In Colorado, an unlikely alliance against drilling

While the RPPA has remained off limits to drilling, much of the larger Roan Plateau is already leased or owned outright by energy companies. Natural-gas extraction has created an economic boom in rural western Colorado towns like Rifle and the surrounding Garfield County.

There were 2,550 new permits for drilling in the county in 2007, up from 796 in 2004 and 213 in 2000. Industry officials estimate that if the rest of the Roan is opened to leasing, the gas reserve could heat 4 million homes for 20 years.

After the BLM decided to open the protected part of the Roan Plateau, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter Jr. (D) countered with a recommendation to expand protected areas and to phase in leasing over 20 years – a plan that many praised as a common-sense compromise that would maximize revenues for local governments and allow emerging technologies to reduce environmental impacts.

Even some pro-industry Republicans such as Sen. Wayne Allard of Colorado backed the proposal. In March, though, the BLM surprised nearly everyone by rejecting the governor’s plan.

Since then, members of Colorado’s congressional delegation have introduced legislation to put those recommendations into law. Now, all parties – industry officials, conservationists, and policymakers – are preparing for a fight.

Sportsmen involved in the dispute say they do not oppose drilling outright. They just want to see it done right.

“We have never encountered something like this on this scale – there is no precedent,” says Bob Elderkin, president of the Rifle chapter of the Colorado Mule Deer Association, recently retired from overseeing oil and gas leasing for the BLM. He says he understands the need for energy development, but adds: “I’ve been around the oil patch long enough to know that when this is played out, this entire area will look like an industrial zone.”

Keith Goddard of Rifle, an outfitter who leads hunting and fishing trips on the Roan, has been one of the most vocal opponents of drilling on the plateau. Early on in the fight, he joined with environmental groups. From behind his bushy cowboy mustache, Mr. Goddard says, “Years ago, I never thought I would sit at the same table as environmentalists. Now I am proud to have worked with these people.”

The feeling is mutual, as environmentalists, who have felt marginalized in public lands planning under the Bush administration, have found powerful new partners.

“Sportsmen have been hugely influential,” says Steve Smith, assistant regional director with the Wilderness Society. “They bring so much knowledge and experience to the debate just from spending so much time on the ground.”

With a legislative fight due this summer over drilling in the Roan, the alliance between sportsmen and environmentalists in a election battleground state such as Colorado is likely to catch the attention of politicians of all stripes.

Previous

1 | 2