For Immediate Release
January 16, 2006

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LARAMIE – Conservationists today blasted a BLM proposal that would radically intensify oil and gas impacts in the Jonah Field. The Jonah Field has already had some of the heaviest impacts of any Wyoming oil and gas field. The field currently has some 500 wells at a density of 16 wells per square mile; the BLM proposes to approve an additional 3,100 wells at up to 128 wells per square mile. 

“The Jonah Field is the site of one of the worst environmental disasters in Wyoming.  In an area that once supported world-class wildlife, the impacts of heavy gas and oil development in recent years have had tragic consequences for native animal and plant species that call the Jonah Field home” said Suzanne Lewis, a conservation advocate with Biodiversity Conservation Alliance (BCA) in Laramie. “This level of destruction is completely unnecessary.” 

Already, the Jonah Field is the poster child for oil and gas drilling run amok. Despite BLM’s claim that its preferred alternative will “encourage minimum surface disturbance,” this alternative actually recommends nearly twice as much surface disturbance as the earlier draft recommendation. “The BLM plan has gone from bad to worse,” stated Lewis. “Under the BLM alternative, 2 out of every 3 acres could go under the bulldozer. Over 700 miles of new roads would be created, causing not just habitat fragmentation, but actual habitat elimination.”  

The unchecked development has interfered with the migration of pronghorn antelope, which have used this area as a migration corridor for thousands of years.  This migration corridor is the longest of its kind in the lower 48 states. “Oil and gas activities on the Jonah Field have  essentially destroyed the habitat for wildlife species such as sage grouse and pronghorn antelope,” said Erik Molvar, wildlife biologist for BCA. “This next phase of intense drilling activity will put the last nail in the coffin for the other wildlife that inhabit the Jonah Field, including many species which are sensitive and are supposed to be protected by BLM.”   

“Such devastation to the landscape and its impacts on wildlife is unnecessary”, states Lewis. “ BLM should be requiring the use of lower-impact technologies, such as use of directional drilling, which would greatly reduce surface disturbance and impacts to wildlife and plants. If developers were required to develop the field responsibly, the whole Jonah Field could be produced with just 115 wells using well clustering and directional drilling techniques currently in use by EnCana on the Jonah Field.” Directional drilling would also greatly reduce the need for additional roads and facilities. Instead of requiring these technologies, the BLM will watch as the Jonah Field is turned into an industrial park. “Apparently the BLM has turned its back on multiple use of our public lands,” said Lewis.

“BCA is not opposed to oil and gas development; but it needs to happen in a responsible way which minimizes the impacts to the area by using directional drilling and phased development,” Lewis stressed.  “It’s just a matter of convincing the BLM to require use of the best technology available, even though it might cost a little more.  Oil and gas companies are reaping record profits, so why can’t they spend a little to preserve our Western landscapes, native wildlife, and way of life?”

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Contact Information Contact
Suzanne Lewis, Conservation Advocate, Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, 307-721-4891
Erik Molvar, Wildlife Biologist, Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, (307) 742-7978