The Baca National Wildlife Refuge is Colorado’s largest and newest Refuge.  Flanked by the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the east and the Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve to the south, the BNWR spans approximately 92,500 acres.  But this largely untouched refuge is under threat from oil and gas development. 

After a multi-year battle to protect the water in the San Luis Valley aquifers, the BNWR was created by the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Act of 2000.  This legislation was the result of efforts by many local individuals and groups, including the Citizens for San Luis Valley Water, San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council and other conservation organizations, local governments in the SLV, state officials, local federal officials, and our Congressional delegation. The legislation included the expansion of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, the creation of the Baca National Wildlife Refuge, and added additional acreage to the Rio Grande National Forest, known as the Baca Mountain Tract.  

Over the course of the following four years, The Nature Conservancy acted as a broker in acquiring the additional lands for the Park, the Refuge, and the Forest.  This included the purchase of the Baca Ranch for $33 million, then held by Farallon Corporation.  At the time, the mineral rights had already been severed and sold to a third party, Lexam, and were not available for purchase.  Farallon could only sell the surface and water rights that it held.  It was important to purchase the surface and water rights in the Baca Ranch in a timely manner in order to acquire the property needed for federal designation, and in order to avoid losing the ranch to a third party.  In September of 2004, land acquisitions had been finalized, and the official designation was signed by then Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton. 

Because of the new lands that were acquired, the Great Sand Dunes National Park had begun the process of creating a General Management Plan late in 2003.  The BNWR, due to funding constraints from the US Fish &Wildlife Service (FWS), was not scheduled to begin their own comprehensive management plan until 2011.  Surveys of the land, including studies of flora and fauna and cultural resources, were delayed as well. 

In December of 2006, Lexam Explorations, owner of the mineral rights under the BNWR, notified the FWS that they intended to drill two 14,000-foot deep exploratory oil & gas wells (see map). Since Lexam owned the mineral rights, and had a surface-use agreement in place that had been established with the previous owner, FWS took the position that they did not need to engage the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) over the issue, and that there was no need to solicit public comment. 

Many citizens and environmental groups disagreed.  In May of 2007, the San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council filed a lawsuit asserting that the FWS had a duty to implement NEPA, and involve public process, to protect the public interest in the BNWR.  The lawsuit established important safeguards for the refuge, and the FWS agreed to institute an Environmental Assessment (EA) before any exploratory drilling could begin. 

Throughout the year of 2008, the EA process went forward.  Over 47,000 comments were received from the public, including comments from many local entities that expressed concern over the fact that no Comprehensive Management Plan had been done for the refuge, and no baseline data existed for evaluating the effects of oil & gas drilling.  Specific concerns about air quality were raised by both the National Park Service and the EPA.  The State Historic Preservation Office and the Hopi Tribe expressed concerns about the cultural resources that could be damaged by drilling, and requested accountability regarding how these concerns would be addressed.    

Despite numerous comments and concerns, expressed both in scoping, and as reaction to the draft EA, (see Press Release on EA) the FWS issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) in November of 2008. 

As the EA process went forward, concerns arose about the role that Lexam Explorations and its consultants were playing in the creation of the EA.  The Citizens for San Luis Valley Water Protection Coalition, who had been involved in water protection in the same area in the 1990’s, filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, in which they asked for documents and internal communications between FWS, the DOI Solicitor’s office, Lexam, Lexam’s attorneys, and ENSR Corporation, a consultant working with Lexam.  

When these documents were released, it became evident that there was inappropriate influence, including specific wording and edits to the EA, and inappropriate exchange of information.  This helped insure that the scope of the final EA was very narrow in its assessment of impacts from drilling.  The result was that the EA, and the FONSI Record of Decision, were not a true representation of either the science or the concerns expressed during the EA scoping and comment period. 

In September of 2009, at the request of SLVEC’s attorneys, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Walker Miller granted a Preliminary Injunction (PI) which recognized the likelihood that environmental groups would prevail in the lawsuit.  Judge Miller’s decision, subsequent settlement talks, and the small likelihood of finding developable minerals (0.03%, according to a USGS study), have created a situation where purchase and retirement of the mineral rights may be the best alternative.  Although litigation is focused on the BNWR, other federal land management agencies have expressed an interest in a broad mineral acquisition, which could further protect the Great Sand Dunes National Park and the Baca Mountain Tract of the Rio Grande National Forest. 

In January of 2010, during the process of settlement talks stemming from Judge Walker’s PI decision, Lexam became a willing seller and offered to have the Mineral rights purchased for $9.7 million. The current goal is the development and implementation of a public/private partnership that can move swiftly to meet the challenge of purchasing these rights on behalf of the American public and having them retired in perpetuity. 

SLVEC continues to advocate for protection of these lands.  In approving the legislation of 2000, Congress recognized that these lands offered “unique hydrological, biological, educational, and recreational values deserving of preservation into perpetuity.” 

We now have the historic opportunity to complete the process that began with the Park and Preserve Act of 2000 and protect this public lands complex for the American people.

Documents

Energy drilling may be avoided at wildlife refuge
Press Release on the Environmental Assessment
Telesto Memo on Water Quality/Lexam
Press Release on Suit Filed Against Fish & Wildlife Service
Press Release Packet - Cover Letter
US Fish & Wildlife Service Environmental Assessment Scoping Process on Lexam Explorations, Inc. proposal to drill in the Baca National Wildlife Refuge.
Baca National Wildlife Refuge Letter to Governor Ritter
Lexam Chronology
Help block drilling in Colorado Wildlife Refuge
50,000 Citizens Comment on Baca National Wildlife Refuge Public Outcry "Overwhelming"
Group sues to stop drilling on refuge - Valley Courier Article
Drilling delayed until August - Valley Courier Article
Drilling on Baca NWR Halted - Press Release
Stipulated Agreement