The Powder River of Wyoming and Montana is a healthy remnant of the once vast and unspoiled river ecosystem that spanned the Great Plains. In 1999, the Nature Conservancy reported that, "In an inventory of all streams in the Great Plains of Wyoming, the Powder River was found to support the most intact assemblage of fish species." Among these species, the sturgeon chub is being evaluated for protection under the Endangered Species Act, and populations of the western silvery minnow are in sharp decline.

Jeff Kessler, Conservation Director for Biodiversity Associates added: "A popular bumper sticker here in Wyoming reads 'Wyoming is What America Was.' Nothing represents this idea better than the Powder river-still free and full of native fish. Coal bed methane development, along with the associated environmental and quality of life impacts, could eliminate the very values that make Wyoming, and the Powder River, so special and so different from the rest of the country. How we deal with coalbed methane development will determine if the Powder River, and Wyoming, remain 'What America Was' or if they become overdeveloped like almost everywhere else."

Regarding the uniqueness of the Powder River, Dr. Dan Gustafson of Montana State University said, "I consider the Powder River the best interior prairie, big sandy river on the continent!"

The current rush to extract CBM in northeast Wyoming was triggered by the development of inexpensive drilling techniques and surging natural gas prices. During the first stage of the extraction process, approximately 15,000 gallons of groundwater are pumped from the coalbed aquifer every day. Since 1986, approximately 30 billion gallons of water have been pumped from coalbeds in northeast Wyoming - more than 12 full-sized tanker trucks of water for every resident of the state. Generally too salty for irrigation without treatment, the water is typically discarded on the surface or in nearby creeks - degrading soils and accelerating erosion which threatens the Powder River and its tributaries.

"The most important study currently underway is the draft EIS BLM is preparing to study the full range of impacts of 51,000 CBM wells," stated Tom Darin, staff attorney for the Wyoming Outdoor Council. "When released this summer, it will be a critical time for Wyoming citizens to voice their concerns with this development and the manner in which it will proceed." Darin concluded, "This BLM study is an important test for the new administration - President Bush and Secretary of Interior Norton have been telling us for months that gas can be extracted while still preserving the integrity of the land, air and water - this CBM project in the Powder River Basin is their first chance to prove that conserving the environment ranks as high to them as extracting federal gas reserves in the face of a perceived energy crisis."

Understanding that some level of CBM development will occur in the Basin, the Wyoming Outdoor Council, Biodiversity Associates, the Powder River Basin Resource Council, and other conservation groups are striving to ensure responsible development by pressing for a comprehensive understanding of environmental impacts, full disclosure to the public and mitigation of these impacts. Hopefully, these steps will prevent the Powder River Basin, and the ranchers, families, communities, and wildlife it supports, from becoming an energy sacrifice zone under the new administration's drill at all cost policies.

Michele Barlow, Wyoming Outdoor Council (WOC)
(307) 755-1376
mbarlow@lariat.org

Tom Darin, WOC
(307) 332-7031
tom@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org

Jeff Kessler, Biodiversity Associates
(307) 742-7978
jkessler@igc.org

Gwen Lachelt, Oil and Gas Accountability Project
(970) 259-3353
glachelt@fone.net

Cheyrl Phinney, Powder River Basin Resource Council
(307) 672-5809
prbrc@wavecom.net

Mark Fix, Northern Plains Resource Council
(406) 421-5460
mfix@mcn.net