We must stop this oil-drilling lease near Moab!
I received this in an email and believe it’s important enough to put up on the site. The wild lands around Moab, Arches & Canyonlands are going to be lost December 19 unless we do something. Some of you may be in favor of domestic drilling, but this is not the right place. This area is a national treasure and we must do something to stop the lease for drilling.
– Michelle
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News about the drilling:
Washington Post, November 13
Salt Lake Tribune, November 8
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As you are probably aware, the current administration’s final parting shot at the environment will take place on Dec. 19 in Utah when the BLM plans to sell oil and gas leases on lands adjoining Arches and Canyonlands NP, in the general Moab vicinity, and in Desolation Canyon.
I have taken a closer look at the areas to be leased. Like to raft? You’ll be staring at rigs in Desolation Canyon and all along the Moab “Daily”. Like to mountain bike? The areas include the Sand Flats Road and areas within sight of the Porcupine Rim trail. Like to hike? They include Negro Bill Canyon. Like to look through Delicate Arch to the La Sals? How about a nice oil rig sitting there in your view right under the Arch. You won’t be able to go many places in Moab without having an oil rig staring at you. Those vistas that go on forever will be forever filled with ugly oil rigs. And roads. And vehicles. And dust. And paradise will be paved…
Yep. Unbelievable. But not unstoppable. And there is never a good reason to go away without a damn good fight! Please read on. And then write on, and pick up the phone and start calling. Here’s the alert I received.
Dear Red Rock Forests Members:
We are buoyed by news that the Obama Administration plans to ‘roll back’ some of the oil and gas decisions, and that the proposed lease sale that will impact Arches and Canyonlands National Park, Desolation Canyon, and thousands of acres of wilderness quality public lands – is front and center in their efforts.
While we are thrilled with the Obama Administration’s plans, we must not forget that this lease sale is slated for December 19th, before inauguration day. We are hearing concerns that the Bush Administration is doing everything it can to ensure that the parcels sold on that date will stick, despite the best intentions of the Obama Administration.
We are doing everything we can to fight this effort NOW! More than ever, we urge you not to miss the opportunity to heed Barack Obama’s call to service and speak out for these national treasures!
We urge everyone not to get lulled into the thought that ‘Obama will make it all better.’ HE NEEDS OUR HELP NOW TO MAKE IT HAPPEN!
Here’s what you can do:
Send a Protest letter to the BLM Utah State Office (must be mailed or faxed for receipt by Dec. 4, 2008) urging removal of parcels near or adjacent to Canyonlands & Arches National Parks and near/adjacent to lands with wilderness qualities:
BLM
Utah State Office
PO Box 45155
Salt Lake City, UT 84145-0155
FAX 801.539.4237
Call Terry Catlin, who is in charge of BLM’s O&G leasing program
801-539-4122
Call the Moab BLM Office, Shelly Smith, Mgr., 435-259-2100
Call or write Utah Governor Jon Huntsman Ask to speak to: Amanda Smith,
801-538-1000
1-800-705-2464 toll free
1-801-538-1528 FAX
Call or Write Utah Gov. Huntsman’s Public Lands Policy Coordination Office
John Harja, Director
801-537-9801 phone
801-537-9226 FAX
If you are in Utah, call
Utah Representative Matheson
speak to: Mike Reberg
801-486-1236
877-677-9743 toll free
Utah Senator Bennett
801-524-5933 – Salt Lake City office
202-224-5444 – Washington DC Office
If you don’t live in Utah, use this link to www.congress.org and type in
your zip code in the box on the left navigation bar that says “My Elected
Officials.”
This is a national issue. These are our national treasures, there are no
other places like them in the world.
This is an issue of Big Oil and local economies. Big Oil is pitting itself
against the small business owners of Grand County – those that own
bookstores, coffee shops, bicycle and rafting companies cafes, and brew pubs
– that rely on visitors/recreationists to support the local economy. What
will happen to them when drill rigs are within the sight line of the
Spectacles and Delicate Arch?
This is an issue of the abuse of power. The Bush Administration is bullying
the American people by this last minute lease sale. We must step up, heed
Obama’s call to service, and save this area NOW!
Please make YES WE CAN count!
Thanks!
Terry Shepherd
Executive Director
Red Rock Forests
P.O. Box 298
Moab, UT 84532
435-259-5640
10 comments Post Categories: In-between Trips
I live in Oklahoma, oil & gass wells are a way of life here. The drilling crews move in, they pump oil or gas for a while then they move on leaveing only economic improvements in the community. I’ve never understood what all the mass hysteria over drilling is all about. Have you ever seen a drilling site. I can take you to places where you would be hard pressed to find any evidence that drilling / pumping ever took place there.
When we rode the Great Divide route through Wyoming, we saw plenty of evidence of oil drilling. There are new roads to build to access each drilling area, and pipelines to bury. Scarred earth crisscrosses heavily drilled areas.
The area around Moab is some of the most beautiful wilderness in the West, and some of the most unique. It is a high desert, with delicate sandy soil that only stays together because of microbe colonies on the surface. Once you break that crust the soil erodes at a mad pace. It can take decades for the crust to rebuild itself, if erosion leaves anything to build on. Get up on Porcupine Ridge and you’d easily be able to see evidence of drilling. There’s no way to mask the roads and the pipelines in desert areas that take decades to show any brush and tree growth.
There may be other, less wild places where drilling would be more appropriate. This is not the place. The impact on hundreds of thousands of hikers, cyclists, river runners and other recreationers would be devastating. Believe me, if you saw this area before and after drilling, you would notice the difference.
I loved Utah! Next time I’d like to see Park City. It would be nice to go back. Utah Trips Dorks better not drill!
We have a voice and we need to make it heard!!
Do not scar our land with any more drilling!!!
We have plenty of viable renewable energy sources available without destroying our legacy to our future generations!
I live in Ohio and have never been to Moab or any other place in Utah, Montana, Alaska, etc. However, I think it is an absolute disgrace Bush is trying to sllp this one by us and would be an absolute mistake to taint these beautiful areas. Plus, someday I might want to visit these places and would rather not look at oil rigs. What can I do to help?
Mike,
Write!
Call!
Make a general nuisance of yerself! See the numbers and addresses in the post…
thx,
Michelle
I live on the East Coast and have been to Moab 2 times and must tell everyone that it is one of the most magical and beautiful places on this Earth. Bush is an oil man and common sense leads one to wonder who is in line to get these lucrative leases. We must put a stop this travesty. Make no mistake people this is a travesty, this area is a national treasure that needs to be protected. I am all in favor of domestic drilling, but not at this cost. I read the ramblings about how the oil companies can make their rigs blend in with the surrounding, but this is just part of the story. This land has a delicate ecological balance and the park services are up in arms because they know that this plan would be disastrous to this area. Bush has done NO ecological studies other than to confirm that there is oil there. I know of no legitimate study on the ecological effects of drilling. I am ashamed of Bush for pulling this to bolster his oil buddies and I am writing everyone I can on the East Coast to help in this fight. Please join the fight!!!!
Moab isn’t a wilderness, hasn’t been for a long time. Sure it’s pretty, but it’s a commercialized theme park.
Anywhere you can get to without having to pack your own food, water, tent and hike in isn’t a wilderness.
Let’s keep the wilderness definition for places that deserve it.
If I were to drive to Moab, my little 30mpg car would use 66 gallons of gas to drive the 2,000 mile round trip from San Francisco. Many visitors live much further away and drive cars that consume double that per mile.
At an average CA refinery yield it would take 3 barrels of oil to produce the 66 gallons of gas to get me there.
Moab’s park service website estimates they get a million visitors a year.
If visitors go 3 to a car on average and like me would use 3 barrels of oil per vehicle to fuel their journey, these visitors will consume a million barrels of oil per year (and that’s a conservative estimate).
So by that reckoning, the visitors who go to Moab are responsible for at least a million barrels of demand for oil, every year, just so they can visit this pristine wilderness.
An interesting paradox, isn’t it. People who drive and fly across the country to see Moab are outraged that the very fuel needed to make their journey possible might be extracted from close by the place they want to go see.
The best way to reduce environmental damage to places like moab is to shut them down and stop people from visiting them altogether. But I suspect that’s not a very attractive option.
Alternatively we could perhaps just accept that for us to be able to visit places such as Moab, drilling is a necessary part of the formula.
Or, we could work harder (as a nation) on electric vehicles and find more of our power from sources like the wind and sun. We could invest our retirement in green funds that will help companies with awesome ideas keep developing those awesome ideas.
Or, we could just ride there on our bikes — a much nicer option in my opinion. Or hike through, which Dave and I plan to do this spring…
I agree with Andrew above that Moab is a sort of zoo. But get out on foot or on bicycle for thirty minutes and the zoo is left behind. This is where you see the real beauty of the area – the colors of the desert somehow excite and soothe at the same time.
I wish they hadn’t developed so much around Moab (and so many other places), but that’s reality. I just want to save what’s left for the precious times that I and others can get out there and enjoy it.
And isn’t it better for a family to take a road trip to see Moab than to fly to another country and enjoy what it has to offer? I don’t know, but maybe. And getting people outside to beautiful places can also inspire them to do something to take care of them – maybe even going a bit more green in their lifestyle.