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<br />The herd has numbt'rPd 60,000 in Past )'ears,
<br />"This year it's about as bad 8S it has ('\'er
<br />bt'en," said fIOrth.....f>st Colorado wHdlif{' man-
<br />ager Glenn Rogers during a r{'{'em interview
<br />"It's do\\n below 30,000," '
<br />But there is anothE'r N-aSCn for worry, and It
<br />has many wildlifl" officf'rs concluding fhal
<br />harsh Winters or(' th{' least of thl" dl'eors' prob-
<br />leoms, The Picl"anc!' Basin, Sill" of an extl't"ml"ly
<br />tragill" ecosystem, will ha\'e a munkf')" wrench
<br />throv.n into its works in about thT'{'{' Years,
<br />At the \ery heart ot fhf' v.inter rang!' an
<br />unnatural phl"nom('non \\ill chum to life, Thf'
<br />deer "'ill be dealt a SE'I'l"re blo\\.', pemaps the
<br />most telling e\-er. Other wildlifl" v.ill suffer
<br />similarly,
<br />The oil shale Industry is on Its way,
<br />The Colorado Oh'ision of Wildlife- has nl'l't"r
<br />ho;ol"n {'Om~ortab]e with thl" roll" of doomsa)'er,
<br />Olnser\,atJOIl[sts ha\'l" argued themsl"[\'l"S blue
<br />in the tace trying to gt't its officials to lakf'
<br />strong, totally apolitJca.l stances 00 certain
<br />en\'ironml"ntaJissues,
<br />They need not arguE' on this onE',
<br />"Thl"l't" isn't any .....ay In' ('QuId be happ)'
<br />with oil shall" devp]opment," said R. Withers
<br />Cool, vice chairman af thE' stalE' IlildUfe
<br />commisslol1, in a rt"CE'nt IntE'rviE'I\'. "WE' have 10
<br />be oPP'JSp(j to anything that will do what oil
<br />sha]ewill do,"
<br />.D1....,-\...nwt:,.... t:I-'I-T.('T "'F.t;S
<br />The comhinl'd effeel of se\eral em'ironmen_
<br />tal dislurban~'f's by thl" oil shale induSIf1-' "Will
<br />be disastrous" to v,'ildlife, \\-TOte former statp
<br />wild]ife direclor Harry R. Woodward in a ]E'lter
<br />to the U,S, Department of the Interior.
<br />"The attitude arnund her e is 0 n e of
<br />PE'ssimism - extrpme IK'ssimi~m," explained
<br />Arch Andrews, public information chief of the
<br />WiJdllfeDi\'isiun.
<br />The)' ha\'e good reason to bP gloomy,
<br />To beogin with, III PE'r c('nt of the mule deer
<br />h('rd has a]read}' bPen \\.Tillen off b~' the fffier.
<br />.81 government. which is charged with regulat.
<br />Ing the nedgling oil shal(' indl.ls!f1-'.
<br />Earlier tllis ~'ear the Intt'rlor D.>partment.
<br />promPted by the nallon's ('nprl.')' crisis. launch_
<br />l'd an oil shall-' development program, Large
<br />oil companies hid for and '"-'Ol1 the right to
<br />develup two pilot (but .....holly COOllll('rcialJ
<br />
<br />tracts - 5.000 acrE'S ('a('h _ in the middle or
<br />the Piceance Ba.sin, The tracts are labPled C,a
<br />and C-b,
<br />The)' are direcU}' In the migration path nf
<br />the mule deer herd. The l11terinr Dt>(/lartment
<br />confidently suggested the df'f'r .....111 have to
<br />lE'am to go around, pstablishing new migration
<br />patterns when construction and mining bPgins,
<br />Compounding the dt'triment, C.a and C.b
<br />eOl'ompass 10.000 acres of good winter range,
<br />Within thrt'i' yt'ars the nt'\\" ten.'1nts _ Stand.
<br />ard Oil Co. of Indiana, Gulf Oil Cor". and a
<br />cOnsor1ium headed by ,\I]antie' Richfield _ wUl
<br />probabl)' he~in to build farturi('s and diK up the
<br />tracts, making thpm off.Jimits to deer and other
<br />anima] species,
<br />A 12.mi]e.lan~ paved road ]s antldpatt'd
<br />from C.a out through the basin to PirNlnr('
<br />Creek Road, A dam will probably be built thT("t'
<br />miles northeast of the tracl; wat{'rs nf the re-
<br />su]tlng rt'sen'oir will ellminale hundreds ot
<br />additional acn'S of winter rangl",
<br />In::\IP SITt;S Nt;t;ut;U
<br />The tracts will ""tutr(' \'lIst amounts of can-
<br />yon land tor dumping sIlti'rit oil shall" aft('r tht"
<br />crode oil has bt>en M'ffion'd from II, The ft'dt"r.
<br />al government has suggest!"d about 3.000 a("res
<br />
<br />of ra\'inl"S and gulches tor use as dump sill
<br />near C.a and Cb, Fifleen to 50 such gulch,
<br />two miles long and 200 feet df>ep may be nt't'"
<br />ed in the next several dpcades fur the industry
<br />Jf developed as E'Xpei;:ted. C-a and C,b I,ll
<br />four mol't" tracts in \\)-'ommg and Ulah aT
<br />sev{'ra] pri\'ate plots could tllrn OUt enou~
<br />spenl ~haJe in 30 years to rOI'er 45.000 acres.
<br />an art'a two-thirds the si/e of Denvf'r _ to
<br />deplh of 25ll feel.
<br />All this ....in redUCf' thf' mule deer hf'ro b
<br />"an E'stimated minimum 10 lJE'r cent," aCCOf{
<br />ing to the "Final Em'ironfflenta] Statement fn
<br />lhe Protot}'J1f" Oil Shall' Leasing Program.'
<br />The federal government spf'nt $7 million ('(lm
<br />iog to that and other far If'sS specific conl']u
<br />sion,s about what's in stort' for lhe Picl'anc.
<br />Basin.
<br />Paradoxl('aUy. II didn'l gh'l' any Pl"r("l'ntag,
<br />reduction e~timates for the 500,000 to 1 millior
<br />other animals of the basin. I\'hkh Colorad<
<br />wlldlife ofticlals ~]ie\'e may be drastically at-
<br />fe-cted also.
<br />And Ihe 10 per cenl fil':urt' for d('f'r appean
<br />to lIE' an undert'stimate. statf' wi]dlife- exPf'ro
<br />sa)'. En'n if it wert' nOI, why did the fl'deraJ
<br />gO\'l'rnment unUateraUy dE'('idl.' that the 10 pel
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