Does drilling belong here? Help protect Utah’s Red Rock country
Red Rock canyon country. Photo by Peter Rivera, Flickr.
A land filled with breathtaking vistas, Utah’s Red Rock country is world-renowned for its beauty, solitude, and ancient cliff dwellings and rock art.
But this unparalleled wild place — and other such places throughout the West — could be destroyed by uncontrolled oil and gas drilling unless new policies are put in place to permanently protect it.
Under the Bush administration’s “drill first, ask questions later” policy, Big Oil and Gas enjoyed unprecedented access to our public lands, all while collecting $72 billion in taxpayer subsidies. This accelerated leasing program left some federal employees with the mistaken belief that they’re required to fast-track leasing on public lands.
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A game-changing lawsuit brought by The Wilderness Society, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and other groups has gotten the attention of the Obama Administration. As a result, the Interior Department is working on new policies for oil and gas leasing on federal lands that are expected within the next few weeks.
Not surprisingly, Big Oil and Gas have mounted a massive campaign to derail the new guidelines. That means it’s up to us to loosen the grip of the oil and gas industry and take back our public lands.
Among the treasured lands Big Oil and Gas are coveting that could be protected by new policies:
- Eleven million acres of Utah’s Red Rock canyon country
- Colorado’s Vermillion Basin
- New Mexico’s Otero Mesa, and
- Wyoming’s Red Desert.
The public lands of the Rocky Mountain west already make an important contribution to America’s oil and gas production. But this production shouldn’t sacrifice any more wilderness-quality landscapes.
Currently 47 million acres of public lands, an area larger than the entire state of Washington, are leased to oil and gas development. The environmental impacts of this accelerated leasing program are many. Rural communities such as Pinedale, Wyoming once famed for their air quality now suffer big city pollution. Water quality in many areas is threatened with pollution from the chemical compounds used in drilling. Hundreds of thousands of wilderness-quality lands have been leased and drilled, and wildlife habitat has been degraded.
Want to help turn this situation around? Click here!
photo: Red Rock canyon country. Photo by Peter Rivera, Flickr.
About Kathy Kilmer
Kathy led our electronic communications team, putting the power of new media to work for conservation. She joined The Wilderness Society in 1984, producing and distributing radio feeds for the organization on such issues as forest planning... More about Kathy Kilmer
Legacy Comments
Oil and gas are one of the
Oil and gas are one of the most important commodities in demand in the world market. Many wars have been fought in this modern era just to capture oil and gas wealth. Many people in many countries are suffering due to the consequences of these wars. The soil and gas are the two most sorted items for the international super powers. I feel very sad to know that creations of oil rigs are causing great environmental problems. The making of oil rigs need many miles of underground digging which is very challenging for earths crust. Oil extraction process in the oceans have caused sea water pollution as well. I think man should move on and must find new eco friendly forms of energy sources. Copper Sinks
drilling
How can we continue to fight against oil drilling in our country and watch while the oil companies take their dirty work elsewhere, like Ecuador or Nigeria? The people there give up not only their national treasure, but their livelihoods and their lives too, all so we can have enough oil to live our decadent lives. There are simply too many Americans who won't wake up to the devastation that an oil dependent economy causes until they see it in their own backyard. Unfortunately, it's their descendents who will see it.
As much as it saddens me, my conscience will no longer allow me to oppose oil drilling in our country.