Land Letter

WATER: In drilling country, water rights stir fracking questions

Thu Feb 09 14:00:00 -0500 2012

The High Plains aquifer, seen from northern Weld County, Colo., where oil and gas operators are using increasing amounts of water. A wet year has given Greeley a bonanza of water to lease out, but sharing could be a challenge in a dry year. Photo courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey.

When a large tanker truck pulls up to a fire hydrant in Greeley, Colo. -- a midsize town on the semiarid Eastern Slope of the Rocky Mountains -- and starts siphoning water from the city's supply, passersby start looking nervous. Chances are good the tanker is on its way to an oil or natural gas field, where the water will either go to drilling or be injected underground to reach previously inaccessible resources via a process known as hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking." Such water transfers are becoming an increasingly common sight. But in a region that has battled drought on and off for decades, and where state officials predict there won't be enough water to sustain expected population and agriculture levels in the not-too-distant future, the tankers spark questions about how water is being used.

OIL AND GAS: Wyo. drilling plan snags on forgotten road density rule

Thu Feb 09 14:00:00 -0500 2012

Opponents of a controversial plan to drill oil and natural gas wells in Wyoming's Bridger-Teton National Forest are urging the Forest Service to adhere to a decades-old lease stipulation that,…

OIL AND GAS: Outdoor interests back BLM fracking disclosure plan

Thu Feb 09 14:00:00 -0500 2012

A coalition of environmental, business and sporting groups this week issued strong support for the Obama administration's proposed rule that would require oil and natural gas companies to provide…

OIL AND GAS: Fines for violations rare on public lands -- Democratic report

Thu Feb 09 14:00:00 -0500 2012

March 31, 2011). He also noted that Interior's Office of Natural Resource Revenue has collected $28.4 million in penalties since 2000. A Markey spokesman said those numbers miss the point…

TRANSMISSION: Sage grouse to be the guinea pig for new habitat assessment tool

Thu Feb 09 14:00:00 -0500 2012

The Bureau of Land Management will use a largely untested method to make siting decisions for an electric transmission line slated to cross through sensitive greater sage grouse habitat in…

FORESTS: Planning rule falls short in addressing scientists' concerns

Thu Feb 09 14:00:00 -0500 2012

The Forest Service's new planning rule, which will guide how national forests will be managed, does little to address concerns voiced by the scientific community when the draft rule was…

FORESTS: Groups raise pressure on Colo. roadless protections

Thu Feb 09 14:00:00 -0500 2012

Nov. 21, 2011). "Sportsmen across Colorado want to see our 4.2 million acres of backcountry national forests kept intact," said Nick Payne, Colorado field representative for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation…

FORESTS: House lawmakers at odds over Ore. timber and wilderness bill

Thu Feb 09 14:00:00 -0500 2012

Feb. 3). Both proposals seek to replace a program known as Secure Rural Schools which, until its expiration late last year, provided counties an alternative source of revenue to compensate…

ENDANGERED SPECIES: Protections for Atlantic sturgeon could dredge up shipping channel controversy

Thu Feb 09 14:00:00 -0500 2012

New endangered species protections for the Atlantic sturgeon -- a prehistoric fish whose population has plummeted over the past century -- could complicate a massive dredging project that is supposed…

ENDANGERED SPECIES: Court tosses Bush-era rule on fire-management consultations

Thu Feb 09 14:00:00 -0500 2012

After considering the matter for six years, a federal court this week threw out a George W. Bush administration rule that streamlined the consultation required by the Endangered Species Act…

PARKS: State tax could ease Yellowstone funding crunch

Thu Feb 09 14:00:00 -0500 2012

A Wyoming state legislator is proposing a 1-cent sales tax to help Yellowstone National Park address its $750 million backlog of infrastructure maintenance work, in a move that officials said…

WOLVES: Ore. law would bypass non-lethal deterrents

Thu Feb 09 14:00:00 -0500 2012

Livestock owners and wolf advocates in Oregon have clashed over new state legislation that would allow the killing of wolves that kill cattle or other livestock. The gray wolf population…

WILDLIFE: Power plant closure could boost Lake Erie's fish stocks

Thu Feb 09 14:00:00 -0500 2012

Lake Erie's fish population is expected to rebound quickly after a power plant's coal-burning units near the lake's primary tributary in Ohio are shut down. FirstEnergy Corp. is shuttering six…

ENDANGERED SPECIES: Rare butterfly causing flap at Wis. frac sand mines

Thu Feb 09 14:00:00 -0500 2012

Dozens of companies have descended on the sand barrens of Wisconsin to harvest the material for use in hydraulic fracturing operations, but only one has informed the state that it…

BISON: Winter storms could touch off Yellowstone slaughter plans

Thu Feb 09 14:00:00 -0500 2012

Yellowstone National Park could capture hundreds of wild bison and ship them off for slaughtering if they migrate out of the park this winter in search of food. Park officials…

WILDFIRE: Colo. homeowners insurance proposal would mandate yearly updates

Thu Feb 09 14:00:00 -0500 2012

A proposal in the Colorado Capitol would prevent homeowners from accidentally underinsuring their homes, in a bid to prevent catastrophic losses following events like the 2010 Fourmile Fire that can…