On July 15 the Bureau of Land Management proposed leasing the South Shale Ridge near DeBeque, Colorado, for oil and gas drilling. South Shale Ridge, a proposed wilderness area, provides critical habitat for Colorado wildlife, including more than a dozen endangered, threatened, or sensitive species.

According to the Colorado Environmental Coalition, South Shale Ridge contains "miles of washes, arroyos, and canyons that hide a seemingly endless array of hoodoos, geologic curiosities, and ancient stands of junipers and pinion pines." [1] BLM's decision was made without meaningful public involvement, despite years of commitments that public input would be considered before leasing.

Also slated by BLM for oil and gas development is the pristine Jack Morrow Hills area of southwest Wyoming. Under BLM's proposal, this 622,000-acre area, which contains seven wilderness study areas, the largest migratory game herd in the lower 48 states (50,000 pronghorn antelope) [2], Mormon pioneer trails, and numerous American Indian holy sites [3], would be laced with 205 oil and gas wells and 50 exploratory coalbed methane wells. And, under some studies cited by BLM, up to 1,077 natural gas wells, and 543 coalbed methane wells may be drilled in the area.

But even if all of the technically recoverable oil and gas in the Jack Morrow Hills were extracted, it would only provide the U.S. with 9 weeks of natural gas and 39 minutes of oil. [4]

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TAKE ACTION
Public comments on South Shale Ridge must be received by BLM no later than August 12. Send comments through the Colorado Environmental Coalition.
Public comments on the proposal to develop the Jack Morrow Hills area are due by August 16. Send comments to BLM Director Bob Bennett and Interior Secretary Gale Norton.

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SOURCES:
[1] Colorado Environmental Coalition.
[2] The Wilderness Society web site.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Biodiversity Conservation Alliance web site.