever the special place it is today. 3

4 THIS IS WHAT MAKES ROAN PLATEAU SO SPECIAL The Roan Plateau is a visually stunning, undeveloped island of public land surrounded by intense gas drilling activity. Preserving Roan Plateau s traditional uses and unique natural values is vital to local economies and quality-of-life. The Roan Plateau is a place worth protecting for its important natural heritage: The Roan Plateau is one of the most biologically diverse places in Western Colorado; only 3 other places hold such a richness of species 1 BLM identified four critical areas on the Roan for eligible for protection as Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, totaling over 36,000 acres. Twenty-four miles of creeks on the Roan Plateau are eligible for designation under the Wild and Scenic Rivers act. 2 Roan Cliffs, photo by Jeff Widen/EcoFlight Three areas were found to be eligible for wilderness designation in a BLM inventory of the area. 3 The Roan Plateau hosts numerous rare plants and plant communities, including the Parachute Penstemen, which has been found nowhere else in the World. WILDLIFE AT THE ROAN PLATEAU Roan Plateau is home to 17 rare vertebrate species, including the Peregrine falcon, Colombian sharptail Grouse, and Townsend s big-eared bat. 4 Area Governments Recognize Values of the Roan Plateau The Roan Plateau is home to one of the most genetically pure strains of Colorado cutthroat trout in the World. Some impacts to these pure populations could never be reversed, according to the BLM. 5 It is the City s position that the area above the Rim of the Plateau should be reserved and managed for significant historical uses, which include hunting, livestock grazing, ranching, etc. -City of Rifle, Sept 2005 letter to the BLM The Upper Roan Plateau Planning Area is a special area for those of us in Colorado and on the Western Slope. It should be protected for future generations. -City of Glenwood Springs, Sept 2005 letter to the BLM 1 Biological Survey of the Roan Plateau, Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Ibid 3 Roan Plateau final Resource Management Plan Amendment and Environmental Impact Statement, Bureau of Land Management, September Roan Plateau final RMPA/EIS; Evaluation of proposed Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, BLM, August Colorado River Cutthroat Trout on the Roan Plateau, BLM Monograph, January 2003; Final RMPA/EIS at 4-44,

5 Over 40,000 acres on the Roan Plateau were recommended by the Division of Wildlife to be offlimits to drilling. These lands support deer, elk, black bear, and mountain lion habitat. 6 The Roan Plateau provides critical habitat for one of the largest mule deer herds in Colorado. Most of this herd s habitat has already been leased for energy development, making the few remaining areas of critical range like that at the Roan Plateau all the more valuable to our state s wildlife. Hunting on the Roan Plateau brings 1,500 hunters and results in almost $5 million for the local economy annually. 7 ROAN PLATEAU: A RECREATIONAL HAVEN One of the tallest waterfalls in the state, East Fork Falls, is located in the heart of the Roan Plateau. The falls are a huge draw for hikers and other recreationists. Roan s JQS road is a favorite mountain bike ride for locals. Each year, the Roan Cliff Chaos mountain bike race brings in dozens of participants. Many area families enjoy the Roan Plateau s midcountry opportunities: car camping, picnics, scenic drives. Mid-country opportunities will be devastated by BLM s decision to drill the Plateau, which would focus much of the industrial activity on the ridges, in meadows, and in other popular camping spots. A majority of public comment on the BLM s draft plan for Roan Plateau identified the need to protect and maintain backcountry recreational opportunities. These opportunities are becoming increasingly difficult to find on the area s public lands, as energy development spreads over tens of thousands of acres. MORE UNIQUE VALUES OF ROAN A government survey revealed over 100 sites with notable cultural, historical and paleontological artifacts in the Roan Planning area. Foot of East Fork Waterfall Colorado Environmental Coalition The Roan Plateau is the scenic backdrop for the communities of Rifle, Parachute and Silt, providing unparalleled views. The Roan Plateau includes the municipal watershed for the growing town of Parachute. 6 Recommendation to preserve, protect, enhance and manage the wildlife values associated with the Bureau of Land Management's Roan Plateau Planning Area, Colorado Division of Wildlife, July 18, 2003 (Obtained through public document request by Pete Kolbenschlag). 7 CDOW,

6 PERPETUAL WINDFALL: THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF PROTECTING ROAN PLATEAU Sitting as a natural refuge amid North America s fastest growing natural gas field, the Roan Plateau safeguards many valuable resources: unique and quiet places of spectacular beauty; critical wildlife habitat and pure strains of Colorado River cutthroat trout; watersheds for local towns; and, high quality recreational and hunting lands. Situated in the Piceance Basin, the Roan Plateau is also thought to contain significant reserves of natural gas, although the amounts and values of these reserves remain highly speculative. What is certain is that risking the Roan Plateau s unique resources by drilling the last of its unleased public lands is not worth it to Colorado. PICEANCE BASIN ALEADY A FRENZY OF DRILLING The Roan Plateau is a small piece of the vast Piceance Basin, most of which is already leased and undergoing energy development. Although the Roan Plateau is believed to have significant gas reserves, that is true across the region. On the other hand, unleased public lands are almost non-existent, where outside the Roan planning area more than 95% of the BLM lands are already leased. 8 Well pad and rig drilling on private land on Long Ridge, top of Roan Plateau Photo by Chad Kennard/CEC These facts are not being addressed in some recent proposals and press releases, which portray drilling the Roan as a financial windfall that would otherwise be deprived of the state. These accounts fail to consider how the Roan s projected revenues compare to projected levels of revenues from drilling existing leases in the region. 9 Under BLM s proposal, new drilling in the planning area would only account for an estimated 10% of governmental mineral leasing revenue in Garfield County over the next 20 years. On the Upper Plateau, new drilling would generate only about 1% of total revenues. Weighing the values of projected revenues from new leasing and drilling on Roan must be viewed in relation to energy development activity across the region. According to energy expert Randy Udall, director of the Community Office of Resource Efficiency, if Colorado collected severance taxes at the same rate as do Wyoming and New Mexico, we would have collected $1 billion in additional revenue in the past 10 years. Meanwhile, projected revenue estimates from drilling Roan remain questionable, and have proven to be inconsistent and highly speculative. 8 Roan Plateau RMPA/FEIS at of the 151,045 acres of BLM mineral estate in the region, almost 95% percent (143,068) had been leased by Since 1998, thousands of additional acres in the Piceance Basin have been leased. Williams, one of the major operators in Garfield County, recently acknowledged that it had a ten year inventory of future drilling sites. Energy company opens $20 million shortcut, Glenwood Springs Post-Independent, June 15, Roan Plateau RMPA/FEIS at 4-97 and Reasonable Foreseeable Development ( RFD ) RMPA/FEIS at H-25. 6

7 CRAZY SPECULATION-REVENUE FROM DRILLING ROAN LIKELY TO BE LESS THAN PROJECTED Revenue and development projections from future oil and gas activity are notoriously speculative. In the proposed final plan (August 2006), BLM estimated that Colorado will receive between $438 and $563 million dollars over the next 20 years from leasing an additional 56,238 acres of federal lands in the planning area. Recent press reports have included even higher estimates of potential State revenues from leasing and drilling the entire Roan Plateau. The varied estimates for protected revenue from Roan Plateau s are questionable at best: BLM s estimate is based on the assumption that the natural gas produced will be sold at a long-term price of $10 per thousand cubic feet (MCF). However, in the same document BLM projections assume that the natural gas price will remain below $5 per MCF through Using the $5/MCF price would halve Colorado s anticipated payout, to $209 - $271 million. BLM leased 18,670 acres in the planning area in the 1980s. From , total revenues were approximately $43.7 million, indicating that some revenue projections are highly speculative. Calculated as a percentage of total mineral activity in Garfield County, The BLM projects that, over the next 20 years, new federal leases on the Roan would account for an estimated (percents rounded to nearest whole number): 10-15% of drilling rigs in operation 4-6% of wells drilled per year 8-16% of total new wells drilled 6-15% of natural gas production 6-15% of total value of gas production 6-15% of property tax revenues to the county 6-15% of total property tax revenues Table 4-25 is at page 4-97 of the Roan Plateau Resource Management Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), available online at olume_i_chapter4.pdf. In the Fiscal Impacts section of the Garfield County column of the table, BLM appears to have miscalculated the numbers for three rows: the total value of gas production, property taxes to Garfield County, and total property taxes. Corrected numbers are $60-$120 billion for gas value; $716- $1,432 million for GarCo taxes; and $3-$6 billion total property taxes. Figures put out by energy industry interest groups and some politicians are based on the fantastic assumption of leases bringing bonus bids of $40,000 an acre. In one study that looked at existing leases in the vicinity of Roan Plateau, the average bonus amount was around $220 per acre. 10 The final flaw in counting mineral revenue as a windfall is that for now Colorado won t receive any revenues from either existing or new leases on Roan Plateau. First the federal government must complete required clean up at the Anvil Points Superfund (CERCLA) site within the planning area, with final remediation (currently estimated at $40 million) several years out. 10 Differing estimates color debate on Roan revenues, Glenwood Springs Post-Independent, July 28, GOP overshooting on Roan windfall, Denver Post, July 27, 2007; which notes: Denomy analyzed 19 transactions involving leases on land controlled by the Bureau of Land Management. Based on her analysis of 20,661 acres of land on the plateau or adjacent to it, the average bonus payment was $220 an acre. "Show me where the BLM has leased any property for $40,000 an acre," Denomy said. "Not anywhere in our state." The $40,000-an-acre deal was between two private companies and consisted of land that was already developed with roads and pipelines. Leases on the Roan will probably yield far less money, in part because the land isn't yet developed and partly because of restrictions the government has placed on drilling in the area, Denomy said. 7

8 Roan Plateau A Colorado Legacy Worth Protecting The Roan Plateau rises more than 3,000 feet above the valley. Controversy centers on the public lands on top and critical habitat along its base, about 1/3 of the planning area. Still unleased, these lands remain a natural landscape surrounded by one of North America s fastest growing energy fields, the Piceance Basin. As the map on the next page shows, almost all of the BLM lands in the Piceance are leased, with upwards of 50,000 new wells projected over the next 15 years. Natural gas drilling and development has already occurred on much of the land both private and public at the base of Roan Plateau, including inside the Planning Area. Williams a major driller in the region just completed a new $20 million dollar road and 3,200 foot tunnel to the top of the Plateau, where drilling has started on private lands. Photos: Roan Plateau and development at base, Colorado Environmental Coalition. Trapper Creek, Kurt Kunkle/CEC; new Williams road on private land atop Roan Plateau, Dana Barker. Flights provided by EcoFlight. 8

9 Roan Plateau Planning Area 9

10 UNPARALLELED SUPPORT FOR PROTECTING ROAN The BLM s plan does exactly what most have urged against: it opens Roan Plateau to drilling. A THUMBNAIL HISTORY In November 2000 the Roan Plateau planning process formally began, with BLM pledging to create a community supported plan. 11 In October 2002, BLM released six preliminary alternatives, with Alternative F being the most environmentally protective. The City of Rifle sent a letter to BLM calling Alt. F the most preferable, and Garfield County s Local Communities Oppose Drilling Plateau other towns all passed resolutions in support. Almost 12,000 comments Plan for Roan leases met with lukewarm reception Grand Junction Sentinel, July 30, 2005 BLM sinks local input to drill Roan Plateau High Country News, September 1, 2003 Gas-drilling talk splits pro-bush factions in West Grand Junction Sentinel, November 6, 2003 Energy companies face off with residents, environmentalists in resource-rich Garfield County Rocky Mountain News, May Area Governments Lead Effort to Save Roan Towns: It s still no to Roan drilling Grand Junction Sentinel, January 12, 2005 Garfield towns oppose plateau drilling Denver Post, January 28, 2005 Silt reaffirms no-drilling stance for Roan Plateau Grand Junction Sentinel Tuesday, August 29, 2006 Mayors ask BLM to reconsider plan Summit Daily News, November 11, 2006 Mayors of four towns plead with Salazar to stop potential leasing Grand Junction Sentinel, May 12, 2007 were submitted over 11,000 of those in support of Alt. F. 12 But then, in April 2003 with little explanation, BLM dropped Alt. F from further consideration. 13 In early 2005 during the comment period on the draft plan, local governments passed their second set of resolutions opposed to Roan drilling. 14 A February 2, 2005 hearing before the Garfield County commission attracted hundreds of residents who turned out to oppose drilling and to support strong protections for Roan Plateau. 15 By the time the comment period closed on the draft plan, almost 75,000 comments had been received with more than 98% of those opposed drilling on Roan Plateau. Comments in favor of protecting Roan Plateau came from over 65 organizations, businesses, and at least 8 local or county governments Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS for the Roan Plateau Area, U.S. Federal Register, November Enviros complain about BLM s procedure on Roan Comments, Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, February 14, City of Rifle April 29, 2003 letter to BLM; Glenwood Springs Post Independent editorial May 8, 2003 BLM gets an F on Roan planning; Forum addresses gas development, Roan Plateau, Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, June 20, Towns: Its still no to Roan drilling, Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, January 12, 2005; Public says don t drill on Roan, Glenwood Springs Post- Independent, January 14, 2005; Garfield towns oppose plateau drilling, Denver Post, January 28, The Community Alternative is a compromise plan that would allow for the production of large volumes of gas, while keeping drilling off the area s sensitive lands, including the top and cliffs. 15 Gas drilling opponents want Roan spared, Aspen Times; Opponents pack house to decry drilling Roan Plateau s top, Aspen Daily News; Most speakers at hearing oppose Roan Plateau drilling, Grand Junction Daily Sentinel--all from February 3, Volume II: Roan Plateau RMPA/FEIS 10

11 What we keep hearing, more or less, is to keep the plateau as it is Glenwood Springs BLM official, 2002 After the public comment period, cooperating agencies which include the Cities of Rifle and Glenwood Springs met with BLM to consider the draft plan. In its September 2005 comments as a cooperating agency, the City of Rifle stated that it was in opposition to any oil/gas or other mineral development on top of the Roan Plateau. The City of Glenwood Springs wrote, Very simply, the City Council opposes any drilling, now or in the future, on top of the Roan Plateau. 17 In the summer of 2006, local governments passed their third set of resolutions opposing drilling on Roan Plateau and supporting the City of Rifle s cooperating agency comments on the draft plan. 18 An October 19, 2006 letter from the City of Glenwood Springs to BLM endorsed by the mayors of four other municipalities and two county commissions asked for additional time to consider the new plan, emphasizing again opposition to drilling these popular public lands. 19 By the time the 30-day protest period on the final EIS closed, BLM had received 40 protests, including protests from over 13 hunting, fishing, and conservation groups. 20 Headlines from around the West Slope Don t Drill the Roan! Conservation ranks as high priority for lofty plateau Glenwood Springs Post-Independent, August 2, 2002 Public says don t drill on Roan Glenwood Springs Post-Independent, January 14, 2005 Opponents pack house to decry drilling Roan Plateau s top Aspen Daily News, February 3, 2005 On June 8, 2007, BLM issued its Record of Decision to lease all the lands in the planning area for oil and gas. Local communities, area government, and a growing number of Colorado s elected leaders have all urged that the BLM delay oil and gas leasing Roan Plateau. A June 2007 poll of 400 likely voters in Colorado s 3 rd Congressional District showed strong majority support across party lines for protecting the public lands atop Roan Plateau from any oil and gas drilling. 21 In spite of attempts to limit public response, a separate comment period held by BLM on the Roan Plateau s areas of critical environmental concern generated over 32,000 comments, almost all in favor of the strongest protections and opposed to drilling on Roan Plateau s most sensitive lands. 17 Letter from the City of Rifle to BLM, September 7, 2005; letter from the City of Glenwood Springs to BLM, February 1, Silt reaffirms no-drilling stance for Roan Plateau, Grand Junction Sentinel, August 29, Letter from Bruce Christensen, mayor on behalf of the City of Glenwood Springs to Sally Wisely, Colorado BLM, October 19, Save Roan Plateau News Release: Wildlife, recreation, and conservation groups file protests on Roan Plateau plan, October 16, Almost three-quarters of 3rd District voters (72%) want restrictions on oil and gas drilling on the Roan Plateau. 23% are opposed to any additional drilling, and 49% want to ensure that any additional drilling is restricted to existing sites while the upper plateau remains protected. Just 19% of voters believe that additional oil and gas drilling should be allowed throughout the Roan Plateau. Anzalone Liszt Research conducted 400 telephone interviews with likely 2008 general election voters in Colorado s 3rd Congressional District between April 29 and May 2,

12 Industry spokespeople and others have falsely claimed that the law transferring jurisdiction of the Roan Plateau to the BLM requires that all of the area s public lands be leased for oil and gas development. However, this interpretation of the so-called Transfer Act is false. Rather, the BLM has strong obligations to protect Roan Plateau s unique natural, biological, and recreational resources. NO MANDATE TO LEASE ROAN IN TRANSFER ACT In 1997, Congress passed the Transfer Act, which transferred the former Naval Oil Shale Reserves 1 and 3 ( NOSRs, which compose much of the Roan Plateau Planning Area) from the Departments of Defense and Energy to the Interior Department, to be managed by the BLM for multiple use according to public lands laws. During the first several years of the planning process, BLM readily acknowledged that Congress did not require leasing the entire Roan Plateau, even drafting alternatives that avoid leasing its most spectacular and sensitive lands. Although already well underway in its planning process, in 2003 political considerations caused BLM to do an abrupt about face. The agency reversed its interpretation and the threw out some of the parameters under which it had been drafting its plan, suddenly claiming that the Transfer Act required it to lease every last acre of public land on the Roan. But BLM s new interpretation does not square with the Transfer Act itself, Congressional intent From the Legislative History of the Transfer Act The BLM shall manage the surface estates of both [NOSRs] in accordance with [FLPMA] and all other laws applicable to public lands. This is agreeable to the state of Colorado because the sale [as opposed to lease] would mean the loss of 55,000 surface acres of public lands consisting largely of aspen forests and mountain meadows. The area is currently used for grazing and serves as a valuable wildlife habitat. BLM management could ensure that grazing and wildlife values are maintained and that other pubic lands uses are made available. -Congressman Joel Hefley, instrumental in crafting and securing approval for the Transfer Act. Part of these lands have high environmental values, including many rare plants and animals. Under our amendment, BLM, through its planning process, will provide for their continued protection and will consider whether some of these lands should be set aside as wilderness or given other special protected designation. -Congressman David Skaggs, a member of the House Committee on Appropriations, which refined and put forward the Act, during passage, on why he supports the bill. documented by legislative history, governing canons of statutory construction, and the application of other public land laws. The Transfer Act only required leasing of the developed tract, rather than of all the Roan. BLM fulfilled that condition by leasing these tracts in The legislative history establishes that Congress intended that BLM also protect the public lands, wildlife habitat, wilderness values, and traditional uses of Roan Plateau (see sidebar). The Transfer Act mandated that the BLM s management plan comply with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act as well as those of the Mineral Leasing Act. These require protecting natural values under a multiple use regime, and give the BLM absolute discretion over oil and gas leasing. Finally, to the extent BLM has stated that additional legislation is the only way to dissuade it from sacrificing the entire Roan to drilling, Colorado s delegation has introduced such legislation to protect Colorado s interests and implement Congress original intent. 12

13 BLM S DECISION WOULD HARM ROAN PLATEAU The BLM has come up with some innovative ideas for energy development in the Roan Plateau Planning Area. However, a closer look at the plan reveals that protections might not be applied on the ground. Some of the claims made about the proposed plan weaken considerably in light of details included in the fine print provided in the final Environmental Impact Statement. The result is that BLM s plan provides insufficient protection for Roan Plateau s unique natural resources and popular public uses. Once leased and open for drilling, the industrial affects of oil and gas development would eventually spread across the landscape, impacting all other uses and values. Recreation-According to the BLM, Although public comments on the Draft EIS indicated a demand for undeveloped recreation settings, the BLM has concluded management to accommodate substantial oil and gas development precludes maintaining characteristics specific to undeveloped recreation settings. 22 Wildlife Habitat-According to the BLM, outfitters and the big game they hunt will be displaced; and, Some areas of high-quality wildlife habitat would be lost or permanently altered. The BLM also mentions closing the area to hunting if crowding becomes a problem. Wilderness Quality Lands-The BLM states that emphasis on oil and gas would effectively eliminate wilderness character in the three inventory units as a whole, going on to note that opportunities for primitive and unconfined types of recreation, naturalness, and solitude would not be preserved The devil is certainly in the details Claim: Under the BLM s plan, No Surface Occupancy stipulations cover 51 percent of the Planning Area. -Reality: Although this stipulation seems to prohibit surface disturbing activities, the details explain otherwise. Table C-1 (FEIS at C-3) spells out exactly how stipulations can be waived or modified. In many cases, these stipulations may not be required at all under the proposed plan. 24 Claim: The plan would result in approximately 210 wells on 13 pads above the rim -Reality: According to a BLM spokesman, the Plan doesn t limit the number of wells and the number of well pads. BLM bases projected number of wells on assumptions that even the oil and gas industry calls unrealistic. 25 Claim: The plan would Limit the amount of disturbed land at any one time to approximately 1 percent of the BLM lands on top of the plateau. -Reality: The plan does not require that areas be restored before new roads are bladed or wells drilled. Although successful reclamation can take 20 years or longer, once interim reclamation begins and is showing satisfactory progress toward meeting short-term goals, developed lands will no longer be counted against the 350-acre total. 26 Claim: The proposal would Restrict drilling operations to only one of six phased development areas at a time -Reality: While active drilling can only be occurring on one ridgetop at a time, an unspecified number of exploratory wells can be drilled in any of the six ridgetop phased development areas at any time RMPA/FEIS at 2-14, 2-62, BLM acknowledges that the Planning Area includes three areas (totaling 21,382 acres) found by BLM to contain wilderness characteristics, the results of a BLM inventory (RMPA/FEIS at 1-8), but notes elsewhere that no areas [will] be managed specifically to protect and preserve wilderness values (RMPA/FEIS at S-4); see also RMPA/FEIS at News articles have generally reported these NSO stipulations as somewhat absolute, as in this September 8, 2006 Aspen Daily News article Drilling would be barred from more than half the planning area to protect wildlife, trout, water quality and the views from below. The claim in the RMPA/FEIS itself (at S-3) is more ambiguous. Meanwhile, the actual details in the RMPA/FEIS (at 4-8, B-2, Table C-1 at C-3) provide a substantially different picture. 25 The RMPA/FEIS uses various drilling assumptions to reach a projected number of pads and wells within the Planning Area (explained briefly at 4-66, in the Appendix at H-15, and in Table H-1 at H-28, 29). However, these numbers are somewhat arbitrary, as BLM admits. For instance, see the September 16, 2006 Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, Feds: Users of Roan will have to adapt. Comments from the Independent Petroleum Assoc. of the Mountain States and Public Lands Advocacy (RMPA/FEIS at 6-69, 6-70) note that year round drilling atop the Plateau is easily achievable. 26 Limited Surface Disturbance is described as a basic component of the proposed plan (RMPA/FEIS at S 3). Details are provided at RMPA/FEIS at 4-18 and Phased Development is described as a basic component of the proposed plan (RMPA/FEIS at S-3). Details are provided at RMPA/FEIS 2-8, 9. 13

14 DRILLING ROAN NOT WORTH IT FOR COLORADO Colorado should question plans to lease and drill the Roan Plateau. How does the fraction of total mineral revenue these lands might generate compare to their known value today and for their likely far greater future value as one of Colorado s most sensitive places, as wildlife habitat, and as backcountry hunting and recreation lands? How does drilling these lands match the benefits of leaving them intact an island refuge amid a rapidly expanding sea of industrialization? Where do we draw the line on balancing energy development with protecting quality of life how much should Colorado sacrifice to feed energy company profits? PROTECTING A COLORADO TREASURE Congressmen John Salazar and Mark Udall recently included a provision in the House energy bill that would allow for the Roan Plateau s minerals to be leased, but would prohibit surface disturbance and occupancy for oil and gas equipment on the public lands atop the Plateau. House Bill 3221 will be reconciled with a Senate energy package before being sent to the President for his signature. A separate bill in the Senate (SB 1517), sponsored by Senator Allard, would direct the U.S. Treasury to begin transferring to Colorado its share of revenues from Roan Plateau lands, minus deductions for the Anvil Points cleanup. These acts are a start on seeking a Colorado consensus on the Roan Plateau. As Colorado s delegation crafts new legislation, it should ensure protections for deserving lands and habitat. The Salazar/Udall provision would balance conservation and development by allowing Roan s gas to be tapped without disturbing the magnificent landscape on the top. State-of-the-art directional drilling technologies are rapidly evolving, and the Salazar/Udall approach offers a win-win for Colorado. Stronger protective legislation could allow industry to produce half or more of the gas projected by BLM s proposal to lease and drill all of the Roan Plateau s federal lands resulting in significant revenues while safeguarding many of the area s natural, wildlife, and wilderness resources. 14