Too Wild to Drill Report Final

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    Too Wild To dill

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    Contents

    - Introduction 4

    - Places Protected 5

    - Utah: Arches National Park 6

    - Alaska: Arctic National Wildlie Reuge 8

    - New Mexico: Chaco Canon 10

    - Utah: Desolation Canon 12

    - Colorado: Greater Dinosaur Region 14

    - Virginia: George Washington National Forest 16

    - Caliornia: Los Padres National Forest 18

    - Montana: North Fork o the Flathead River 20

    - New Mexico: Otero Mesa 22

    - Woming: The Red Desert 24

    - Western Colorado: Thompson Divide 26- Woming Range 28

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    When Americans think o theGreat Outdoors, we think aboutsome o the wildest places in

    the world. We envision towering trees,rushing wateralls, and jagged peaks. Wedream o meandering streams teemingwith sh, lush elds o wildfowers,and scampering wildlie. What wedont envision are mazes o pipelines,acre-wide well pads, and drilling rigsdominating wild places.

    Across the country, the driveto develop and drill moreand more land is strong.Technological advances, likeracking, have opened up

    previously unavailable oiland gas deposits to drillers,and have made nameslike Bakken, Eagle Ford,and Marcellus part o theAmerican lexicon.

    Amidst this drive to drill,companies are looking ormore places to put a wellpad, new roads to get thedrilling equipment in, and

    new pipelines to get the oiland gas out. There are publiclands where guided energydevelopment is appropriate,places with ewer confictswith wildlie and recreationalusers. But there are alsoplaces where drilling does not belong. Places thatare homes or birds, elk, and caribou. Places wheresh swim in crystal-clear rivers, and amilies hikeand camp. Places that are Too Wild to Drill.

    Wild HeritageAmericans value the untamed, open spaces owild public lands. In a recent poll, 65% o peoplesaid protecting wildlands to make them availableor uture generations is a very important priorityor lands managed by the ederal government. Inthe same poll, 76% o respondents agreed thatthere are places that are too special to open tooil and gas drilling.

    Millions o Americans enjoy the great outdoorsevery year. These lands are places or escape,adventure and recreation. Nearly hal o allAmericans participated in outdoor activities likehiking, camping, and wildlie watching in 2012.These activities drive a powerul economic engineas well outdoor recreation contributes $646 billionto the American economy annually, and supports

    more than 6 million direct jobs.

    Striking a BalanceTo strike the right balance on our public lands, we

    must put conservation onequal ground with energydevelopment. Right now,millions o acres o Americanlands are already under leaseby the oil and gas industry.Oil and gas companies

    hold leases on more than38 million acres o publiclyowned ederal lands anarea the size o the state oFlorida. In some o theseareas, energy developmentproceeds with littlecontroversy because confictsare minimal.

    But there are many places

    where the natural benetso the area outweigh thescant amounts o oil and gasthat could be ound. Theyarent household names likeYellowstone or Yosemite yet. They are places thathave some o the most

    spectacular views, are sources or critical drinking,water supplies, and are home to wildlie like elk,bears, and caribou.

    This report highlights twelve such places, where thenatural values and wildness o these lands will betreasured by uture generations. These places aretoo special to be opened to oil and gas drilling; tooimportant to be threatened by dusty roads, leakypipelines, and disruptive well pads.

    The twelve wild places in this report deserveprotection or uture generations and are toospecial to develop They are Too Wild to Drill.

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    The Wilderness Society hassuccessully worked to protectwild places and balance energy

    development since 1935. Here are some

    places that are too wild to drill, whichwere highlighted in previous editions othis report. Thanks to the work o TheWilderness Society, other conservationorganizations, and most o all the localpeople and groups who worked to savethese places, they are now protected oruture generations.

    National Petroleum Reserve Alaska

    In 2012, the Department o Interior released a newplan or managing the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska, in the American Arctic. This Reserve ishome to thousands o caribou, polar bears, andmillions o nesting birds.

    Under this plan, more than 70% o accessible oilwill still be available or companies to drill or butat the same time, more than 11 million acres including 95% o the most critical wildlie habitat is being kept o limits to drilling, and the well pads,

    roads, and pipelines that come with it. This is one othe best and biggest examples o striking a balancebetween conservation and energy development.

    Carrizo PlainCaliornias Carrizo Plain National Monument wasone o many wild areas threatened with oil and gasdrilling by the Bush administration. Drilling herewould have threatened more than a dozen o themost endangered species in America, includingCaliornia condors. The Wilderness Society and

    other organizations urged the Bureau o LandManagement (BLM) to ensure exploration anddrilling, even on existing leases, did not harm thisvalued place.

    Fortunately, the BLM recognized that Carrizo Plainshabitat needed to be protected rom the poundingand explosions used or seismic exploration, aswell as drilling, requiring in-depth environmentalanalysis to ensure the monuments resources werenot harmed. In 2010 the BLM released a Resource

    Management Plan that prioritized purchasingprivate mineral rights within the monument,to protect it rom uture harm. Carrizo PlainNational Monument and the wildlie thatlive there are sae rom the damage o bothseismic exploration and drilling.

    Vermillion Basin

    Another success story comes rom ColoradosVermillion Basin, more than 80,000 acres owide-open sagebrush vistas, desert canyonsand delicate multicolored badlands. VermillionBasin lies at the heart o a region that hostsa wide diversity o wildlie ranging rom biggame species such as pronghorn and muledeer to majestic golden and bald eagles.The area is also steeped in a rich culturalhistory, as exemplied by Vermillion Canyon,which showcases one o the most spectacular

    collections o petroglyphs ound in Colorado.Vermillion Basin came under severe threatunder the Bush administration in 2007 whena BLM drat resource management planproposed opening the entire pristine basinto damaging activities including oil and gasexploration. But in 2011 the BLM nalized aplan to keep oil and gas development out oVermillion Basin or the next 15-20 years.

    Rock Mountain Front

    Montanas Rocky Mountain Frontwas on the ront lines o oil andgas drilling or decades. However,thanks to work with decision makersand partners in the region, morethan 400,000 acres o wild landsare permanently o limits to oil andgas drilling.

    There is still more work to bedone to protect the rest o theRocky Mountain Front, but or

    now, some o the best wildliehabitat in the lower 48 states isprotected orever rom oiland gas drilling.

    Places PoTecTed:

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    Utah: arches NatioNal Park

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    in the heart o Utahs red rock country,Arches National Park is a wonderlando literally mind-bending stone

    ormations. The Park has more than twothousand natural stone arches, includingthe iconic Delicate Arch, as well ashundreds o other towering spires andns. Casual visitors can wander the parkand visit arches, hikers and backpackerscan explore its backcountry, and expertclimbers can tackle its rocks, all dierentways to experience this rugged and wildcountry.

    Unortunately, oil and gas companies see the areaaround this impressive natural wonder as anotherplace to drill, which would harm the park and those

    who want to experience it. A multi-year ght tokeep the industry rom drilling on the doorstep oArches is not over yet.

    Jim Gale, National Park RangerJim Gale has spent the last 35 years working inparks across America and in other parts o theworld creating educational materials, designingvisitor centers, and exploring their trails and wildareas. Gale has now joined Park Rangers or OurLands to have a greater voice in protecting parks

    and other natural areas rom the damage o oil andgas development.

    I have enjoyed the beauty and quiet o wild placesin our national parks, and I want uture generationsto have this experience. We need to do everythingwe can to make sure we create opportunities orpeople to connect with nature. Our National Parksprotect Americas treasures, our natural and culturalheritage, and we need to insure their protectionrom the harm that comes rom oil and gas drilling.Arches National Park should not be surrounded by

    drill rigs. It seems obvious but apparently we needto keep reminding the oil and gas industry and theederal government, so Park Rangers or Our Landswill do just that.

    Economic BeneftsThere are ways or anyone and everyone to enjoyArches National Park. The National Park Serviceleads tours, as do commercial outtters, and o

    course people can explore its canyons, arches, andbeauty on their own by car, bike, horseback or oot.Arches draws expert climbers and photographers,and a host o international travelers. More than onemillion people come to visit the park each year,spending time in and around nearby Moab, as wellas many o the other nearby parks and towns, whichbrings more than $100 million to the economy

    each year. These visitors are coming (and staying)to experience the park and its expanse o naturalbeauty; they are not coming to experience a viewo oil and gas wells and unhealthy air rom drilling.

    Threats to Arches National ParkIn late 2008, leases were proposed on the border oArches National Park. Only a successul lawsuit romconservation groups, including The WildernessSociety, stopped the Bureau o Land Managementrom completing the sale. The travesty o thislease sale led to signicant reorms to the ederalonshore oil and gas leasing program, so that thepublic (and the National Park Service) now has agreater role and chance to weigh in beore leasesare sold. The reorms also established the masterleasing plan program to address and resolveconficts with national parks and other importantresources, like wildlie habitat and wildernessvalues, in advance o leasing and development. Theindustry is still ghting or the chance to lease anddrill these lands. The agency and the public nowhave a chance to make sure they dont.

    How to protect Arches National Park:The Bureau o Land Management is now preparinga master leasing plan to manage the areas aroundArches National Park, as well as CanyonlandsNational Park. This plan must protect the areasaround these parks rom leasing and drilling, andconsider the impacts o what drilling near the parkswould have on them.

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    Far to the north, above the ArcticCircle, lies Alaskas Arctic NationalWildlie Reuge. Spanning the peaks

    o the Brooks Range mountains to theicy waters o the Arctic Ocean, the ArcticNational Wildlie Reuge is one o themost pristine places in the world.

    The coastal plain o the Arctic Reuge is the hearto this unspoiled wilderness. Gray wolves andarctic oxes patrol the tundra, and hundreds osongbirds and waterowl nest in the grassy hillocks.Perhaps the real stars o the Arctic Reuge are thethousands o Porcupine caribou that migrate to thecoastal plain every year to give birth to the nextgeneration o calves, though this area is also knownto be important habitat or polar bear dens andother marine mammals, such as whales and seals,that spend time in the reuges coastal lagoons andalong its barrier islands.

    But the Arctic Reuge is at risk rom oil companiesand their allies in Congress that want to open

    the coastal plain to drilling straight through thebiological heart o the Reuge.

    Robert Thompson ActivistRobert Thompson is an Alaska Native activistwho lives in the village o Kaktovik within theboundaries o the Arctic National Wildlie Reuge.Ater spending more than 20 years making his livingas a ur trapper near Alaskas Lake Minchumina,Thompson opened his business, Kaktovik ArcticAdventures. He now acts as a guide, taking peopleto view polar bears and rat down rivers in thewildlands o the Arctic Reuge.

    My people, the Inupiat, have lived in this Arcticregion or thousands o years. Our culture is basedon hunting activities both on land and in the ocean.Our culture depends on a clean environment. Forthe oshore areas to be exploited or oil is notacceptable to me. The act that my people live hereis directly related to the marine environment. Thecentral part o our culture is the bowhead whale.An oil spill could mean the end o the whales and

    alask:

    acTic NaTioNal WildliFe eFUge

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    our culture. It is my sincere belie that i peopleknow what is here, they will want to save it. I am

    optimistic and do believe a movement is about tohappen, and people will do what is required so thatuture generations will be able to enjoy the ArcticNational Wildlie Reuge as we know it.

    Economic BeneftsAlaskas wild lands are a major draw or outdooradventurers. Hunters and anglers experience world-class sh and wildlie, and hikers and backpackerscan experience terrain that is nothing like whatthey can nd in the lower 48 states. Places like the

    Arctic National Wildlie Reuge might be remote,but the untrammeled tundra is a draw or heartybackpackers and hunters looking to experience thewildest o Alaskan adventures. There are adventureshere that cannot be experienced anywhere elsein the world, such as camping among thousandso caribou, or rating down the Hula Hula river incomplete solitude.

    Outdoor recreation in Alaska spurs more than $9.5

    billion in economic activity nearly one-th oAlaskas total gross domestic product. Outdooractivity also provides jobs or 92,000 Alaskans worthmore than $2.6 billion in wages and salaries.

    Without permanent protection or the coastal plain

    o the Reuge, a vital part o the Alaskan economywould be diminished orever.

    Threats to Arctic National WildlieReugeProposals to open the Arctic National WildlieReuge to oil drilling go back decades includingthe high-stakes battle in Congress in the early2000s. Just a ew months into the 113th Congress,three bills to open the coastal plain to oil drillinghave been introduced. Alaskas governor, Sean

    Parnell, has also oered up to $50 million to sendseismic testing equipment into the Arctic Reuge,potentially disturbing polar bears and cubs in theirwinter dens.

    The native Gwichin people that live near the ArcticReuge depend on these caribou in many cases,hunted caribou make up most o their diet. Thecoastal plain o the Arctic Reuge is sacred to them;they call it the place where lie begins.

    Opening the coastal plain o the Arctic Reuge to

    oil drilling would jeopardize their entire culture.

    How to protect the Arctic NationalWildlie Reuge: The U.S. Fish and WildlieService should nalize its plan or managing theArctic National Wildlie Reuge, and recommendthat the coastal plain be designated wilderness.Congress should also act, and pass legislation toadd the coastal plain to the National WildernessPreservation System.

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    along gravel road in the FourCorners region o Northern NewMexico will take you to the high

    desert valley and cultural wonder thatis Chaco Canyon. Once inhabited orvisited by a number o Native Americanpeoples, including the Navajo and Hopiwho still hold these places sacred, thecanyon is home to some o Americasmost abundant and intact specimens and

    artiacts documenting the history o thisonce prosperous gathering place. Visitorscan experience the past in and aroundChaco through a setting that harkensback centuries, including a world-renowned night sky that is truly timeless.

    Puebloan culture can be elt among the ruins thatremain in Chaco Canyon and the surrounding lands.

    That landscape includes numerous internationally

    signicant cultural resources, including portionso the Chaco Culture World Heritage Site andseveral congressionally designated Chaco CultureArchaeological Protection Sites.

    The masonry work and ceremonial nds uncoveredin the Canyon have amazed researchers andarcheologists or years. The region has become ahotbed o historical and scientic discovery.

    The continued exploration o the region andappreciation o this still-living culture are

    threatened, however, by plans or oil and gasdrilling near park and historic site boundaries.

    Dr. John Kantner, Ph.D. and RPA,archaeologist and VP or Academic &Institutional Advancement School orAdvanced ResearchChaco Canyon is one o the landmark monumentso human civilization in the American Southwest.

    NeW Mexico: chaco caNyoN

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    It was the cultural center or Ancestral Puebloans,and the gatherings that happened in Chaco Canyonhelp explain our own history today.

    One o the most critical aspects o Chaco Canyonwas that it was built very purposeully. Allowingdrilling to take place here would be like allowingdrilling on the National Mall in Washington DC allo the buildings are aligned with one another along

    the cardinal directions, and have specic views ocosmic events like the summer and winter solstices.

    The eects o drilling so near Chaco Canyon gobeyond just being able to see an oil derrick. Thehaze rom the wells, the dust that is kicked up bythe trucks driving back and orth to the wellpads all o these diminish the qualities o Chaco Canyonthat make it historic. Losing those means losing parto not just Native culture, but American culture.

    EconomicBeneftsBecause o itsremote location,Chaco Canyondoesnt see thesame number otourists as a placelike YellowstoneNational Park. Butthat doesnt mean

    that the park isnt aneconomic engine inits own right.

    Visitors spendalmost $1 milliondollars in thearea every year supporting a dozen jobs in the park and 40 moreoutside the boundaries.

    The area is also one o the best locations orarchaeology in the nation, attracting universitiesand experts to learn more o the Puebloan culture,and the importance that Chaco Canyon had tothe ancestral Puebloans. The Puebloan/Chacoanpeople built large stone buildings, arrayed in

    alignment with the stars, in a way that modernscholars are still studying. Putting the land into thehands o gas and oil drilling would destroy thesevaluable and timeless landmarks and the fora andauna that depend upon the land.

    Threats to Chaco CanonThe Bureau o Land Management is oering leases

    on lands right outside the park boundaries. Ideveloped, these leases would mar the views romthe park, and pollute the air in and around thishistoric site.

    Perhaps worse, other potential leases in the areaare in areas with unprotected Chacoan ruins,which could be lost orever i leases are sold anddeveloped.

    Leasing in thearea doesnt

    just threaten thecultural resourceso Chaco Canyon it also endangersplants and wildliethat depend onthe area. Elk,deer, bobcats,rabbits, badgers,porcupines, bats,snakes, lizardsand varying birdspecies roam thelandscape throughthe Canyonsfoor o pinyon-juniper woodlands,cottonwoods andwillows, and scrub

    and wildfower populations.

    How to protect Chaco Canon: The BLMcan take action to protect the area around Chaco

    Canyon by creating whats called a Master LeasingPlan. This plan would identiy and evaulate the landso that sensitive and culturally valuable areas can bekept sae rom drilling, and areas more appropriateor drilling can be leased.

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    carved by the Green Rivers windingcourse through red rock canyons,Desolation Canyon sounds like a

    orbidding, inhospitable place. But thisstretch o eastern Utah is actually anadventurers playground o juniper andcottonwood trees, multicolored rocksspires, and ancient American Indian rockart and archaeological sites. Its also amagnet or river raters or its whitewater,scenery and history.

    Desolation Canyon is one o the largest swaths ounprotected wilderness in the continental UnitedStates. The rugged terrain and geology make ita wondrous place or people to explore and orwildlie to thrive, but it has also become the targeto oil and gas drilling.

    Recently, more than 1,300 wells were approved ordrilling in this wild canyon, some o them right up to

    the edge o the river. This is in addition to the manymore active drilling sites near Vernal, Utah somany that visitors to Desolation Canyon oten cantnd lodging because all the hotel rooms are takenby oil and gas workers.

    UTah: desolaTioN caNyoN

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    Herm Hoops River runnerThe drilling around Desolation Canyon isterrible or the rating industry. DesolationCanyon is one o the most beautiul, remote andwild places in the country, but its hard to drawpeople in when there isnt any place or themto stay beore their trip. All the rooms in Vernalare booked with oil and gas workers, so tourists

    that want to run the river oten have to stay upto 90 miles away. And once they do nd a placeto stay, the drive to get to where the boatslaunch is estooned with oil and gas wells. Itsharder and harder to interest people in multi-day trips through Desolation Canyon with all othe development nearby. Other places in UintahBasin have already lost their wild character theview rom Fantasy Canyon in the Book Clis areais nothing but semi-trucks and gas wells. On topo all that, drilling uses up a lot o water here

    in Utah, every bito water is criticalor the river, orthe wildlie, oragriculture and orthe people.

    EconomicBeneftsBeing outside andactive in placeslike DesolationCanyon is a hugeboon to the Utaheconomy. Outdoorrecreation likerating, mountainbiking, and backpacking contributes $12 billionto the state economy every year, and supportsmore than 122,000 direct jobs. Many o theseactivities and the economic benets romthem depend on the protected wild lands inthe state.

    Desolation Canyon provides importanteconomic benets. Sixteen river guidingcompanies take people down DesolationCanyon and dozens more private boating tripsare launched each year. More than 50% o thepeople using the river and wilderness are rom

    Colorado and Utaha reminder that access tospecial areas like Desolation Canyon is part o thereason people move their businesses and amiliesto these states. The economic benets wouldbe even greater or the surrounding towns i thelands were protected a recent study ound onaverage, rural western counties have a per capitaincome that is $436 higher or every 10,000 acres

    o protected public lands within their boundaries.

    Threats to Desolation CanonIn June 2012, the Bureau o Land Managementapproved a plan to allow nearly 1,300 oil andgas wells to be drilled in the Desolation Canyonarea. More than 200 o these wells would bedrilled in a part o Desolation Canyon so sensitivethat it has been ound suitable or inclusion inthe National Wilderness Preservation System reserved or the wildest and most untrammeled

    places. Withoutprotection or thewilderness, wildlie,water and rock arto this area, it willcontinue to be atrisk rom drilling.

    This sprawlingdevelopment willoccupy more thanve square mileso wilderness-quality lands andwildlie habitatnear DesolationCanyon and couldmake already

    dangerous levels o air pollution even worse. Thepast several years have seen ozone levels spikein the wintertime as a result o massive energydevelopment already happening in eastern Utah.

    How to protect Desolation Canon:

    The BLM should use its authority to preventdrilling any o the 200 wells proposed in thewilderness-caliber lands in the DesolationCanyon area. BLM should protect the wild naturaland cultural wonders o Desolation Canyon bylimiting wells to the right places and with theright saeguards.

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    T

    he lands in and around DinosaurNational Monument are etchedwith history literally. Fremont and

    Ute peoples let their petroglyphs andpictographs on the sandstone walls andhidden alcoves along the Yampa River;the Dominguez-Escalante expeditiono 1776 brought the rst Europeans tovisit the Green River and observe thegeographic wonder o Split Mountain;and Butch Cassidy and other outlaws

    used the remote basin o Browns Park tohide out and plan their next heist.

    Today the area attracts a dierent breed oadventurer. Hunters and anglers fock to the landsaround the Green and Yampa Rivers to seek outtrophy elk or to sh the world-class trout sheries.Hikers and backpackers enjoy the deep sandstonecanyons and wildlie rich uplands, and each springand summer, thousands o raters and kayakers pour

    into the region to foat the Yampa and Green Riversthrough Dinosaur National Monument.

    However, oil and gas drilling continues to encroach.As the lands around Rangely and Vernal becomemore and more leased, drillers are pushing deeperinto the heart o the region seeking the lastremaining undeveloped lands. This quest to leaseand drill every acre throughout Greater Dinosaur ishaving immediate consequences.

    Leona Hemmerich Owner, TheBedrock Depot, Brontosaurus Blvd,

    Dinosaur, Colorado.Im not opposed to drilling but there needs tobe a balance to it. Drilling, and potentially oil shale,requires a lot o water, and that water would comerom the Yampa River that fows through DinosaurNational Monument. Raters foating the Yampa area big source o business or us, losing water romthe river to go to drilling and oil shale developmentmeans losing sales.

    Colordo: GeaTe dinosau eGion

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    I worry about the boom and bust o oil drilling;people move in, things get built up, and then theoil and gas are gone, but the buildings remain. Weown a gas station too obviously we need thingslike oil in the world, but you cant drill everywhere.Places like Dinosaur should be o limits to drilling.

    People want tovacation in beautiulplaces they dontwant to vacation in anoileld.

    EconomicBeneftsOutdoor adventureis a major source olocal economic activityin the area around

    Dinosaur NationalMonument. Morethan 9,000 boatersfoated on the Whiteand Yampa Rivers last year, and the permit to foatthe Yampa through Dinosaur National Monumentis currently one o the most sought-ater riverpermits in the lower 48. Additionally, the area isconsidered some o the best big game huntingin Colorado and Utah. The area hosts some othe largest migratory elk and mule deer herds inNorth America, while also providing reuge or the

    threatened greater sage grouse.

    Oil and gas development threatens the growingtourism industry in the area. The thriving outdoorrecreation industry brings more than 192,000people to the area spending more than $6.7million annually and supporting numerous local,sustainable jobs.

    Finding a balance between oil and gas drilling andconservation o wild public lands or recreation, andwildlie is critical to region protecting lands that

    draw in tourists also protects the local economyrom the boom and bust cycle o ossil uelextraction.

    Threats to Dinosaur National MonumentOver the years, and over strenuous and otensuccessul objections, the BLM has issued dozens ooil and gas leases in the landscape that surroundsDinosaur National Monument. This has occurred

    in spite o repeatedobjections rom theNational Park Service

    and others concernedabout the potentialimpacts o widespreaddrilling on themonuments pristinenight skies andrecreation and tourismopportunities.

    In early 2013, theBLM again attemptedto issue oil and gas

    leases perilously closeto Dinosaur. Onelease would haveallowed drilling right

    next to one o the monuments visitors centers,while others were right next to monument entranceroads.

    While the BLM eventually reversed course onthe leases sale keeping more than 22,000acres surrounding Dinosaur National Monumenttemporarily sae rom drillingthe lands remainopen to leasing.

    How to protect the Greater Dinosaurregion:The BLM is now preparing a masterleasing plan or the areaa step in the rightdirection but it has signaled that it will resumeleasing around Dinosaur beore the MLP is nished.The BLM must develop a plan that will protect thewilderness, wildlie and water that characterizeGreater Dinosaur. Further, BLM should not allow

    new leasing in the Dinosaur region until this plan isnished in order to protect sensitive wildlie habitatand the rivers that fow through the region.

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    VigiNia:

    geoge WashiNgToN NaTioNal FoesT

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    The George Washington NationalForest is home to wild nativebrook trout, black bears, and the

    headwaters o the Potomac and JamesRivers that fow through two capital cities,Washington D.C. and Richmond, Va.One o the largest orests in the easternU.S., its more known or its rolling hillsblanketed with trees than it is or energy.But natural gas drilling, along withhydraulic racturing, or racking, couldbe coming to this wild orest.

    This is a great concern to the 260,000 people othe Shenandoah Valley who get their water directlyrom the George Washington National Forest,and the 4.5 million people arther downstream in

    Washington and Richmond who rely on the orestsclean, clear water rom the orest. Fracking usesmillions o gallons o resh water, the chemicalsused in the process are injected deep underground,and then wastewater (containing racking chemicalsand other substances) are stored in aboveground holding ponds, where leaks and spills canpotentially contaminate drinking water or millionso people.

    Interview:

    My wie, Lisa, and I are the owners o Plan B,a community ca on Main Street in Broadway,Virginia. One o the reasons we bought a small armin Fulks Run about 8 years ago is the water; its clean,abundant, and pollution-ree. And our arm backs upto the George Washington National Forest.

    As a retired mining engineer amiliar withgeotechnical engineering, rock mechanics, andpractical mining, I have concluded that there aretoo many variables and unknowns associated withactual site conditions and the whole process o

    racking or it to be considered sae. We worryabout the risks to ground water and surace water,the dramatic increase in heavy truck trac, poorair quality, land clearing, soil erosion and a host oother issues associated with racking.

    Fracking in the George Washington NationalForest would jeopardize the air and water qualityo the area, and threaten shing, hunting, hiking,camping, and sustainable orest harvesting. Without

    things like timbering and energy production, wedbe in the Stone Age, but we also cant let themdestroy the quality o our lives now.

    Economic BeneftsThe George Washington National Forest is anoutdoorsmans dream. Hikers can trod nearly emptytrails away rom the crowds that gather at nearbyShenandoah National Park, and mountain bikersenjoy more than 1,100 miles o some o the eastsnest mountain biking trails.

    Outdoor activities account or $13.6 billion ineconomic activity and more than 138,000 jobs. A loto this activity happens in the mountains o westernVirginia, just a ew short hours rom Washington, D.C

    Fly-shing or wild rainbow, brown, and nativebrook trout is a popular activity in the orest, but theextreme water use rom racking could threaten thispastime. Trout, especially the native brook trout, relyon only the cleanest water to live in contaminationrom racking could spell disaster or this iconic sh.

    Threats to George WashingtonNational ForestThe U.S. Forest Service originally disallowedhorizontal drilling and racking or natural gas withinthe George Washington National Forest boundaries.However, ater pushback rom the natural gas industr

    the Forest Service began reconsidering its decision.The biggest concern is that some o the chemicalsused in the racking process could contaminatedrinking water or many communities. Hydraulicracturing is exempt rom the Sae Drinking WaterAct, and companies do not have to disclose whatchemicals they are using in their racking fuid.Common additives include known toxins likebenzene and arsenic. As the racking fuid returnsto the surace, it also contains other substances(and even radioactive elements) that are naturally

    occurring ar below the earths surace but can harmdrinking water supplies or millions o people.

    How to protect the George WashingtoNational Forest:The U.S. Forest Service should continue its banon horizontal drilling and racking in the GeorgeWashington National Forest, where the risks are justtoo great.

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    Just barely outside the Los Angelesmetropolitan area is a hidden gem oour national orests: the Los Padres

    National Forest. Covering more thanone and three quarter million acres, theLos Padres is a haven or wildlie andadventurers alike.

    The Los Padres was where one o the last wildCaliornia condors one o the most endangeredbirds in the world was ound and reintroduced;and nearly two dozen other endangered speciesreside in the orest. Its one o the most biodiverselandscapes in the world, with ecosystems rangingrom coastal habitats to classic Caliornia redwoodgroves.

    However, the hydraulic racturing rush is coming toCaliornia, and companies are looking to rack this

    wild orest to get to the oil deposits ar below thesurace. Drilling in the orest could have disastrouseects ar downstream the Los Padres is theheadwaters o ve rivers that make up more than 70o the drinking water or the city o Santa Barbara.Water-intensive operations like racking couldleave the city and surrounding arms and vineyardshigh and dry. There is also a risk o groundwatercontamination rom racking and storage o the usedracking fuid, which is laced with industrial chemica

    Chris Danch Forest Advocate and CoCreator o the Condor Wilderness TrailThe Los Padres National Forest may be one othe most under-appreciated orests in the UnitedStates. People look at it and just see these scrubby,brushy hills and mountains they dont realize thatwhat theyre seeing is a chaparral ecosystem thatis one o the most diverse, resilient ecosystems in

    caliFoNia:

    los Pades NaTioNal FoesT

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    the world. The Los Padres National Forest isalso one o the most pristine watersheds in theworld serving millions o people in a semi-ariddesert region. As I relax by, and in, the NorthFork Matilija Creek that perennially fows throughmy property, I am grateul or the incredibleaquier perched high above in the orest. Maybemost amazing is that here, just 60 miles rom Los

    Angeles, you can go into the orest and not seeanother person or more than a week.

    This place is so amazingly special, I took eacho my children backpacking in the Los PadresNational Forest as soon as they were old enoughto carry a pack (age 4). Introducing them to sucha wild landscape at a young age is critical orcementing a love o wilderness and wild placesin them or their entire lives. There is also noquestion that their wilderness experience wasundamental to them becoming the outstandingadults they are today. And it was seeing the Los

    Padres through my kids eyes that changed mylie, compelling me give up a successul ull-timelegal career to ocus on protecting this landscapeand sharing it with others.

    We have a lot o places to be proud o, andprotect, in America, but wild places like the LosPadres National Forest are what we should beproudest and most protective o.

    Economic BeneftsThe Los Padres National Forest has somethingor everyone. Coastal tidal pools are home to seaotters and shorebirds, and elk, and black bearsprowl the mountain peaks, making the orest awildlie watchers paradise. Backpacking into theLos Padres backcountry provides amazing solitude,just 60 miles rom Los Angeles.

    Outdoor adventures in Caliornia contribute morethan $85 billion to Caliornias economy, andsupport more than 700,000 jobs. These adventuresdepend on places like the Los Padres NationalForest being kept wild. Drilling in the Los Padreswould threaten these adventures, and the economicbenets that come with them.

    Threats to The Los Padres NationalForest

    The Los Padres National Forest is the main sourceo drinking water or the Santa Barbara area themajority o the areas water starts in the hills andvalleys o the Los Padres. Water rom the orestsupports two huge industries in Caliornia armingand winemaking. Tourism is also a huge draw tothe area, but tourists generally come to see nature,not oil rigs.

    The orest itsel is incredibly unique. Already,875,000 acres o the orest are designatedwilderness areas the highest orm o protection

    available or ederal lands.

    But leasing decisions in the area could open morethan 52,000 acres to oil drilling. Drilling would belimited to 5,000 acres o surace occupancy, makinghorizontal drilling and racking almost required orthe wells. Drilling would also threaten the habitato the endangered Caliornia condor - three othe drilling areas are right next to essential condorhabitat.

    The oil industry already has 180 operating wells in

    less sensitive parts o the Los Padres they dontneed to drill in ragile environmental areas.

    How to protect the Los PadresNational Forest: The USFS and BLM shouldully consider the impacts o drilling in the wildestplaces o the Los Padres National Forest, andprohibit or restrict drilling where it would have aserious impact on water and wildlie.

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    MoNTaNa: NoTh Fo oF

    The FlaThead iVe

    The North Fork o the Flatheadspans the U.S. and Canadianborder and orms the western

    boundary o Glacier National Park. Itis one o the wildest river valleys inthe continental United States andlocated in a region named the Crowo the Continent or its clean waterand unspoiled orests, mountains andwildlie. The North Fork is home to ono the densest populations o grizzlybears in the country and is a stronghoor disappearing native bull trout andwest slope cutthroat trout.

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    But or all the Flatheads exceptional above groundvalues, the North Fork is still not permanentlyprotected rom oil and gas drilling and hardrockmining below ground. The areas has been leasedby oil and gas companies in the past and it couldhappen again in the uture unless we work to passthe North Fork Watershed Protection Act, which iscurrently beore both chambers o Congress.

    Stuart Reiswig owner/manager oPolebridge MercantileThe North Fork o the Flathead is our business people come to experience the pristine wild area.Its how our business survives. A lot o people stopin or our bakery, and or last-minute groceriesbeore they head out into the backcountry, sohaving a wild, undrilled backcountry is prettycritical.

    We were here or about a year when theMemorandum o Understanding was signed

    between the U.S. and Canada to protect theFlathead. The Canadian government has alreadydone their part to make sure that the Flathead isprotected rom energy development now its timeto pass the North Fork Protection Act and takedrilling o the table on the U.S. side as well.

    Economic Benefts

    The dominant engine driving the economy o theFlathead valley is no secret. About 2 million peoplevisit Glacier National Park and Flathead River valleyareas each year, injecting $100 million into the localeconomy and supporting 1,400 jobs. Each year,destinations like Glacier Park set new attendancerecords as more Americans fock to witness thespectacular view and wildlie o the area.

    But the wild North Fork o the Flathead doesntjust attract tourists; its also a great place to live,

    work and raise a amily. Montanas economy isgrowing and outperorming the broader U.S.economy; in large part due to its outdoor amenitiesand protected areas. This competitive advantageattracts new entrepreneurs and talent to the stateand helps grow the economy.

    Threats to North Fork o the

    Flathead RiverFor a hundred years, companies have tried to pullenergy and minerals rom the ground beneath theFlathead valley without success. Every decadesaw a new threat on one or both sides o theinternational border which resulted in internationalconfict and newspaper headlines.

    But thanks to international cooperation, Canadaand the U.S. are both working to protect the NorthFork o the Flathead in their respective territories.Canada has already declared their portion o

    the fathead o-limits to mining and extraction.

    On the U.S. side, ConocoPhillips, Chevron andExxon subsidiary XTO Energy have worked withMontanas Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester tovoluntarily relinquish more than 200,000 acres omineral leases. Senators Baucus and Tester haveintroduced The North Fork Flathead WatershedProtection Act in the Senate and Montanas solecongressman, Steve Daines (R), introduced acompanion bill in the House o Representatives

    to permanently withdraw 400,000 acres o thewatershed on the U.S. side rom any uture leasingor mining claims. Much o this would be in theFlathead national orest.

    How to protect the North Fork othe Flathead River:Congress should takeimmediate action on the North Fork FlatheadWatershed Protection Act, and nalize theagreement to protect this wild orest.

    ... having a wild, undrilled

    backcountr is prett critical

    Stuart Reiswig Owner Polebridge Mercantile

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    hidden on the Texas-New

    Mexico border near Carlsbad isAmericas largest remaining intactChihuahuan grasslands, totaling over1.2 million acres. Otero Mesa, which sitshigh above the Salt Basin Aquier, oers aplace or quiet refection and recreation,hunting and cultural discovery.

    Thousands o ancient petroglyphs andarcheological sites can be ound on Otero Mesasvolcanic Cornudas Mountains, including severalruins rom the Buttereld Overland StagecoachRoute.

    Oten reerred to as the Serengeti o the Southwest,Otero Mesa is also host to many native wildliespecies, including mule deer, mountain lion, black-tailed prairie dogs, golden and bald eagles, theaplamado alcon, over 200 species o migratorysongbirds, and boasts the states healthiest herd opronghorn antelope.

    In early 2001, the Bush administration and the oiland gas industry targeted Otero Mesa or drilling.Mining claims have also been staked in the area,putting added pressure on the land and wildlie.

    Deni Semour archaeologistDeni Seymour is an archaeologist andethnohistorian who lives in Albuquerque, NewMexico. She has dedicated her lies work to thestudy o the lesser known indigenous cultureso the American Southwest. Now, as a ull timeresearcher, she studies the many mobile peoples

    who called Otero Mesa home and explores theirmany connections to modern descendants.

    Otero Mesa is the embodiment o what isimportant about the West. It is dicult tounderstand until you have stood in the middleo a vast unspoiled landscape, seeing nothing inyour entire world but grasslands ringed by ruggedmountains, as people have or millennia. Thequiet is as immense as the history is deep. Theconnection to the past and the uture is embedded

    NeW Mexico: oTeo Mesa

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    in a timelessness that lies still upon the plains.Seeing a pronghorn is a reminder o the rariedcadence o Otero Mesa. A dilapidated windmill, anetching on the rocks, a rough outline o someoneshome, all conjure thoughts o the past, the peoplewho lived, toiled, ought or, and died in thisremote land.

    Economic BeneftsThe Otero Mesa Grasslands within the ChihuahuanDesert have long been recognized as specialby the State o New Mexico, ormer GovernorBill Richardson, numerous state legislators andscientists, tribaland religiousleaders,sportsmen,ranchers, andconservationists.

    Sportsmen ndthis area especiallyappealing thanksto bountiulpronghornantelope hunting.These huntersbring much-needed revenueto local motelsand restaurants as

    well as outttersand sporting goodstores. As theOutdoor Industry Association has noted, preservingaccess to outdoor recreation protects the economy,the businesses, the communities and the peoplewho depend on the ability to play outside.

    Data shows that outdoor recreation generates morethan $6.1 billion in consumer spending, 68,000direct New Mexican jobs, $1.7 billion in wages andsalaries as well as $458 million in state and local tax

    revenue.The close proximity o Otero Mesa to the town oAlamogordo and protected areas like White SandsNational Monument draw visitors rom both nearand ar, meaning that these monetary values areincreasingly important and likely to grow in the

    region when Otero Mesa receives the permanentprotection it deserves.

    Threats to Otero MesaFor more than a decade a number o unlikely allieshave stood together in calling or the permanentprotection o this rare and beautiul grassland,as well as its reshwater resources within the Salt

    Basin Aquier. From members o the MescaleroApache, to state elected ocials, to religiousleaders and conservationists, a wide array o peoplehave asked or a long-term plan or Otero Mesathat would ensure that its cultural, scientic and

    ecological values arprotected or uturegenerations.

    Since 1997, whenthe Harvey E. YatesCompany drilleda test well at thebase o AlamoMountain, there habeen an ongoingeort to ensure thaoil and gas drillingand mining donot permanentlydamage the valueso this area.

    The U.S. 10th CircuCourt o Appealsissued a decision

    in 2009 on litigation brought by the State o NewMexico, state agencies and a number o conservatiogroups ound that the Bureau o Land Managementdid not adequately consider potential impacts ooil and gas development. Furthermore, the courtound that BLMs entire plan was fawed because theagency did not consider an alternative to protect allo Otero Mesa rom oil and gas drilling.

    How to protect Otero Mesa:A new planrom the BLM or the region is under developmentand until a nal plan is adopted, Otero Mesa willcontinue to ace a growing threat rom extractiveindustries. The BLMs new plan should prohibitdrilling in Otero Mesa to protect its wild qualities.

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    The Red Desert o southwestWyoming is a remote, wildlandscape o multi-colored buttes,

    rims, badlands, towering sand dunesand vast open spaces. Wyoming citizenshave sought to protect the area since1898 - rst as a Winter Game Preserve,then later as a National Park, NationalWildlie Reuge, wild horse preserve anda North American Antelope Range.

    This high, cold desert environment supports a largediversity o wildlie, including mule deer, antelope,a rare desert elk herd, raptors and rare songbirdslike Scotts oriole and the blue-gray fycatcher.Bands o wild horses roam this area o volcanic rockormations, hoodoos and sand dunes.

    From the oreboding badlands o Adobe Town tothe continental divide at South Pass, WyomingsRed Desert is a landscape chronicling the history

    o the West. Native Americans requented the area

    ollowing migrating wildlie and let behind a richlegacy o cultural sites and petroglyphs. The OregonOutlaw, Mormon and Pony Express Trails crossthrough the area, and these lands were also thehideouts and haunts o such legendary characters asButch Cassidy and his Powder Wash Gang, JedediaSmith and Jim Bridger.

    However, oil and gas drilling are encroaching onAdobe Town and other parts o the Red Desert. TheBureau o Land Management continues to issue leasin the area surrounding Adobe Town, threatening thwildlie and historical eatures o the area. Parts oAdobe Town and much o the Jack Morrow Hills arein the northern Red Desert are protected by the BLMas Wilderness Study Areas, but thousands more acreare still at risk.

    Dan Haward, proessional photographIve been a proessional photographer or over30 years, and I was blessed that we [mysel and my

    WyoMiNg: The ed deseT

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    siblings] learned a strong environmental ethic as

    we grew up. As a photographer, and because owho I am, I have a strong connection to the plants,animals and the natural landscape as well as withthe energy you eel rom the natural world.

    Photography is my livelihood, and its gettingharder and harder to photograph special naturalplaces like Adobe Town and the Red Desert thatdont have signs o human activity or development.Industrial development like that o an oil eld in anenvironment changes the landscape, oten disruptswildlie which then changes the areas fora, therebyaltering the entire ecosystem. Add in smoggy airrom the wells and dust rom trucks, and thereare some cases where you just cant get decentphotographs anymore.

    It seems odd that such special and uniqueplaces like Adobe Town are threatened withdrilling when there are so many other places,especially previously impacted areas, where energyis available. As the relentless pressure to drill

    continues, I know that I need to document manyo these special places now, because they will bechanged orever.

    Economic BeneftsWhile it might be o the beaten path, the RedDesert provides unique recreational opportunitiesor hiking, hunting, horseback riding, scenic

    driving, rock hounding and birdwatching. AdobeTown in the south is a maze o multi-coloredpillars, arches and canyons or remote backcountryexploration. The Northern Red Desert includesthe vast scenic vistas o the Boars Tusk, SteamboatMountain, Oregon Buttes, Continental Peak,Honeycomb Buttes and the Killpecker Sand Dunesand is comprised o seven BLM wilderness studyareas. This area is prized or its big game huntingand access or many uses. Additionally, thearcheological, historical and cultural heritage o theRed Desert landscape is o national signicance and

    remains in a relatively undamaged state.

    Threats to The Red DesertSprawling over more than 400,000 acres, thegreater Red Desert is called the crown jewelo Wyomings desert wilderness. But much o it,especially around Adobe Town, is potentially opento oil and gas drilling casting a dark shadow overthis wild landscape.

    While just under hal o Adobe Town is protectedby the wilderness study area, even that protectionis not permanent. In addition, the parts that arentprotected could orever lose their wild characterdue to intensive drilling becoming dotted withwell pads, and crisscrossed by a spider web oroads and pipelines.

    While the BLM has leased many o the acres in andaround the Red Desert, these leases are oten heldso long that they expire without any drilling takingplace. Under BLMs plan or the Jack Morrow Hillsin the Northern Red Desert, the agency is phasing

    out some o these leases, a trend that we need tosee continued.

    The Red Desert o Wyoming represents the best oour western heritage.

    How to protect The Red Desert andAdobe Town: The BLM is currently developingmanagement plans or the Red Desert. Theseplans should protect backcountry recreation andwilderness-quality lands or everyone to enjoy.

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    WesTeN colordo: ThoMPsoN diVide

    The Thompson Divide is home to ranchers, blue-ribbon trout streams, andsome o the most sought ater hunting grounds in Colorado. The 221,000acre swath o ranchlands and mid-altitude orests is also the source o the

    regions agricultural and drinking water. Hikers, mountain bikers and campersenjoy the unparalleled trails throughout the orests, and climbers scale theThompson Creek Fins.

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    The Thompson Divide area has been ranchedor more than a century, and it remains one o thestrongest enclaves o traditional ranching culture onthe Western Slope. There are 35 operations grazingcattle on ederal allotments within the ThompsonDivide. These ranches preserve thousands o acreso increasingly scarce winter range or deer and elk,and play an essential role in the larger ecosystem.

    Unortunately, oil and gas development is knockingat its door.

    Drilling in the Thompson Divide would threatenmore than 15 watersheds in the region threatening drinking water or communities andranchers, and the sh and wildlie in the area.Farther downstream, armers in Colorados NorthFork Valley rely on water rom the Thompson Divideto irrigate their crops.

    Bill Fales owner/operator o ColdMountain RanchKeeping oil and gasdrilling out o theThompson Divide isimportant to me or awhole host o reasons starting with water.We run a grass-edcattle operation, andeven a perception o

    contamination in thewater hurts the marketor our cattle.

    More drilling activity in the area means more dustin the air more dust means the snowpack will meltsooner, and there will be less water when we needit. The roads that would have to be built would alsoaect our herds; you simply cant put a gate across aroad wed have to put up miles o encing as wellso that more o our cattle could not wander o.

    Many o the ranchers in this community dependon the Forest Service to graze their cattle. Drillinghere would devastate the community.

    Economic BeneftsThe Thompson Divide is home to some o the besttrout shing in the world. The iconic Roaring ForkRiver is the centerpiece and is a blue ribbon shery.

    Tributaries to the Gunnison and Colorado Riversalso provide abundant opportunities to catch nativetrout.

    Outdoor recreation activities like hiking, shing,and hunting help orm the backbone o theeconomy in Gunnison, Pitkin and Gareld Counties.Hiking, biking and other outdoor activities generatemore than $12 million in the area. More than

    26,000 people in the Thompson Divide region areemployed in the travel and tourism industries, withanother 5,000 in recreation and 2,600 in huntingand shing.

    Across Colorado, outdoor recreation is a majoreconomic driver creating more than $13.2 billionin economic activity, and supporting more than124,000 jobs.

    Leaving the Thompson Divides unique andtreasured lands undrilled will help ensure long-term

    economic prosperity and healthy communities inColorados central mountain region. Protection willhelp us achieve an elusivebalance that Coloradanshave been trying to ndor generations - a balancebetween conservation andenergy development.

    Threats toThompson Divide

    In 2003 the BushAdministration issued

    81 mineral leases in the Thompson Divide areacovering approximately 105,000 acres. Thevast majority o these leases were sold, withoutenvironmental review or public involvement, at thestatutory minimum o $2.00 per acre. These leasesalso had little to no protections or landowners,who could see their property invaded by trucks andwell pads rom the oil companies.

    How to protect the Thompson Divide:Legislation has been introduced by ColoradoSenators Michael Bennet and Mark Udall towithdraw lands rom uture leasing in the ThompsonDivide. This would ensure that the wild lands in thearea would be kept sae or traditional uses likeranching, hunting and angling, as well as the widearray o recreational opportunities that drive theregions economy.

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    WyoMiNg rNge

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    Its been nearly a decade sincethe ederal government rstsparked a restorm by targeting

    the Wyoming Range or new energydevelopment. Since then olks romall backgrounds have worked to keepenergy development out o the WyomingRange rst by passing the WyomingRange Legacy Act, which withdrew1.2 million acres rom new oil and gasleasing, and then through the voluntarypurchase o grandathered energy leasesin the Hoback Basin in the northern parto the Range. To this day however, theoriginal confict that began the ght orthe Wyoming Range remains unresolved.

    44,700 acres located in the gatewayto the Wyoming Range remain underthreat with a leasing decision pendingthis year.

    Aaron Bannon, National OutdoorLeadership SchoolTheres no way around it drilling in the WyomingRange would have a big impact our programs.I drilling were to occur on the 44,700 acres thatare unprotected, its possible we would have toexamine the viability our winter operations there,and curtail our summer ones.

    This is an important classroom or our summeroperations. We run our adventure courses oryoung students, 14 and 15 years old, and inmany cases this is the rst time theyve everbeen backpacking. They get out there and learncritical lie and leadership skills, and a big part othe experience is being in the wilderness o theWyoming Range.

    Our winter program here also could be severelycompromised the areas that are unprotectedamount to our entire winter course area in thisRange. Our winter courses teach skills like wintercamping and backcountry skiing skills that benetuture instructors and outdoor educators across thenation. We already had to stop having programs onthe White River in Utah partly because the nearbydrilling activity was too intense.

    Wyoming is a pretty big state there is plenty oroom to be able to have oil and gas drilling, andprotect remote backcountry places at the sametime.

    Economic BeneftsWhile visitors are more likely to crowd nearbyGrand Teton National Park, the Wyoming Range

    provides areas or local Wyoming residents to huntand sh and camp with their amilies. The Range isrenowned or its big game, including mule deer, elkand moose, while an abundance o clean streamscreate a sae reuge or native cutthroat trout.Because o this, hunting and shing alone romthese 44,700 acres contributes $5.2 million annuallyto local economies. In addition to hunters andsherman, the eastern gateway is regularly used bybackpackers and hikers who traverse the 70-mileWyoming Range National Scenic Trail which runsalong the crest o the range at more than 9,000

    eet. The area is also heavily used by snowmobilersand skiers in the winter.

    Threats to the Wyoming RangeThese lands along the gateway to the WyomingRange were originally oered or lease to oil andgas companies by the Forest Service in 2005 and2006. Sparking a grassroots movement o protestand a series o challenges by local outtters,sportsmen, ormer Gov. Dave Freudenthal,conservationists, and labor unions, these contested

    leases have remained in legal limbo ever since. In2011, the Forest Service made a decision to cancelthe lease oerings on the entire 44,700 acres, butwhen two energy companies appealed, the agencywithdrew the decision in order to conduct urtheranalysis.

    I the 44,700 acres o leases are validated in theupcoming environmental review decision, at leastve energy companies could try to advance drillingprojects in the middle o popular elk huntingcamps, grazing allotments, shing holes and

    camping areas. Stanley Energy, a wildcat outtout o Colorado has foated a proposal to drill 200gas wells rom 8 well pads, each covering 50 acres.Although its been almost eight years since theseareas were rst oered or leasing, the gateway tothe Wyoming Range is still too special to drill.

    How to protect the Wyoming Range:The U.S. Forest Service should keep these leasesrom being developed, keeping the WyomingRange wild and sae rom drilling.

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    IMAGES:

    Introduction(page 4) Delicate Arch and LaSalle Mountains, Arches NP. Photo by: Fred Hanselmann

    Places Protected(page 5) Pine Ridge Trail - Los Padres NF. Photo by: Miguel Vieira

    Utah: Arches National Park:(Page 6) Arches National Park. Photo by: istockphoto.com/Rezus(Page 7) Landscape Arch - Arches NP. Photo by: Daveynin

    Alaska: Arctic National Wildlie Reuge(Page 8) Coastal Plain - ANWR. Photo by: Lincoln Else(Page 9) Caribou cal; Wildfowers and tent. Photo by: Linocln Else

    New Mexico: Chaco Canyon(Page 10) Pueblo del arroyo - Chaco Canyon -Photo by: credit istockphoto.com/LieSizeImages(Page 11) Fajada Butte and Chaco Canyon - Chaco Canyon. Photo by: oldmantravels

    Utah: Desolation Canyon

    (Page 12) Green River - Gunnison Butte. Photo by: Fred Hanselmann(Page 13) Green River, Cottonwoods, River. Photo by: Fred Hanselmann

    Colorado: Greater Dinosaur Region(Page 14) Yampa Sunset - Dinosaur. Photo by: Jackson Frishman(Page 15) Yampa Firelight - Dinosaur. Photo by: Jackson Frishman

    Virginia: George Washington National Forest(Page 16) Crabtree Falls - GWNF. Photo by: iStockphoto/vagrant83(Page 17) Tibbet Knob - GWNF. Photo by: iStockphoto/carrollmt

    Caliornia: Los Padres National Forest(Page 18) Pine Ridge Trail - Los Padres NF. Photo by: Miguel Vieira(Page 19) Condor - Los Padres NF. Photo by: US Fish and Wildlie Service

    Montana: North Fork o the Flathead River(Page 20) Bear Grass - Flathead River. Photo by: International League o Conservation Photographers(Page 20) Flathead River, North Fork. Photo by: Joe Riis

    New Mexico: Otero Mesa(Page 22) Otero Mesa - Grasslands. Photo by: NMWA(Page 23) Otero Mesa - bird. Photo by: NMWA

    Wyoming: The Red Desert(Page 24) Adobe Town - Skull Creek Rim. Photo by: Dan HaywardPage (25) Adobe Town. Photo by: Dan Hayward

    Western Colorado: Thompson Divide(Page 26) Thompson Divide - CO. Photo by: EcoFlight(Page 27) Mt Sopris - Thompson Divide. Photo by: Greg Watts

    Wyoming Range(Page 28) Wyoming Range Upper Hoback. Photo by: Dave Showalter with aerial support rom Lighthawk.(Page 29) Wyoming Range, Lease Block. Photo by: Jared White

    Page 30 Arches National Park - Arches NP. Photo by: Betsy Weber

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    For more inormation please contact:

    Bob Ekey, Senior Director, Energy Campaign(406) [email protected]

    Jennier Dickson, Communications Director, Energy Campaign(303) 650-5818

    [email protected] Shader, Communications Manager, Energy Campaign(202) [email protected]

    Our mission is to protect wilderness and inspire Americans to care for our wild places.

    JULy 2013

    Cover photo: Jared White