Colorado Residents, Enviromentalists Fear Damage to Roadless Area: Land Letter

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Land Letter Update for Thursday August ii Oi i .ON Colo. residents, enviros fear damage to roadless area Charles Donefer Land Letter reporter Page 1 of 2 Some residents of La Plata County, Colo., are questioning a Forest Service plan that would allow coalbed methane development in roadless areas of the HD Mountains within the San Juan National Forest. At issue is the Forest Service's preferred alternative in its draft environmental impact statement (EIS) released last month. The proposal would allow 57 coalbed methane well pads and 38 miles of road across nearly half of the 28,000 -acre roadless area in the HDs. The draft EIS estimates the roads and drilling would disrupt 36 acres of old- growth ponderosa pine stands. Coalbed methane development in the area is already widespread, with hundreds of CBM wells operational in the northern San Juan Basin, which is estimated to hold 2.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. And Elm Ridge Resources, Petrox Resources and Exoc Inc., which have agreed to run operations jointly in the HDs, are hoping to tap into some of those reserves by drilling for coalbed methane, a form of natural gas trapped in coal seams. But their drilling plans have generated controversy among local residents, in part because the development would occur in a roadless area Last month, the Agriculture Department proposed replacing the Clinton -era Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protected 58.5 million acres of national forest, with a rule that would require governors to petition USDA and the Forest Service to retain roadless protections on national forests in their states. The proposed rule provides no guarantee the federal government will protect inventoried roadless areas, potentially opening up millions of acres to roadbuilding, logging, energy development and other activities (Greenwire, July 29). But the roadless areas at stake in the HD Mountains are unaffected by the proposed changes, since some of the firms involved in gas development have held leases since the 1970s. "Even if the rule was still in effect, they would still have prior existing rights allowing drilling in the HD Mountains," said Jim Powers of the Forest Service's San Juan Public Lands Center. Nevertheless, the drilling plans are opposed by some area residents. Last week, the Bayfield, Colo., http: / /www.cenews. net / Landletter /Backissues /081204/08120404.htm 8/12/2004 This map shows the proposed well sites in the HD Mountains roadless area. Click on the image for a larger version. Map courtesy of Save the HD Mountains. But the roadless areas at stake in the HD Mountains are unaffected by the proposed changes, since some of the firms involved in gas development have held leases since the 1970s. "Even if the rule was still in effect, they would still have prior existing rights allowing drilling in the HD Mountains," said Jim Powers of the Forest Service's San Juan Public Lands Center. Nevertheless, the drilling plans are opposed by some area residents. Last week, the Bayfield, Colo., http: / /www.cenews. net / Landletter /Backissues /081204/08120404.htm 8/12/2004