Oil and Gas
The Rocky Mountain states are rich in both natural beauty and resources, and for decades a conflict has been escalating between those interested in protecting the area's wildlands and those wishing to extract its value.
EcoFlight collaborates with a large number of organizations and concerned citizens in opposition to the rampant development and increased destruction of our last wild lands and many natural treasures, particularly from extractive industries. There is increased pressure from the federal government, particularly through the BLM, to lease more and more of the Rocky Mountains to oil and gas industries, and to construct thousands of miles of more pipelines and energy corridors. The Upper Green River Valley, near Jackson, Wyoming, and the Roan Plateau, outside of Rifle, Colorado, are two of the poster child areas that show how the legacy of the Bush Administration’s “lease and drill everything” policy is targeting some of our most fragile places to oil and gas development.
Drilling companies employ a controversial drilling method known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to unlock natural gas reserves trapped in large rock formations. Water, sand and chemicals are pumped into the ground under high pressure to break up and crack these rock formations, releasing the trapped natural gas and allowing it to flow more easily to the surface. Many of the chemicals used are known carcinogens and contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene, toluene, methylbenzene and xylene. Currently, companies are not required to disclose all chemicals used in fracking fluid despite the fact that residents close to fracking operations have reported getting sick from chemicals in the air and water.
Colorado Governor Hickenlooper is proposing a rule that would require drilling companies to disclose the chemicals used in fracking fluid so these chemicals can be tested for in the air and water.
EcoFlight works with groups in Colorado and Wyoming to look at the scale and magnitude of fracking operations in the gas industry. Many of these groups are working to make sure these activities are not done in sensitive areas or where they might contaminate clean water sources.
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State: Colorado Region: North Park Description: Plans to drill the Niobrara Formation in Colorado's North Park are drawing concerns from local sportsmen, anglers and conservation groups about the area's delicate resources. |
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State: Colorado Region: Western Slope Description: In May 2009, Antero Resources announced a proposed Comprehensive Development Plan that would include constructing ten well pads and drilling over 200 natural gas wells within the residential area of Battlement Mesa. Some pads could be as close as 400 feet from homes and recreation areas. |
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State: Colorado Region: Western slope Description: 30,000 acres of land have been nominated for oil and gas leasing in the Paonia, Somerset, Hotchkiss and Crawford areas of the North Fork Valley region, home to organic farms, orchards, vineyards, ranches and excellent hiking and fishing. Some of these 22 lease parcels would be in vital watersheds and in viable agricultural areas. |
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State: Colorado Description: Flaring is a technique used by the oil and gas industry to burn off unused natural gas. Though better than simply venting the gas into the air, flaring releases huge amounts of greenhouse gasses and as many as 250 hazardous air pollutants, including carcinogens such as naphthalene and benzene... |
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State: Colorado Region: Western Slope Description: The Roan has become the premier symbol of the pitched battle between the oil and gas industry and the growing alliance of local communities, hunters, anglers and conservation groups fighting for the future of Western Colorado. |
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State: Colorado Region: Western Slope Description: Efforts are being made to protect the Thompson and Divide Creek watershed from potential oil and gas drilling, near Carbondale and Glenwood Springs, Co. |
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State: Colorado Region: Western Slope Description: EcoFlight has been flying Colorado’s spectacular Vermillion Basin for many years to protect it from damaging oil and gas leasing. In June 2010, the BLM’s Little Snake Field Office announced that the Vermillion Basin will be closed from all future oil and gas leasing and drilling.... |
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State: Montana Description: Congress has enacted legislation that prevents all future leasing of federal oil and gas minerals on the Rocky Mountain Front. |
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State: New Mexico Region: San Juan Basin, Farmington and Aztec Description: San Juan Basin, one of the worlds largest coal-bed methane deposits. |
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State: New Mexico Region: southern New Mexico Description: Energy development on this vast Chihuahuan Desert grassland -- inhabited by New Mexico's most robust pronghorn herd, black-tailed prairie dogs and some 250 songbird species -- has been hotly disputed since 1997, when an exploratory well drilled by the Harvey E. Yates Company hit gas. |
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Region: Tavaputs Plateau Description: Promoted as "the world's longest art gallery",NIne Mile Canyon contains one of the nation's greatest collections of prehistoric Indian rock art. It has also been under threat of the oil and gas industry. |
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State: Utah Region: Uinta Basin Description: The Desolation Canyon area is one of the largest roadless areas in the U.S. It's also sitting on top of a lage oil formation, making it a target for drilling. |
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State: Utah Description: The Greater Canyonlands area extends beyond Canyonlands National Park over 1.4 million acres. This area is threated by off-road vehicle abuse, oil and gas, nuclear and tar sands mining. |
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State: Wyoming Description: The Greater Yellowstone Coalition is initiating a proactive landscape-scale conservation campaign to protect the Absaroka-Beartooth Front, which constitutes the northeasetrn boundary of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and is critical habitat for all the iconic species in the Ecosystem. |
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State: Wyoming Region: Sheridan Description: Coalbed methane development in the Fortification Creek area in the Powder River Basin has been a challenge to environmental groups. |
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State: Wyoming Description: A 2011 EPA report links groundwater contamination to fracking. |
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State: Wyoming Region: Upper Green River Valley Description: EcoFlight’s mission in this area is to protect and preserve the clear air, clean water and abundant wildlife that define the extraordinary Upper Green River Valley in Western Wyoming. There is substantial energy development on BLM lands here. |
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State: Wyoming Description: Wyoming's Powder River Basin is experiencing the largest mineral boom in Wyoming history. |
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State: Wyoming Region: Bridger-Teton National Forest Description: The Wyoming Range is one of Wyoming’s lesser-known gems. In the southern part of the Bridger-Teton National Forest, this 150-mile range is home to prized herds of big game, native cutthroat trout populations and threatened species like Canada lynx. The area is at risk because energy companies have targeted it for new oil and gas development. |
