FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SLVEC Monthly Press Release
September, 2006
"
Eye on the Valley" from your public lands advocacy
organization
Contacts: Christine Canaly or Joanne Kaufman
Summary of topics in this press release
• September 12: Meeting re: 2 test wells Lexam
plans to drill on the Baca National Wildlife Refuge
• August
2: A Day with the Forest Service: SLVEC tours
Million Fire reclamation efforts; ORV Damaged areas;
and Timber Salvage areas
• Sept 12:
Task Force Decision on Colorado’s
Roadless Areas!
• Sept 12: Household
Well Testing Campaign Update
• September 21: Breaking
news on Roadless Rule! • Sept 26: Village at Wolf Creek Update
• SLV BLM
Travel Management Plan
• Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Preferred Alternative/Sonoran
Institute Dates
September 12: Lexam plans to drill 2 test wells
on the Baca National Wildlife Refuge
Lexam Corporation, based out of Toronto, Canada,
www.lexamexplorations.com announced its intention to
drill two 14,000 ft. test wells near the Willow
Creek drainage on the newly established Baca National Wildlife Refuge at
a meeting in Crestone on Tuesday, September 12. Drilling
could start as early
as Spring of 2007.
Lexam estimates it will take between 75-90 days to
complete the drilling of wells. The last time Lexam performed exploration activities in the late
1990’s drilling two wells at depths of 5,000 and 7,000 ft. The company
found trace hydrocarbons and now wants to continue exploration at a further
depth.
Jim Donaldson, representing Lexam, U.S., based out of Lakewood, CO, along with
two members of Lexam’s Board from Toronto assured the 50 plus local residents
in attendance of the company’s intention to collect baseline data to protect
water quality and cultural resources in the area. When Lexam’s representatives
were asked whether they would be open to “selling the mineral rights to the
federal government for retirement,” they were not closed to the idea. This
exploration will determine what their next steps are.
Lexam acquired the Mineral rights in 1987 for approximately
2 million dollars from American Water Development,
Inc., (AWDI) and their predecessor and now
owns 100 percent of the mineral rights and 75 percent of the oil and gas
rights. The
mineral rights were originally severed from the Baca Ranch, once a Spanish
Land Grant, in the early 1970s.
SLVEC believes it is in the community’s interest to watch Lexam’s actions with
vigilance and continue to communicate concerns clearly to U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service. A summary of this meeting will be posted on the Saguache County website:
www.saguachecounty.net in the next few weeks.
Back to top August 2: A Day with the Forest Service
SLVEC staff participated in a day-long site visit
hosted by the US Forest Service (USFS) in August, of
an area in the Rio Grande National Forest slated
for timber
salvage (Rock Creek); and the site at Bishop Rock where Off-Road Vehicles
(ORVs) have severely damaged natural resources; and visited the re-growth
at the Million
Fire site of 2002. The tour was hosted by Rio Grande National Forest
Divide District Ranger Tom Malecek, and joined by Colorado Wild Director Ryan
Bidwell as well as SLVEC Board member Rex Shepperd.
At Bishop Rock, Malecek showed how the USFS, in partnership
with the BLM, have put up barriers to ORVs that had clearly been running straight uphill,
creating erosion and gullies. He said that the habitual abuse would be
hard to redirect, as this is a popular spot for youth from Monte Vista to gather. Noting
that trying to stop or undo the damage is expensive, discussion ensued regarding
citizen involvement and possibilities for education and “patrolling” areas
to minimize impacts.
Rock Creek plans for Timber Salvage
and Re-designation based on Roadless areas Acknowledging
that timber cutting fills a specific quota for
the RGNF, and that beetle kill timber gets a good
market price per board foot, the USFS officials
showed SLVEC where they have designated sites in
the Rock Creek area for re-cutting or cutting beetle-killed
trees. They were eager to show where lines
had been redrawn to exclude cutting in areas to
respect Roadless areas. FS also showed their
decision to not build a temporary road which would
have impacted a wetland. This sale will amount
to about 2 million board feet of timber.
Million Fire (Timber) Salvage and
Re-vegetation Project The Million Fire occurred in the Spring of 2002. It
appears that re-growth is occurring slowly. In
certain areas, the aspen are showing signs of stress
as a fungus is attacking the leaves. This stress is
also likely due to drought conditions that have occurred
over the past four years. The fire damaged, timber
extracted exposed soils have been subjected to more
sunlight and heat, with very little moisture content
and shade to cool the surface/subsurface for the creation
of healthy bacteria. Ponderosa Pine and Spruce/fir
have been replanted and for the most part, are slowly
adjusting to the soils. It appears re-vegetation
is taking its time to recover after the fire and subsequent
salvage of timber. These areas seem to be struggling
and do not contain the vitality we were hoping to see. SLVEC
will continue to monitor these areas with the Forest
Service in coming years.
Back to top Sept 12: Task Force Decision on Colorado’s Roadless
Areas!
Colorado's 4.1 million Roadless acres are treasured
by hunters, anglers, and hikers and are home to many
imperiled species, including the northern goshawk,
Canada lynx, and cutthroat trout. Colorado's tourism-
and recreation-based economies, its residents' quality
of life, and a range of outstanding backcountry opportunities
rely on the preservation of these lands.
On September 12th, the 13-member Roadless Areas Review
Task Force released it recommendations to the Governor
for protecting Colorado’s Roadless forests,
but rejected a bid to stop potential development while awaiting a final decision
from state and federal officials.
Under the recommendations, temporary roads could
be built for logging and other work to prevent wildfires
and to gain access to existing energy and
mineral
leases. Ski areas would also be able to build roads on up to 10,000 acres.
The rest of the remote land, declared off-limits to development in the
closing days of the Clinton administration, would be protected. The Roadless
protections
were challenged in the courts and replaced last year by the Bush administration,
potentially opening the land to logging and other development.
The recommendations now go to Gov. Bill Owens, who
has until mid-November to petition the federal government
to protect the land. He doesn't have to accept
the recommendations from the 13-member bipartisan group.
The plan does protect Roadless forests from new roads for new oil and
gas leases, but it also creates sweeping exemptions for coal mining.
We encourage you to visit the task force web site
For much more information please visit:www.roadless.net.
Back to top September
21-Breaking news on Roadless Rule:
The following article appeared on September 21st, 2006
on the (Associated Press) AP newswire and gives a
great summary of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule
status that was just decided in the District Circuit
Court of Appeals.
Experts predict
more legal wrangling over roadless forests
By
JUDITH KOHLER
DENVER (AP) - A court's reinstatement of a ban
on new roads on remote national forest land
doesn't mean states can't pursue their own management
plans for
the nearly 59 million acres, a top U.S. Department of Agriculture official
said Thursday.
Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey, who oversees
the Forest Service, said federal officials are analyzing
Wednesday's ruling by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth
Laporte in San Francisco. The decision overturned a
Bush administration's rule that potentially opened
the land to development.
Rey said the administration disagrees with Laporte's
conclusion that the administration violated federal
laws by not doing an environmental analysis and evaluating
the potential impacts on endangered species. He said
the intent was always to do those evaluations on a
state-by-state basis.
The administration will comply with the ruling, Rey
said. But states can still petition Agriculture Secretary
Mike Johanns for individualized management plans as
amendments to the Clinton-era rule that was reinstated.
"If a state is interested, we'll continue to write
a state-specific rule," Rey said.
Rey, however, said he expects more lawsuits. He said
the six federal judges who have weighed in on the 2001
road-building ban have split evenly.
"I guess maybe what we need is a tie-breaker," Rey
said.
The ultimate referee could be the U.S. Supreme Court,
said Mark Squillace, director of the University
of Colorado's Natural Resources Law Center.
"What seems clear is that this is going to remain
in the courts, likely through the end of the Bush administration," Squillace
said.
The Bush administration gave governors 18 months to
petition the agriculture secretary to protect the forest
land when it replaced the road-building ban last year.
Idaho Gov. Jim Risch said Thursday that he will still
submit a proposal for his state's 9.3 million acres
of roadless areas that would prohibit road-building
on 3.1 million acres and allow some development on
the rest.
Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal pledged to try to revive
his state's lawsuit that resulted in throwing out the
2001 policy that banned roads on 58.5 million acres,
most of it in the West.
The roadless rule was passed in the waning days of
the Clinton administration after more than two years
of public hearings and 1.6 million comments. About
a third of the country's 192 million acres of national
forest lands was affected.
Some of the areas protected as roadless have trails
and roads, but generally are prized for their pristine
qualities and are considered important as wildlife
habitat, watersheds, scenic and recreation areas.
Court challenges quickly followed. The 9th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals upheld the rule in 2001.
Two years later, U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer
in Cheyenne, Wyo., overturned the rule, saying the
road ban illegally designated wilderness. Only Congress
can set aside wilderness areas.
The Bush administration approved a policy last year
that potentially opened the land to logging, road-building
and other development. Five states have submitted petitions
asking that all their roadless areas be protected:
California, New Mexico, Virginia, South Carolina and
North Carolina.
Earlier this month, a task force appointed by the
Democratic-controlled Colorado Legislature and Republican
Gov. Bill Owens recommended banning development on
most of the state's 4.1 million acres of roadless forests.
Exceptions included removing 8,000 acres leased by
ski areas and about 70,000 acres for a coal mine as
long as operations continue.
Jim Sims, executive director of the Denver-based Western
Business Roundtable, said it makes sense for state
and local officials and residents to have a say in
managing the large tracts of federal land, some of
which contain oil and gas and other minerals.
"The people near the land do a better job and have
greater stake in the right kind of conservation," Sims
said.
Eddie Kochman, a member of the Colorado roadless task
force, said he agrees that local input is important.
Kochman, a retired state fisheries manager, said "90-percent-plus" of
Coloradans who commented said the roadless areas should
be left undeveloped.
Kochman added, though, that any management plans must
recognize the fact that national forest lands belong
to all Americans.
"That's why we created the Forest Service, the Bureau
of Land Management, the National Park Service -- to
give some level of consistency to manage those lands
to the benefit of every citizen in this country," Kochman
said.
Back to top September 12: Household Well Testing Campaign
Update
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released
well testing results to SLV residents on September
12th regarding the Household Well Testing Initiative
this past summer, 2006. If you have participated
and not heard back, please contact us.
In June and July, over 450 citizens of the Valley
brought water samples to the EPA’s mobile lab to test water from household unregulated wells for contaminants.
This subsidized program, called the Community Household Drinking Water/Well
Initiative, was provided by a group of Valley, state, county, and health agencies
and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Environmental Justice Program.
SLVEC and local partners coordinated the well testing
effort. This project will continue into the future
after securing funding so that the link can be made
and strengthened between public health and natural
resource issues. People will also be provided with
the opportunity to develop appropriate tools so better
decisions can be made about maintaining or improving
the quality of their drinking water.
SLVEC is also working with the Colorado Department
of Health and Environment to develop follow-up and
alternatives for the EPA program. The CDHE project
builds on this testing effort by establishing an on-going
program of testing, as well as the development of a
database and research projects aimed at identifying
areas of the SLV that have problems with toxic substances
in well water. That project will use the data
from the EPA-sponsored projects, and collect new data
from areas that have not been tested before.
From August 2006 to August 2007, the analytical laboratory
of the Colorado Department of Health and Environment
will provide free analysis for samples
of water.
Please contact SLVEC (see info above) if you
have concerns about your household well and would like
to participate in this program!!!!
Back to top September 26: Village at Wolf Creek (VWC) Update
There are still a number of hurdles that stand before
the McCombs/Honts partnership, and the development
called “Village at Wolf Creek”(VWC). These hurdles
include returning to Mineral County for development
approval sometime late this year or early next year,
since the plat (term for design of development) has
been re-designated by the developer due to finding
another 12 acres of wetlands on the property and
not having road access when approved the first time.
In response, SLVEC and Colorado Wild filed a lawsuit
against Mineral County in late 2004 which is now
in the appeal process, the developer having appealed
Judge Kuenhold’s decision which resulted in SLVEC
and Colorado Wild submitting a cross appeal. There
will be a decision sometime in Spring of 2007. The
permit process for this VWC development has now made
its way to the State agencies. The VWC developers
also still need to obtain an access permit from the
Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) for
an access road, the developers wanting Tranquility
Road, which is connected to Forest Service Road 391. According
to the Record of Decision (ROD) on the Forest Service
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), the developers
must build 2 roads, the Snowshed Road and a continuation
of Tranquility Road for safety purposes. The developers
appealed this decision because they want access through
Tranquility road and it is unclear what their intentions
are for the Snowshed road. SLVEC and Colorado
Wild also appealed the Forest Service ROD but for
different reasons, most notably the lack of input
from other state and federal agencies during the
EIS process. The Regional Forest Service office
has stood by the Rio Grande National Forest ROD.
This
ROD will probably be challenged in court.
There is another permit process that the developers
must undergo with CO Dept. of Health and Environment
regarding the building of a wastewater treatment
facility on their property and a permit regarding effluent limits. There
was
an update summary “Village at Wolf Creek” site visit that was sent out
September 27th-28th or visit our website: www.slvec.org. It’s important
to review this site visit summary because it explains the quandary regarding
water quality monitoring and lack of over site due to the developer’s resistance
to file for an Army Corps 404 permit.
SLVEC is unclear of the date regarding the pending
lawsuit filed between the partnership of McCombs/Honts
and the Wolf Creek Ski Area. The case was
supposed to go to trial sometime this fall but we are unaware if a date has
been set. We will keep you posted.
Back to top SLV BLM Travel Management Plan: The preferred
alternative has been selected by the SLVBLM for its
travel management plan, now slated for release in fall.
This is the first time the agency has developed a travel
management plan for the San Luis Valley. The plan will
outline which routes will remain open and which the
BLM will wish to close to traffic. SLVEC submitted
a Citizens Management Alternative (CMA) and has worked
hard with the SLV BLM office to provide accurate data
so that a comprehensive travel plan can be implemented,
and SLVEC applauds the agency's efforts.
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Preferred
Alternative
The Great Sand Dunes Planning Website: http://parkplanning.nps.gov
Next Great Sand Dunes National Park Advisory Council
Meeting
Thursday, November 9th, National Park Service
Visitors Center
Date for next Sonoran Meeting
Saturday, October 21st at Colorado College.
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