| |||||||||||
| Speak out to protect the Kinney Rim Proposed Wilderness!
Help prevent a repeat of the Jonah Field in the Red Desert September 27 , 2006 The BLM is adding yet another multi-thousand-well project to the Red Desert. The Questar Hiawatha project would permit over 4,200 wells at a density of 16 wells per square mile (the present density of the Jonah Field) across a stretch of open country traversed by the Cherokee historic trail. As we have seen in the Jonah Field, this type of well density completely destroys the value of the land as habitat for wildlife ranging from sage grouse to antelope, and is unacceptable for any land. Submit your written comments by October 20th
Southwest Wyoming residents should attend the public hearing this Thursday, Sept. 28! The hearing will be held in Rock Springs BLM Office
on U.S. Highway 191 at the north edge of town, 4 to 7 p.m. There are four key issues to raise regarding this project: 1. About 30,000 acres of the Kinney Rim citizens' proposed wilderness are included in the drilling project boundary. While BLM dismisses these lands as "common grazing land," the agency does recognize them as roadless, and there are outstanding primitive recreation opportunities along the magnificent heights of the Kinney Rim. Full-field development should not be allowed to swallow up the roadless lands along the base of the rim. The boundary of the project boundary should be adjusted to exclude all roadless lands within the citizens' proposed wilderness. 2. There is an important white-tailed prairie dog complex, called the Hiawatha Complex, in the project area. This prairie dog complex was identified as suitable for the reintroduction of the endangered black-footed ferret in 1995, and needs to be protected. The BLM must protect this prairie dog complex so that the success of future ferret reintroduction efforts is maximized. 3. The density of roads and wellpads must be minimized to prevent habitat fragmentation and outright bulldozing of habitat to the greatest extent possible. The BLM should require a maximum well density of 4 wellpads per square mile; the destruction of the Jonah Field must not be repeated on public lands. This requirement is being proposed by BLM on the Roan Plateau, and Shell is currently drilling up to 32 wells per pad using directional drilling on the Pinedale Anticline. The Hiawatha project targets tight shale formations that require hydraulic fracturing and possibly a high density of wellbores traveling through the reservoir rock (but these layouts don't require a high density of surface installations if directional "S-turn" wells are used). The effectiveness of directional drilling has been proven for just these types of situations throughout the region, and BLM has no excuse for failing to require the use of this Best Management Practice for the Hiawatha project. 4. The project area is traversed by the Cherokee Trail, a candidate for National Historic Trail status. The project should be designed to protect the setting of the Cherokee Trail by preventing road and well construction within 2 miles of the trail, except where intrusions would by completely hidden by the topography. Attend the hearing if you can, and mail your written comments by October 20th to: Susan Davis
Rock Springs BLM 280 Highway 191 North Rock Springs, WY 82901 Thanks for speaking out on behalf of the Red Desert!
|
|||||||||||
Biodiversity Conservation Alliance P.O. Box 1512, Laramie, WY 82073 (307) 742-7978 - maggie@voiceforthewild.org |
