Home to the longest wildlife migration corridor in the lower 48 states, the Upper Green River Valley (UGRV) is a a critical winter habitat for over 100,000 big game animals. Natural gas drilling in the Upper Green is escalating as it is across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The results include 24-hour noise, heavy truck traffic and hazy skies that dramatically reduce visibility, acidify lakes and harm human health.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) oversees much of the area and is facing a Bush administration directive to triple the number of gas drilling sites, which would add 10,000 new drilling sites in the Upper Green. The BLM's recent management plan presents four options for the UGRV’s 1.2 million acres of publicly owned lands. The BLM's preferred alternative focuses on energy development with little priority placed on wildlife and other natural resources the agency is obligated to support.
Public commenting on this plan closed June 18th. Of the 100,000 comments submitted, WildAlert Subscribers and other supporters and members of The Wilderness Society sent in more than 50,000 letters calling for stronger protection of wildlife habitat and natural values. Outreach efforts were supported by local citizens, ranchers, outdoorsmen, and a coalition of environmental groups.
Wyoming’s Governor Dave Freudenthal joined the fight. The governor supported the need for long term protection of all natural resources, not just energy development. Freudenthal hoped leasing would not take place in remaining wilderness. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department echoed the governor, saying that any of the four proposed alternatives could result in intensely developed oil fields in certain sensitive areas. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also weighed in, believing newly developed oil fields might completely transform this area without regard for the environmental impacts of such development.
Encana Oil and Gas, Inc., a major energy development company, supported Alternatives 2 and 4 but opposed Alternative 3 thereby representing the interests of those who wish to drill. Encana challenged some of the protections outlined by the BLM where the company believed local authorities should instead govern, and also stressed the economic benefits of leasing the public land for oil and gas development. The BLM will consider all comments submitted and will make a decision in December.
