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<br />1'"~nt mull!' dl'E'r~;~""'-orth-theoil in t~
<br />basin? Who will sa~r what other wildllle reduc-
<br />tions areworlh it?
<br />State game manager Wayne Sandfon: has
<br />state-d !Jri\"alely that he thinks 75 to 80 per cE'nt
<br />of the mule deer hl;>rrl ....ill bE' lost - harvested
<br />or starn'd ~ by the year 2000 in the face of a
<br />ruU-blo....n oil ~hale industry.
<br />He dilutl'd that opinio:1 somewhat when con-
<br />ta<.:te-d b)' a reporter, Such II large loss would
<br />n'sult only if "proper" en..ironmental precau-
<br />tions weren't taken, he said, II they aren't. the
<br />re~ultin.~ dE't'r r('du('l~pn combined wi:h two bad
<br />winters could kllock the ht'd d(\wn to se\'eral
<br />hundrl'd.
<br />OI'F.:"O.I'1T :">II:'1Ot:n
<br />Ron Krallpr. statp lli]dlife con~pr"\;ation offi-
<br />cer for the Piceam,e Basin, estimated that each
<br />5.llOO-acrc lract 01 wml!'r rclnge thai Rot's to the
<br />oil shale industry will reduce the herd 3 to ;)
<br />per cent if the shale is milled underlo;round. U
<br />the tracts at'(' open-pit minl"d. 10 {>l'r cent uf the
<br />dl'('r will tx- disl'laced per trad and would have
<br />to be harvested.
<br />C-a probably .....m be open-pit mined, Cob
<br />mined undt.rground,
<br />TIle Interior llt'f1artment has su>:geslro that
<br />if all goes well, as man)' as 12 (Of thl'!;(> large
<br />land tracts in Colorado could be involved by
<br />1985. B)' Krager's dl'('r-}nss formula, such a
<br />full_blown inclu~try "ould cuI the h",rd b} more
<br />than :10 per rent.
<br />"If only 10 or 15 per c.'nt are losl. 1 think
<br />w",'U b(' \el')- lucky," said wildlife commission-
<br />erCoo]
<br />"We'll prohabl}'loseSO to70de<>r for {'\'Pry
<br />square mile lhe)' take," sal<1 HOli:ers. "This
<br />would filean 5,000 head of dt'<'r \\l)Uld be knock.
<br />rdoutimmectiateJ...."
<br />Bullhe deer won'l suffer alone. The Wildlife
<br />DiVision estima:es Ihere !tle more Ihan -100,000
<br />coyotes, rabbits. tx-avers, fuxes. elk, antelope,
<br />mountain liuns, bt-ars and bif,;horn sheep in the
<br />basin, plus 1,000 ~ld",n 1'8!:les, 4,000 sage
<br />grotl;,e !Ind thousands 01 other birds.
<br />"Must of Ihe~1" sflI"des depend on hifl:h bush
<br />\f."gelation III 1\UI'...I\(>," a \",'ildJile DiviSion
<br />pre-5s release noted" 10 .....inter. high bush Vf'1o:l'-o
<br />tlllion sli,-king out of thp snow - LOcluding hig
<br />sagebrush. ser\'lceloerry and mountain.
<br />mahogany shrubs ~ ill all that kE't"p1\ them or
<br />their pre)' alive. Tht>re will be a direct relallon-
<br />ship between reduelion LO wLOter range and
<br />reduclion in SOllle of these speocies.
<br />The basin, about 800,000 acres. is at CafTY-
<br />log capacit). for many kinds of animals" S'o
<br />less than 50 pel' cent of the land is vdnlt>r
<br />range. The Inlerior Department predicts 20,000
<br />Ben'S, littlf' more than 1 I:>f'r cent of the hasin.
<br />will be aff('('ted b)' oil shale de\"f'lopment ot
<br />tracts C.a and C-b 1,lllS s.....eral private tracL!l.
<br />But those 20,000 af'~ aft' musll)' .....inter ranli:e.
<br />Tht> industry may tripiI' or quadruple in sile
<br />belWM'n 191!5 and 2000. aerording 10 an analysis
<br />bv thl' Rock}. ::\1ountain Cf'nter on En\'rion-
<br />mf'nl, Such E'xpansion wllulct retluire at ]t>ast 25
<br />times as rnu,'h puhlil. land .IS Ih.:- pr<ltut)'11E' IJI"O-
<br />!{ram undpr wa)' noW.
<br />IH:AR ,\~J) ~:,-\t~U-;!'i
<br />State wildlifE' officials don't havE' to ]()O\(
<br />ahf'ad that far. thvugh. Thi" ImmPdiate future
<br />looks i::rim enough. e~pedalh since thl'')' think
<br />thl' led",rlll ga.."E'rnm('fll llnderestimated 1I'1(" im-upad of C-a anel C-h. Kra!"pr ht-hf'\('S C-a alooe
<br />will eliminale ~'O.OOO aCft'S 01 "ll1tpr ran~e if it
<br />i'-" Ojl('n-pit mined" [)N>r and olher animal."
<br />....un.t come wlt1lin a half mill" of mining opera-
<br />tion~. \lountain lion. bear and eali:le~ will sta~'
<br />mi]f'sawa)'.
<br />Besidp5 dams, rE'sen'oil'1\. dralMge S)....
<br />tE'ms, roads and pil.eline in the b:lsin, the "ma-
<br />ture" industr')' antidpaled b)' 19S5 will requirt"
<br />large amounls of elprrric;l,\. PrOjeocted nt'('tJs
<br />would be satisfi('(\ by a fI1>W plant or f'xjoansion
<br />,,{ existin!:: generdting laciliti~ in the redon
<br />(><;lujval('n! totwo-Ihit'ds of theo\:I';.utl'f Ih€' con-
<br />t('opUnllt"d on 1131:" IIl.I
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