Tell the Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the
Baca National Wildlife Refuge from Oil and Gas Drilling:
The Baca National Wildlife Refuge is the largest
refuge in Colorado (now at 58,000 acres, but will expand
to
72,000 acres) and is one of the newest addition’s
to the nation’s complex wildlife refuge system.
It was created four years ago, when the land in south
central Colorado adjacent to Great Sand Dunes National
Park was acquired by the federal government. The refuge
contains approximately 15,000 acres of irrigated wetlands,
and another 10,000 acres of playa wetlands, considered
by many to be among the most concentrated, most pristine
and biologically diverse wetlands in the entire southwestern
United States.
The mandatory, comprehensive environmental analysis
and management plan have yet to be performed. It
is clear
to those who are familiar with the area that the
Refuge is home to threatened or endangered species
including
the bald eagle, greater sandhill crane, and mountain
plover, and provides important aquatic habitat
for an isolated species of Rio Grande Sucker – which is
on the state’s endangered species list and the
Rio Grande Chub- which is considered to be a state
species of concern. In addition to providing critical
fish habitat,
it contains important calving grounds for deer and
elk. World-class Folsom sites that date back more than
11,000
years have been found near the Refuge, but mandatory
archeological surveys have not yet taken place Refuge-wide.
Unfortunately, the Refuge property had it’s mineral
rights severed in the 1980’s while it was still
private property. The federal government may not own
the rights to other underground resources, such as
oil and gas, but does have significant power to deny
unreasonable
development proposals. In this case, the majority of
rights to oil and gas underneath the refuge now belong
to Lexam Explorations, a private Canadian-based company,
and ConocoPhillips, who are the other 25% share holders.
Now these companies want to drill deep, “high risk” exploratory
wells up to 14,000 feet deep under the refuge without
giving due regard to the outstanding ecological and archeological
characteristics of the area. If these wells are successful,
the Refuge could be turned into an industrial gas field – perhaps
even threatening the Great Sand Dunes National Park.
Tell the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that
drilling in the refuge would have an unreasonable
impact
on the outstanding ecological and archeological
of the
area.
Please send a copy to us
slvwater@fairpoint.net
and we will send a copy of your letter to Lexam
Explorations and ConocoPhillips.
Sample Letter
Dear Mr. Blenden:
I urge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to
stop plans to drill in the Baca National
Wildlife Refuge
until it
can be determined that drilling will not
unreasonably degrade the environment. It is likely
that
once a full Environmental Impact Statement is prepared,
it will become
apparent that drilling in the unique ecological
and
archeological setting of the Baca NWR, including
11,000 year old Folsom
sites, is unreasonable.
Since there is no comprehensive management
plan in place for the refuge, all potential
impacts
cannot
be known.
Also, a comprehensive, site-specific analysis
should be completed for each propose proposed
development
project with specific information on each
well, road, pipeline,
etc. Just recently the Bureau of Land Management
decided to defer leasing near Dinosaur National
Monument in northwest
Colorado because amendments to the management
plan for the area are in process and not
yet complete.
Until a full Environmental Impact Statement
and Management Plan is complete, the public
will
not know the full
extent that the Baca NWR provides a home
to threatened and endangered
species, such as the globally imperiled Slender
Spiderflower, potential habitat for the endangered
Southwestern
Willow Flycatcher, greater sandhill crane,
and a genetically
unique population of the endangered Rio Grande
sucker fish. Although currently deemed “exploratory,” the
currently proposed “high risk” drilling
project could open the way to massive industrial development
that would destroy wildlife habitat through roadbuilding,
threaten air, land, aquifer and waterways with contamination,
and generate excessive traffic and noise.
No drilling should be approved until a thorough
analysis is done to ensure that there will
be no unreasonable
impacts. Should the drilling be deemed “reasonable,” the
developer must be required to use all alternatives
and mitigation measures to protect the sensitive values
of
the Refuge. These include: locating development away
from meadows, wetlands and riparian areas; protecting
water quality and quantity; monitoring of air and soil
quality; requiring the most stringent standards for
hazardous materials; and preserving important historical
and cultural
sites.
However, I believe that a full and fair analysis
will reveal that the current “high risk” drilling
proposal poses an unreasonable risk to the land, air,
water, wildlife, and groundwater in the Baca NWR and
the San Luis Valley in general. In addition, such analysis
must evaluate a full range of options, including federal
purchase of mineral rights, directional drilling from
outside of the Refuge, and requiring the maximum available
pollution controls.
Please protect this new wildlife refuge from
any harmful drilling and conduct a thorough
environmental review.
Sincerely,
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