Energy boom is crowding ranchers

The BLM office in Buffalo, Wyo., which administers 3.2 million acres of mineral rights across the Powder River basin, is caught in a tornado of requests - more than any other office in the country. There are currently 13,000 active methane wells in Wyoming and another 450 in Montana.

It's the pace of development that has ranchers concerned. As plaintiffs in a lawsuit brought by the Northern Plains Resource Council, agrarians like the Aldersons say the BLM did not adequately consider the merits of "phased energy development" - an incremental development process that studies industrial impacts on the environment before pushing ahead - as an alternative to ramped up production.

One major point of contention in this notoriously dry landscape is how the heightened drilling is affecting groundwater. Water released during coalbed methane extraction is heavily laden with sodium and can contaminate drinking water and taint flows in streams used to irrigate pasturelands.

"If drilling moves forward and our water sources are damaged beyond repair, there's little that can be done after the fact to make them right," says Alderson. "Clean water has been the key to our survival all these years."

For their part, energy companies claim that halting drilling plans, even temporarily, to study impacts could cost tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue.

The BLM's Albright says the majority of energy companies pursue civil dialogue up front.

"A company has to walk the talk, because landowners have to live with our operations 24/7," Fidelity spokesman Joe Icenogle says. "Negative perceptions of industry are generally a reflection of its weakest performer and it spills over into the attitudes of landowners, regulators, and investors on Wall Street."

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, himself a rancher, told the Monitor he supports methane development but is sympathetic to the ranchers' plight.

Mr. Schweitzer says the BLM exacerbated tensions by "failing to have the common courtesy of contacting ranchers to let them know the minerals beneath them were being sold."

The BLM says it was only following the rules set out for it by Congress. "I don't know anybody I work with who wants to pillage and plunder the landscape," Albright says. "How fast they move to develop the resources is a function of market."

Contrary to how the gas boom is being portrayed by environmentalists, Mr. Icenogle says the industry faces many regulatory obstacles. If given its way, Fidelity would be drilling far more wells to take advantage of high gas prices, he adds.

With conflicts deepening, US Rep. Mark Udall (D) of Colorado is pushing a bill in Congress to regulate the huge volumes of wastewater associated with coalbed methane extraction and give ranchers greater say.

Four state legislatures - Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico - tried to expand the input of landowners on how development will occur, but most became deadlocked - made wary in part by the benefits, in jobs and tax revenues, that development brings. Only Wyoming passed a new law instructing companies to consult with landowners before drilling.

But what disturbs Alderson most is that the mineral rights beneath his land sold for the small sums of between $2.50 and $5 an acre. All he wants to do, he says, is raise cattle.

"It's hard for me to find the right adjectives to describe the irony," attorney Tuholske says. "The blame cuts across both political parties, but especially Republicans, who have been the bastion of trumpeting the sacredness of private property rights; but they've turned their backs on these ranchers."

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