Spitfire
03-10-2004, 10:27 AM
Oil & public lands: Hunters, anglers beware
A report recently released by Trout Unlimited documents the potential harms of natural gas and oil development on public lands
By
David Stalling
Trout Unlimited
We need to ensure that our public lands are managed for true multiple uses, and that oil and gas does not have priority over wildlife, and hunting and fishing interests.
There are responsible ways to extract gas and oil and there are, well, other ways: In 1969, the federal government and El Paso Natural Gas Company considered using underground nuclear explosions to unlock natural gas near Pinedale, Wyoming. A similar proposal, made by out-of-state corporations and endorsed by Wyoming's governor, was dubbed, "The Wyoming Atomic Stimulation Project." If these projects had actually gone through, there's no telling what the impacts may have been on wildlife.
Although not quite as sensational as nuclear probing, there are energy development efforts now underway that are equally irresponsible. These efforts will have enormous implications for fish and wildlife — and, therefore, for hunting and fishing. In a recent article for Field & Stream, Wyoming writer and hunter Ted Kerasote put it this way: "If these energy policies continue, we'll have more rivers without fish and fewer hunting opportunities."
A report released last month by Trout Unlimited, "Gas and Oil Development on Western Public Lands: Impacts on Fish, Wildlife, Hunting and Angling," thoroughly documents the potential harms of gas and oil development on public lands. These include diminished populations of fish and wildlife — owing to habitat loss, disturbance and fragmentation — diminished aesthetics and loss of wild places.
Packed with photographs and maps, the report reveals a grim, straightforward glance at the type of gas and oil development occurring on western public lands and shows where such developments may occur within important watersheds for trout, and important habitat for mule deer, pronghorn, elk and sage grouse.
In Wyoming, for example, nearly 60 percent of the state's mule deer and pronghorn habitat lies within areas of potential gas and oil development, and nearly 70 percent of the state's sage grouse habitat could be affected. Considering that more than 1 million people enjoy hunting, fishing and other wildlife-related recreation in Wyoming each year, contributing more than $600 million to the state's economy, the social and economic implications of irresponsible gas and oil development could be enormous.
“ If we're this short of gas that we have to ruin every last piece of ground, it's time we found a new source of energy. We need some of these places left just the way they are, just the way nature created them. ”
— Karl Rappold, Montana rancher and hunter
More than 15 percent of all trout habitat in the Rockies falls within areas where gas and oil development could occur, with potential impacts on 50 percent of Yellowstone cutthroat habitat, 40 percent of fine spotted and Bonneville cutthroat habitat, and 20 percent of Colorado River cutthroat habitat.
A study on Montana's Tongue River indicates a dramatic decline — as high as 70 percent — in mayflies, caddisflies, dragonflies and other macroinvertabrates caused by coal bed methane discharges.
The American Fisheries Society warns that the release of toxic bicarbonates from coal bed methane wastewater can have serious impacts on fisheries. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) research states: "Indirect discharge of concentrated salts from evaporation basins may have profound effects on fish and aquatic life."
Impacts on big game could be equally disturbing. Although the actual "footprint" of a well or pad may be relatively small, production requires pervasive infrastructure and development, such as roads, powerlines and pipelines, that can contaminate ground and surface water supplies, degrade fish habitat, and fragment wildlife corridors, calving grounds, and nesting areas.
In the Powder River Basin of Montana and Wyoming alone, proposed gas and oil development calls for 66,000 new wells; 26,000 miles of new roads; 5,300 miles of power lines; 20,000 miles of pipeline; 500-1,200 water discharge facilities; more than 1,000 compression stations; more than 3,000 infiltration pits; and thousands of discharge points for nearly two trillion gallons of "produced" water.
Nearly 60 percent of Wyoming's mule deer and pronghorn habitat lies within areas of potential gas and oil development.
According to the Powder River Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), the project would affect eight million acres and 18 major and minor watersheds; 211, 922 acres will suffer "short-term disturbance," and 108, 799 will suffer "long-term disturbance." All this in a place that's home to more than 157,000 mule deer, 109,000 pronghorn, and significant populations of elk, whitetail and sage grouse. It is also a place that provides the public with 1.881 million visitor days per year, of which 39,328 days per year are elk hunters and 50,000 days per year are deer hunters.
And that's just the Powder River Basin. There are similar projects proposed on public lands throughout Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. These projects put oil and gas first, with little, if any, consideration for wildlife.
Yet the U.S. Senate is currently considering an energy bill that would further expand irresponsible gas and oil development on public lands, exempt energy companies from key parts of the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act, weaken regulations that protect fish and wildlife and undermine traditional multiple use management of public lands by making gas and oil a dominant use.
Why take such risks with our public land and wildlife? Some politicians and energy officials claim we need to "streamline" the process and open up more public lands for development to meet our nation's energy needs. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, however, streamlining environmental reviews and increasing access to federal natural gas on public lands would increase supplies by less than 1 percent, and save the average U.S. household $5 per year through 2020.
Gas in the Rockies is already available for development. Only 12 percent is off-limits, including unique and special places such as national parks and wilderness areas. Of the 88 percent already available, more than 63 percent can be leased and developed with no restrictions and roughly 25 percent is available with some restrictions to protect wildlife. Where gas and oil development has already occurred on BLM lands with restrictions to protect wildlife (such as the limiting of activities on big game winter range to protect mule deer and pronghorn), the BLM often waives these restrictions.
More than 15 percent of all trout habitat in the Rockies falls within areas where gas and oil development could occur.
Certainly our nation needs energy supplies, but at what cost? Montana hunter and rancher Clint McRae sums it up this way: "I live in an area where there is approximately 10,000 coal bed methane wells planned, and at a spacing of one to three wells every 80 acres, with each of these wells initially producing 60 gallons of water per minute, this will wreak havoc on wildlife, wildlife habitat and agriculture. I too use energy from natural resources, but that does not mean that I am willing to prostitute my ranch of the public wildlife and habitat for a short-term gain."
Trout Unlimited supports responsible energy development, done correctly. We need to ensure that our public lands are managed for true multiple uses, and that oil and gas does not have priority over wildlife, and hunting and fishing interests. We need to ensure that potential impacts on fish and wildlife are thoroughly examined and disclosed in regards to gas and oil development on public lands. Where development does occur, we need to ensure that proper mitigations, stipulations and monitoring plans are in place, and enforced, to protect wildlife.
We also need to insist that some places — such as crucial winter range, migratory corridors and fawning and calving habitat — remain off limits to development. In other places, our land management agencies need to slow down and develop a better understanding of potential impacts before proceeding with such ambitious, wide-scale developments across the landscape.
In the words of Montana rancher and hunter Karl Rappold, "If we're this short of gas that we have to ruin every last piece of ground, it's time we found a new source of energy. We need some of these places left just the way they are, just the way nature created them."
As Western Field Coordinator for Trout Unlimited, David Stalling is spearheading Hunters and Anglers for Responsible Energy Development, part of Trout Unlimited's Public Lands Initiative. For more information, and to assist in the effort, contact Dave at: dstalling@tu.org, or call: (406) 721-4441. To view more information, including the recently released report, go to: http://publiclands.tu.org.
Material fromTrout Unlimited.
Visit their web site at www.tu.org
A report recently released by Trout Unlimited documents the potential harms of natural gas and oil development on public lands
By
David Stalling
Trout Unlimited
We need to ensure that our public lands are managed for true multiple uses, and that oil and gas does not have priority over wildlife, and hunting and fishing interests.
There are responsible ways to extract gas and oil and there are, well, other ways: In 1969, the federal government and El Paso Natural Gas Company considered using underground nuclear explosions to unlock natural gas near Pinedale, Wyoming. A similar proposal, made by out-of-state corporations and endorsed by Wyoming's governor, was dubbed, "The Wyoming Atomic Stimulation Project." If these projects had actually gone through, there's no telling what the impacts may have been on wildlife.
Although not quite as sensational as nuclear probing, there are energy development efforts now underway that are equally irresponsible. These efforts will have enormous implications for fish and wildlife — and, therefore, for hunting and fishing. In a recent article for Field & Stream, Wyoming writer and hunter Ted Kerasote put it this way: "If these energy policies continue, we'll have more rivers without fish and fewer hunting opportunities."
A report released last month by Trout Unlimited, "Gas and Oil Development on Western Public Lands: Impacts on Fish, Wildlife, Hunting and Angling," thoroughly documents the potential harms of gas and oil development on public lands. These include diminished populations of fish and wildlife — owing to habitat loss, disturbance and fragmentation — diminished aesthetics and loss of wild places.
Packed with photographs and maps, the report reveals a grim, straightforward glance at the type of gas and oil development occurring on western public lands and shows where such developments may occur within important watersheds for trout, and important habitat for mule deer, pronghorn, elk and sage grouse.
In Wyoming, for example, nearly 60 percent of the state's mule deer and pronghorn habitat lies within areas of potential gas and oil development, and nearly 70 percent of the state's sage grouse habitat could be affected. Considering that more than 1 million people enjoy hunting, fishing and other wildlife-related recreation in Wyoming each year, contributing more than $600 million to the state's economy, the social and economic implications of irresponsible gas and oil development could be enormous.
“ If we're this short of gas that we have to ruin every last piece of ground, it's time we found a new source of energy. We need some of these places left just the way they are, just the way nature created them. ”
— Karl Rappold, Montana rancher and hunter
More than 15 percent of all trout habitat in the Rockies falls within areas where gas and oil development could occur, with potential impacts on 50 percent of Yellowstone cutthroat habitat, 40 percent of fine spotted and Bonneville cutthroat habitat, and 20 percent of Colorado River cutthroat habitat.
A study on Montana's Tongue River indicates a dramatic decline — as high as 70 percent — in mayflies, caddisflies, dragonflies and other macroinvertabrates caused by coal bed methane discharges.
The American Fisheries Society warns that the release of toxic bicarbonates from coal bed methane wastewater can have serious impacts on fisheries. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) research states: "Indirect discharge of concentrated salts from evaporation basins may have profound effects on fish and aquatic life."
Impacts on big game could be equally disturbing. Although the actual "footprint" of a well or pad may be relatively small, production requires pervasive infrastructure and development, such as roads, powerlines and pipelines, that can contaminate ground and surface water supplies, degrade fish habitat, and fragment wildlife corridors, calving grounds, and nesting areas.
In the Powder River Basin of Montana and Wyoming alone, proposed gas and oil development calls for 66,000 new wells; 26,000 miles of new roads; 5,300 miles of power lines; 20,000 miles of pipeline; 500-1,200 water discharge facilities; more than 1,000 compression stations; more than 3,000 infiltration pits; and thousands of discharge points for nearly two trillion gallons of "produced" water.
Nearly 60 percent of Wyoming's mule deer and pronghorn habitat lies within areas of potential gas and oil development.
According to the Powder River Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), the project would affect eight million acres and 18 major and minor watersheds; 211, 922 acres will suffer "short-term disturbance," and 108, 799 will suffer "long-term disturbance." All this in a place that's home to more than 157,000 mule deer, 109,000 pronghorn, and significant populations of elk, whitetail and sage grouse. It is also a place that provides the public with 1.881 million visitor days per year, of which 39,328 days per year are elk hunters and 50,000 days per year are deer hunters.
And that's just the Powder River Basin. There are similar projects proposed on public lands throughout Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. These projects put oil and gas first, with little, if any, consideration for wildlife.
Yet the U.S. Senate is currently considering an energy bill that would further expand irresponsible gas and oil development on public lands, exempt energy companies from key parts of the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act, weaken regulations that protect fish and wildlife and undermine traditional multiple use management of public lands by making gas and oil a dominant use.
Why take such risks with our public land and wildlife? Some politicians and energy officials claim we need to "streamline" the process and open up more public lands for development to meet our nation's energy needs. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, however, streamlining environmental reviews and increasing access to federal natural gas on public lands would increase supplies by less than 1 percent, and save the average U.S. household $5 per year through 2020.
Gas in the Rockies is already available for development. Only 12 percent is off-limits, including unique and special places such as national parks and wilderness areas. Of the 88 percent already available, more than 63 percent can be leased and developed with no restrictions and roughly 25 percent is available with some restrictions to protect wildlife. Where gas and oil development has already occurred on BLM lands with restrictions to protect wildlife (such as the limiting of activities on big game winter range to protect mule deer and pronghorn), the BLM often waives these restrictions.
More than 15 percent of all trout habitat in the Rockies falls within areas where gas and oil development could occur.
Certainly our nation needs energy supplies, but at what cost? Montana hunter and rancher Clint McRae sums it up this way: "I live in an area where there is approximately 10,000 coal bed methane wells planned, and at a spacing of one to three wells every 80 acres, with each of these wells initially producing 60 gallons of water per minute, this will wreak havoc on wildlife, wildlife habitat and agriculture. I too use energy from natural resources, but that does not mean that I am willing to prostitute my ranch of the public wildlife and habitat for a short-term gain."
Trout Unlimited supports responsible energy development, done correctly. We need to ensure that our public lands are managed for true multiple uses, and that oil and gas does not have priority over wildlife, and hunting and fishing interests. We need to ensure that potential impacts on fish and wildlife are thoroughly examined and disclosed in regards to gas and oil development on public lands. Where development does occur, we need to ensure that proper mitigations, stipulations and monitoring plans are in place, and enforced, to protect wildlife.
We also need to insist that some places — such as crucial winter range, migratory corridors and fawning and calving habitat — remain off limits to development. In other places, our land management agencies need to slow down and develop a better understanding of potential impacts before proceeding with such ambitious, wide-scale developments across the landscape.
In the words of Montana rancher and hunter Karl Rappold, "If we're this short of gas that we have to ruin every last piece of ground, it's time we found a new source of energy. We need some of these places left just the way they are, just the way nature created them."
As Western Field Coordinator for Trout Unlimited, David Stalling is spearheading Hunters and Anglers for Responsible Energy Development, part of Trout Unlimited's Public Lands Initiative. For more information, and to assist in the effort, contact Dave at: dstalling@tu.org, or call: (406) 721-4441. To view more information, including the recently released report, go to: http://publiclands.tu.org.
Material fromTrout Unlimited.
Visit their web site at www.tu.org