This is a feel-good story about what can happen when intelligent minds with different interests and agendas actually sit down and work together to find a solution that works for everyone. In a nutshell, conservation groups and the oil and gas industry hammered out a deal that would protect the “top” of the Roan Plateau in Colorado, where many species thrive including a strain of native Colorado cutthroat trout, and at the same time, allow energy developers to get at the billions of dollars in natural gas deposits by using smarter, more efficient, directional drilling techniques.
Here’s the release from Colorado Trout Unlimited:
It has been a long road in a legal battle that has stretched back more than six years – and advocacy and conservation efforts that stretch back more than a decade beyond that. But today, a settlement of the legal battle over energy development on the Roan Plateau was announced, laying a “win-win” path forward that protects the Roan’s most valued fish and wildlife habitats while also allowing for responsible energy development.
TU and other sportsmen have long recognized the Roan’s remarkable values including habitat for rare native Colorado River cutthroat trout, scenic canyons and waterfalls, and outstanding big game habitat and hunting opportunities. For nearly two decades, TU’s Grand Valley Anglers chapter has been involved in habitat conservation projects for the Roan’s native trout fisheries.
The settlement resolves litigation in which Colorado Trout Unlimited, the National Wildlife Federation and eight other conservation groups were represented by Earthjustice. Among the key provisions of the settlement:
•The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will cancel 17 of 19 leases held by Bill Barrett Corp. (BBC) atop the Roan within 60 days, and refund to BBC the money that was paid for those leases. These leases include about 90% of the acreage on top of the Plateau, including all of the watersheds supporting native cutthroat trout.
•BLM will prepare a new management plan for the Roan and, as part of their analysis, will consider a “settlement alternative” with terms from the settlement agreement. While BLM legally cannot commit to adopting this alternative prior to completing their environmental analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act, all parties have agreed not to challenge the new plan so long as BLM adopts the settlement alternative.
•Under the settlement alternative the areas covered by the canceled leases atop the Roan Plateau will not be subject to oil and gas leasing for the life of the plan. The two retained leases – located on Anvil Ridge in a portion of the Roan adjacent to existing drilling on private lands, outside of native cutthroat habitat, and lacking current public road access – will be allowed to develop responsibly with a limited number of carefully-sited well pads and management practices to minimize their impacts.
•The settlement alternative also allows for development under existing leases at the base of the Roan but strengthens “no surface occupancy” requirements, helping to secure important wildlife migration corridors, steep slopes, and other fragile resources.
•While providing these important protections for fish and wildlife habitat, the settlement alternative also allows for responsible energy development on leases covering approximately half of the BLM Roan Planning Area.
A fact sheet with more background on the Roan and the history that has led to this settlement can be found by clicking here.
The Roan Plateau has been a great example of what Trout Unlimited and its chapters can accomplish working together across all levels from local to national. The Grand Valley Anglers have been long-time advocates and stewards for the Roan Plateau, completing on-the-ground projects such as riparian fencing and willow-planting to help secure key habitats. In addition to being part of the legal case to protect the Roan, Colorado Trout Unlimited has also raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to help complete habitat restoration projects and install a fish barrier to secure native trout habitat. National Trout Unlimited staff have helped lead efforts to organize and educate sportsmen about the Roan Plateau, including coordinating tours of the Plateau and working with Field and Stream Magazine when the Roan was featured as one of America’s Best Wild Places.
We owe our thanks to many others who have helped make this agreement possible. Our outstanding legal counsel with Earthjustice have been a model of dedication and skill in guiding the legal challenge and settlement talks over several years. Outdoor writers including Dave Buchanan and Scott Willoughby have helped build awareness about the Roan among sportsmen across Colorado. A bipartisan group of Colorado elected officials – Senators Bennet and Udall, Congressman Tipton (in whose district the Roan is located), and Governor Hickenlooper – helped provide much-needed political support for a settlement with the Department of the Interior. The BLM and Department of Justice have worked diligently with all parties throughout the settlement process.
We’d also like to highlight the oil and gas leaseholders – BBC, as well as Oxy, Ursa, and WPX (companies holding the leases at the Roan’s base) – for their wilingness to engage in honest and constructive dialogue about a path for responsible energy development that includes strong protection for the Roan’s unique fish and wildlife resources. We hope that this agreement can be a model for future cooperation among conservationists and the energy industry in finding balanced solutions for meeting energy needs while protecting Colorado’s remarkable wild lands and the fishing and hunting heritage they support.
And wed like to thank all of you who have helped with this effort over the years – from our local volunteers who have invested their sweat equity on habitat projects, to those of you who have leant your voice in responding to action alerts or submitting comments along the way. You are the real source of Trout Unlimited’s ability to get things done for Colorado’s rivers and fisheries.
Our work isn’t over – we have on-the-ground projects continuing on the Roan including reintroduction of native trout into new habitat as soon as next summer, and we must remain vigilant in working with the BLM to ensure that it ultimately adopts the settlement alternative and protects the Roan’s most valued fish and wildlife habitat.
But today is a time to celebrate a landmark agreement – not only for the Roan, but for Colorado and our state’s ongoing efforts to reach an appropriate balance that supports our energy economy while protecting the fish, wildlife, and natural places that are a key part both of our recreation and tourism economy and of our Colorado heritage and quality of life.
David Nickum
Colorado TU Executive Director
