COMMENT DEADLINE IS JULY 1, 2005

More Info on the Great Divide RMP

Just south of Wamsutter and west of Baggs lies the "Desolation Flats Project Area" (map) - so named by the Bureau of Land Management. In fact, this 230,000-acre area of Wyoming's Red Desert is anything but desolate. This country is just as wild, remote, and pristine today as it was when Butch Cassidy and his gang roamed these deserts in the 1800's. The proposed gas field would destroy about 50,000 acres of the citizens' proposed expansions to the Adobe Town Wilderness Study Area (WSA) - possibly the most spectacular set of badlands and geological formations in the entire state of Wyoming. Throughout, the area boasts magnificent scenery - like the eroded badlands of Prehistoric Rim and the rugged canyons of Sand Creek and Willow Creek - wild horses, outstanding sage grouse and mountain plover habitat as well as crucial winter ranges for deer, pronghorn antelope, and elk. In addition, there has been a recent wolf sighting near the area - the animal was possibly migrating from the north into Colorado.

Unfortunately, this amazing landscape is the next in line to become an over-developed gas field. The BLM's draft plan for the area would permit drilling 385 conventional gas wells, plus construction of all the roads, power lines, and pipelines that go with them while failing to protect the region's magnificent wildlife and wildlands. You can help protect this beautiful place from irresponsible gas development by writing your own letter to the agency. Letters should be postmarked by July 1st. Your time, energy, thoughts, and concerns will make a huge difference in helping to protect this area of the Red Desert. Below are a few discussion points.

The Desolation Flats project area is not desolate. It contains spectacular public lands. In order to ensure adequate protection for the magnificent scenic and recreational value of the area as well as its outstanding wildlife habitat, ask the agency to:

• Prohibit drilling in environmentally sensitive such as wilderness quality lands, roadless lands, and important wildlife habitats. The BLM should withdraw from leasing or require "No Surface Occupancy" for oil and gas drilling on floodplains, roadless lands, and wilderness quality lands, crucial elk and deer winter ranges, mountain plover habitat, and within three miles of sage grouse leks and one mile of raptor nests.
• Prohibit drilling in prairie dog colonies. The project area contains several large white-tailed prairie dog complexes. Prairie dogs are vital to the existence of many rare or imperiled species in the Red Desert including the burrowing owl and the black-footed ferret. One of these complexes may possibly be suitable for future black-footed ferret reintroduction. Therefore the BLM should withdraw these areas from leasing or require "No Surface Occupancy."
• Protect all lands within the Adobe Town citizens' proposed WSA. In the project area there are almost 50,000 acres of wilderness-quality lands adjacent to the existing Adobe Town WSA. Indeed, the BLM admits that at least 15,000 of these acres have are wilderness-quality. All these lands should be protected by incorporating them into the existing Wilderness Study Area.
• Provide a sufficient analysis of the impacts of the proposed project. The BLM preferred plan does not go into the detail needed to provide for a sufficient analysis of the impacts of the project. For instance, the DEIS states that there will be 385 wells drilled and about 500 miles of new roads constructed under the preferred plan, but does not identify the locations of either the wells or the roads. Without these crucial details, impacts to wildlife, recreation, and visual quality of the area cannot possibly be analyzed.
• Adopt a Conservation Alternative in the FEIS. The FEIS must not only have a conservation alternative, but also adequate mitigation and monitoring measures to ensure proper protection for the area's special values.
• Mandate the least environmentally damaging types of drilling. Directional drilling should be required in the Desolation Flats Final EIS to minimize impacts to wildlife, recreation, and landscapes.

To view the plan visit www.blm.gov/rfo

Please take the time to personalize your letter as much as possible (the BLM gives these types of comments more weight). Send your letter (postmarked by July 1st) to:
Bureau of Land Management
Rawlins Field Office
John Spehar, Project Coordinator
PO Box 2407
Rawlins, WY 82301

Comments may be provided in electronic format at the following email address:
DesFlats_WYMail@blm.gov