Opportunities and Challenges to Energy Development on a Ranch in Western Colorado-Developing a Model for Conservation and Mixed-Use

摘要

For the past decade, debates about how energy development affects wildlife have been primarily focused on public lands managed by federal land management agencies (Bureau of Land Management [BLM], Forest Service [USFS]). This is primarily because of the public trust doctrine that exists for public lands and fish and wildlife resources. However, it should not be overlooked that private lands consist of more than 60% of all ownership in the United States and therefore, by simple math, the majority of energy development that has taken place in the last 100 years, and that will take place in the next 50 years, has been on private lands. The recent boom in shale oil/gas development in North Dakota (Bakken), Colorado (Niobrara), Pennsylvania (Marcellus), and Texas (Eagle Ford) has refocused national attention on development of private lands and the differences existing between private and public extraction of energy. If one believes some pundits, energy development on private lands makes more money, is quicker to permit than similar development on public lands, and has less impact. Although I won't argue the first two points, it should be pointed out that development is development regardless of land ownership, and fish, wildlife, and private landowners values are impacted by public processes (whether they are state or federal) that happen on and around every parcel of private land. The challenges and opportunities are similar but somewhat different, and we need an approach that integrates the needs of private and public lands into a landscape-level approach to energy development that minimizes impacts to values, whether environmental or social, and still allows for lands to be developed for energy.