For Immediate Release August 26, 2003
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DENVER – The Rocky Mountain Energy Council, a federal task force appointed by the Bush Administration to speed up federal oil and gas projects, held its first public hearings today in Denver and ran into a storm of controversy surrounding recent administration moves to weaken protections for public lands and wildlife and reduce public participation in land management decisions. Several Wyoming conservation groups were on hand to voice their concerns, among scores of speakers including ranchers, outfitters, Native American groups,and other concerned citizens all calling for major reforms in oil and gas drilling practices, a stronger focus on energy efficiency, and increased emphasis on renewable energy sources.

Recent drilling projects in the pipeline include 51,000 coalbed methane wells in the Powder River Basin, over 5,000 wells in the Red Desert, and thousands more in the Upper Green River valley; nationwide, over 7,000 drilling permits were issued in the past year alone. "The West is already under seige from an unprecedented onslaught of oil and gas drilling, so the argument that we need to accelerate drilling is ridiculous," noted Erik Molvar of Biodiversity Conservation Alliance. "The Rocky Mountain Energy Council is clearly failing to recognize the main problem here, which is not obstacles to drilling but rather the need to make oil and gas production more compatible with other multiple uses on public lands, such as clean air and water, wildlife habitat, and public recreation."

"The strong representation of groups and individuals at this hearing who asked for responsible energy development is indicative of a groundswell of citizen opposition to the current ‘full speed ahead’ mentality of fossil fuels development in this country," added Penny Vance of the Powder River Basin Resource Council. "People are demonstrating that they are not okay with destroying our water, air, and agricultural heritage in Wyoming, and are demanding a more forward-thinking energy policy instead."

Private landowners are also caught in the crosshairs of western oil and gas development, and called for greater responsibility on the part of government and industry when drilling on private lands. "Rampant coalbed methane drilling in Wyoming is destroying agricultural operations, wildlife habitat, and air and water quality," said Michele Barlow of Wyoming Outdoor Council, who comes from a ranching family in the Powder River Basin. "At this rate, our childern will inherit a landscape that is no more than an industrial complex."

Both oil company representatives and conservationists agreed that drilling and environmental conservation need not be mutually exclusive, and directional drilling was repeatedly offered in testimony as a method to reduce impacts or move industrialization away from sensitive wildlife habitats. "But so far, such environmentally friendly have been avoided like the plague by the Bush administration," noted Molvar. "While the administration trumpets new technologies like directional drilling that could significantly reduce damage to lands and wildlife, the land management agencies that they direct have repeatedly refused to implement this technology."

"The Bush administration’s ‘drill first, think later’ approach to energy development today met a solid wall of opposition from citizens from across the West," concluded Patrica Dowd of the Wyoming Chapter of the Sierra Club.