Drilling could harm Upper North Platte, say Freudenthal, others
JARED MILLER Star-Tribune capital bureau | Posted: Saturday, November 3, 2007 12:00 am
CHEYENNE -- Gov. Dave Freudenthal called on the Bureau of Land Management Friday to reconsider its plans to offer oil and gas leases in a mountainous strip of south-central Wyoming.
In a letter to the BLM state director, Freudenthal said exploration in the Saratoga Valley near the Medicine Bow National Forest could spell trouble for wildlife, water quality and recreational opportunities.
"More thorough analysis is warranted prior to leasing, as the acreage in question contains important sage grouse habitat, crucial mule deer winter range and elk and pronghorn critical habitat," Freudenthal wrote in the letter to state BLM Director Bob Bennett.
Industry representatives responded with assurances that the BLM and oil and gas companies will do everything they can to protect the safety of wildlife habitat and the watershed. But they said exploration should be allowed to take place.
"It's very critical that we are able to continue to develop and explore and look for oil and gas in new areas," said Bruce Hinchey, president of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming. "It doesn't mean that they'll find any down there, but I think it's critical that the industry is allowed to at least explore if they think something might be down there."
Freudenthal's letter warns that drilling on proposed leases in the Baggott Rocks area -- near the Savage Run, Houston Park and Encampment River wilderness areas -- could degrade the quality of recreational opportunities.
The 13 proposed leases are mostly in the Encampment-Riverside area between the Medicine Bow National Forest boundary and where State Highway 230 intersects with Highway 130. There are a few north of Saratoga.
The governor's office took issue only with the leases in the Encampment-Riverside area, as oil and gas development is already occurring north of Saratoga.
Freudenthal also raised concerns that oil and gas production could "significantly impact" the North Platte River drainage, groundwater resources, air and watersheds and split-estate surface values for livestock and grazing.
And he called on the BLM to consider the plight of the sage grouse, noting that state and federal agencies are already scrambling to maintain habitat for the birds in other areas of the state, including the Powder River Basin.
"It would seem prudent to save ourselves from similar difficulties in the area by simply pulling these parcels from the sale block," said Freudenthal, who has warned that federal protection for the grouse could cripple the state's extraction economy.
The state office of the National Audubon Society released a statement Friday condemning the leases and the potential for large volumes of coal-bed methane discharge water in the Saratoga Valley.
"With the threats to a critical watershed and an already highly challenged species, these leases need to be withdrawn," said Brian Rutledge, executive director of the state Audubon office.
Dwayne Meadows, spokesman for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, a conservative sportsmen's group, applauded Freudenthal for "realizing that the BLM needs to do up-front planning before they lease the headwaters of the Platte in an area that relies on tourism and hunting as part of their economy.
"I'm not against them drilling, but I want them to do it in a manner that leaves me with a hunting resource when it's all said and done," said Meadows, who grew up in the Saratoga area and held a public meeting there on the issue Friday night.
Marc W. Smith, executive director of the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States, said that while he respects Freudenthal's opinion, BLM managers should be allowed to use their best judgment to decide where oil and gas exploration occurs.
"Fortunately, natural gas development is a small and temporary impact, and where development goes forward, wildlife and other important natural resources will be protected," Smith said.
Hinchey noted that grouse numbers were down during the bust years in the 1990s, and have now rebounded along with the extraction industry in many areas of the state.
"Yes, we may have an impact in certain areas whenever drilling is occurring, but once the drilling is finished the bird doesn't leave the area, the bird comes back," he added.
Pam Lewis, a branch chief with the BLM's Cheyenne office, said the agency was reviewing the governor's letter.
"We can pull parcels from an oil and gas sale up to the day of the sale," Lewis said.
The BLM on Oct. 18 proposed leasing 244,042 acres statewide, including about 30,000 acres in the Saratoga Valley, she said.
Last month, Freudenthal asked Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns to cancel oil and gas leases on about 44,500 acres in the Wyoming Range.
U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., last month introduced legislation that aims to prevent further leasing in those mountains in the extreme western part of the state, which are considered a pristine wildlife and recreation area.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Reach capital bureau reporter Jared Miller at (307) 632-1244 or at jared.miller@casperstartribune.net.