Gas Drilling Threatens America's Western Wilderness

Shale and coalbed gas drilling pose serious threats to some of the West's most prized  hunting and fishing regions, including Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming. According to the Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development (formed by TU, the Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and the National Wildlife Federation) proposed gas drilling under Bureau of Land Management land in these states will severely damage hunting and fishing habitats in some of America's most unspoiled wilderness areas. They include, in Colorado: the North Park  and Roan Plateau; in Montana: the middle Yellowstone River and Powder River Basin; in New Mexico: the Otero Basin and San Juan Mountains; in Utah: the Uinta National Forest and Book Cliffs region and in Utah: the Greater Little Mountain region. The Sportsmen alliance has appealed drilling permits  within these Bureau of Land Management regions and the BLM has re-issued its drilling-management plans in response. The alliance says the new regs are an improvement, but the the fight is not over and concerned sportsmen should join these organizations to help preserve some of America's best remaining wildhunting and fishing. For the whole story go the the following link and click on the attached pdf links.   Be sure to examine the aerial photo of the effects of gas drilling on former mule deer range.

http://www.anglingtrade.com/2012/02/06/sportsmen-say-federal-oil-shale-plan-a-significant-improvement/