Casper, Wyoming - Monday, June 30, 2003
By JEFF GEARINO Southwest Wyoming bureau
GREEN RIVER -- Gov. Dave Freudenthal has told the Bureau of Land Management that he believes certain areas of the controversial Jack Morrow Hills in southwest Wyoming deserve to be protected.
He is also advocating increased protections for Native American cultural sites and more stringent guidelines for air quality.
Freudenthal said that complete preservation of the entire area is simply not feasible and was never an option. But he called total development unreasonable as well. His comments to the BLM were released Wednesday by the Governor's Office.
The governor said the hills has the potential to meet some of the strong demand for oil and gas throughout the United States.
"That having been said, however, I am convinced that there are certain areas (of the hills) that deserve to be protected -- protection which needs to be continued or increased in some areas, as well as protection to establish in others," Freudenthal wrote.
"I understand that this balancing act between development alternatives will not be easy, and I offer our continued assistance in the tasks that remain," he said.
Freudenthal said more protection needs to be afforded to Native American cultural and spiritual sites, including more prescriptive consultation.
He recommended consulting with tribal elders or other designated representatives of the area tribes prior to any activity that could negatively impact or interfere with use of a respected or religious area.
Freudenthal said he also wants to see state guidelines for air quality -- which, in some cases, are more stringent than federal regulations -- be applied for the area..
As for mineral and alternative energy development, the governor said he favors what the BLM originally identified as Alternative Three, which provides for future development as long as sensitive resource values are protected from unacceptable impacts.
Freudenthal said he favors the expansion of three "Areas of Critical Environmental Concern" and one new wildlife study area.
He also expressed reservations about the plan's provision for an adaptive management approach to the area.
Freudenthal said an ever-evolving management plan is difficult for the state to deal with and also runs the risk of allowing federal management decisions to negatively impact state lands.
The BLM's JMH Coordinated Activity Plan (CAP) Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) released in February would allow for development of more than 200 oil and gas wells in portions of the Red Desert over the next few decades.
The 620,000-acre Jack Morrow Hills is home to the largest migratory game herd in the lower 48 states, the largest desert elk herd in the world and the largest active dune system in North America. The area is also prized by energy companies for its approximately 150 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and large reserves of coal and oil.
Lara Azar, press secretary for Gov. Dave Freudenthal, said the governor spent June 20 touring the Jack Morrow Hills in an effort to obtain a "first hand understanding" of the area's importance.
She said Freudenthal spent the day touring the site with Tom Dougherty, formerly of the National Wildlife Federation, Office of State Lands and Investments Director Lynne Boomgaarden, Wyoming BLM State Director Bob Bennett, and Renee Dana and Russell Tanner from the BLM's Rock Springs Field Office.
Azar said the tour included stops at Nitchie Gulf, Steamboat Mountain, the Killpecker Sand Dunes and other various, prominent physical features, as well as areas of significance to Native Americans.
She said discussions with agency officials centered on the effect federal actions may have on state development options, cultural resources issues and the role of adaptive management in the hills.