Green groups sue US BLM over oil, gas lease sales in Colorado

Washington (Platts)--23Feb2006

Environmentalists filed a lawsuit against the US Bureau of Land
Management late Wednesday over its sale in November 2005 of 16 oil and natural
gas leases on Colorado land the groups say is worthy of wilderness protection.

     In the suit, filed in federal court in Denver, The Wilderness Society and
other groups accuse BLM of violating the National Environmental Policy Act by
allowing 23,000 acres of South Shale Ridge--located in the "canyon country" of
western Colorado--to be developed at the expense of the wilderness qualities
of the land. 

     The area contains "multi-colored badlands, hidden canyons, an endless
array of hoodoos, and a high concentration of sensitive plants," which qualify
it for wilderness protection, according to the suit. 

     The groups also noted in a separate statement that in 2001 BLM
recommended South Shale Ridge be assigned "wilderness study area" status,
placing it in line for formal wilderness designation by Congress and thus
blocking development there. 

     But BLM noted Wednesday, in denying 2005 protests of the auction
environmentalists filed with the agency, that it decided in 2003 that its
ability to designate WSAs had technically lapsed a decade earlier. 

     The suit also names as a defendant the Fish and Wildlife Service, which
the groups say violated the Endangered Species Act by signing off on the
leases, an action that could harm a cactus listed under the ESA that thrives
in the area. 

     FWS was initially critical of the NEPA analysis BLM conducted in 2005
that would authorize leasing in South Shale Ridge, saying BLM had not
adequately consulted its sister agency on the decision. 

     A BLM spokeswoman said Thursday that, while South Shale Ridge may indeed
have some "wilderness characteristics," the mitigation measures the agency has
imposed on drilling operations in the area will ensure the environment there
receives adequate protection. The area is estimated to hold trillions of cubic
feet of gas.

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