Across the Rocky Mountain West, citizens and elected officials have come together to protect their cherished public lands. New Mexico protected the majestic Valle Vidal; Montana protected the 425,000 acre Rocky Mountain Front; and, just to our north, a bipartisan coalition is working to protect 1.2 million acres of the Wyoming Range. Here in Colorado, we're struggling to protect the Roan Plateau's 52,000 acres of undeveloped public lands. Other western states have fought back – and won – against drilling on their most prized landscapes, and Colorado can too!

Unless our elected officials step in and act to keep the Roan Plateau as it is today, its undeveloped public lands could be leased this summer with drilling beginning within the year.

Please contact Senator Ken Salazar, Senator Wayne Allard and Representative John Salazar and urge them to support Roan legislation that goes beyond the Governor's proposal to provide full protection for all the Roan Plateau's remaining undeveloped public lands.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I appreciate your commitment to protecting Colorado's special places. I am writing today to comment on your intentions to introduce legislation ensuring expanded protections on critical areas of the Roan Plateau.

As you consider this legislative solution I urge you to explore other ways to protect additional acres on top of the Roan, as well as areas at the base of the Roan Plateau that provide critical winter wildlife habitats. In addition, I urge you to ensure that any areas you designate as Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs) are given non-waivable No-Surface Occupancy (NSO) stipulations. Failure to include this will leave even these critical areas open to natural gas drilling.

With that said, there continues to be no need to lease and develop any more of the Roan's public lands, as one-half of the land on the Plateau is either privately owned or already leased for gas drilling. In fact, within the Roan Plateau Planning Area there are over 2,000 permitted gas wells. More broadly, Garfield County is experiencing drilling at an unprecedented rate with more 2,500 gas wells permitted just last year.

The Roan Plateau's remaining public lands which represent about 1% of all the public lands in the Piceance Basin are truly an island in a sea of drilling. These lands provide an oasis of natural scenery, wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities in a landscape of expanding gas development. Traditional activities such as hunting, fishing, ranching, hiking and other types of backcountry recreation are simply incompatible with large-scale natural gas infrastructure such as drill rigs, well pads and compressor stations, along with the web of pipelines, roads and heavy truck traffic.

Thank you again for your leadership in standing up for the Roan Plateau. Please work to finish the job by passing legislation that ensures that all these lands are protected as they are today, a haven for wildlife and a natural treasure for citizens. I appreciate your consideration and your service to the great state of Colorado.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
April 10, 2008

Intensive gas development on public and private lands at the base of the Roan Cliffs is already well underway. A similar fate could yet befall the undeveloped top of the plateau.

© 2003, Colorado Environmental Coalition