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NEWS RELEASE June 5, 2008 BLM brings back Adobe Town
drilling proposal
LROCK SPRINGS – The Bureau of Land Management is once again considering a proposal for drilling and road building in the heart of iconic Adobe Town in the Red Desert. The proposal, called the “Desolation Road Project,” includes one well and four miles of road along the northern border of the Adobe Town Wilderness Study Area, and an additional well on neighboring private lands in the “checkerboard” land ownership area. The BLM lands bordering the current Wilderness Study Area were also officially found by the BLM to possess wilderness qualities in 2003. “The drilling would occur right in the heart of Adobe Town, at the base of the spectacular geological features of the Haystacks,” said Joyce Corcoran of the Wyoming Association of Churches. “These lands are wild and beautiful, and deserve to be protected from this type of industrial use.” The area proposed for drilling also falls within the Monument Valley Management Area, which is under consideration to be designated by the BLM as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern. “Bulldozing a road across lands that the BLM has determined have wilderness qualities and drilling a well makes this a high-impact proposal,” said Erik Molvar, wildlife biologist with Biodiversity Conservation Alliance. “Lands this wild are rare in Wyoming, and we expect the BLM to carefully apply the strongest possible protections, including the rigorous environmental review of a full-fledged Environmental Impact Statement. This is not a situation that lends itself to a quick-and-dirty approval process.” This part of Adobe Town is also a noted trophy antelope hunting area. “There are many places in Wyoming where oil and gas development is appropriate, but there is no reason we should sacrifice a spectacular, heritage landscape like Adobe Town,” said Bruce Pendery, public lands director for the Wyoming Outdoor Council. “Wyoming has shown it cares about this area by designating all of Adobe Town ‘Very Rare or Uncommon’ under state law. The BLM should recognize the concerns of the state and its citizens, as part of its decision-making for this project” In the interest of balance, the people of Wyoming should be able to identify a few special places, such as Adobe Town, where development should be off-limits, Pendery said. The BLM is soliciting scoping comments on the project, which will be accepted at the Rock Springs Field Office through June 15th. The scoping notice and a map of the project is available online at http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/NEPA/rsfodocs/DesolationRoadGas.html. Contact information:
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Biodiversity Conservation Alliance P.O. Box 1512, Laramie, WY 82073 (307) 742-7978 - carmi@voiceforthewild.org |