On July 11, CTU in conjunction with 9 other recreation, wildlife, and conservation groups filed suit in Federal District Court challenging the BLM's Roan Plateau plan and its proposal to lease the entire Roan Plateau on August 14th.

”What is BLM's rush?” said CTU President Ken Neubecker. “TU volunteers have put in hundreds of hours on water quality monitoring and stream projects to improve the habitat of cutthroat streams atop the Roan. We don’t have to jeopardize wildlife and rare trout in order for industry to get at the gas. It will still be there when we have the technology and a truly protective plan for development. But once a stream is poisoned and the trout population destroyed, they are gone forever.”

The lawsuit - filed by Earthjustice and Western Resource Advocates on behalf of ten conservation groups including CTU, the National Wildlife Federation, Colorado Mountain Club, and Colorado Environmental Coalition - highlights several points on which BLM failed to comply with federal law and in particular the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).  These include:

• NEPA requires federal agencies to analyze the impacts of their actions, including cumulative impacts of related activities.  BLM failed to consider the impacts of leasing the entire Roan Plateau, instead looking only at the impacts of the initial phases of development - and they failed to address the cumulative impacts of leasing the Roan alongside the surge of energy development taking place on surrounding lands throughout the Piceance Basin. 
• NEPA also requires agencies to consider alternatives that may reduce the environmental impact.  Yet BLM dismissed from consideration alternatives proposed by conservation groups and local governments that would have allowed for drilling below the rim of the Roan Plateau and on private lands surrounding the public areas atop the Plateau.  According to earlier BLM information, this alternative could have tapped 80% of the Roan's reserves with current technology.  With improved technology, that number can be expected to increase.

"CTU doesn't oppose making the natural gas resources under the Roan Plateau available for development," said Executive Director David Nickum.  "The real decision is whether to do so in a way that protects the valuable habitats atop the Roan Plateau, or in a way that allows for destruction of these sensitive public lands.  BLM made the wrong choice - indeed, time after time they wouldn't even consider the alternatives offered by our groups, by members of Congress, or by Governor Ritter."

"We’ve done everything possible to avoid this lawsuit, but BLM offered us no other choice,” said Jim Angell of Earthjustice, who filed suit on behalf of the 10 groups. “When a government agency ignores its legal obligations, it’s up to citizens to hold them accountable.”

Latest Developments:  On July 11, CTU and a coalition of 9 other wildlife, recreation, and conservation groups filed suit against the Bureau of Land Management challenging their plan for leasing the Roan Plateau in its entirety.  Litigation became nessary because in March the Bureau of Land Management issued its second Record of Decision (for Areas of Critical Environmental Concern) and announced that it was rejecting the phased leasing plan proposed by Governor Bill Ritter as an alternative to BLM's plan from its first Record of Decision.  The BLM action cleared the way for the Roan Plateau to be leased - in its entirety - for oil and gas development on August 14.

Governor Ritter then issued a statement expressing disappointment with the BLM decision, and indicating his desire to work with Colorado's congressional delegation on legislative alternatives for management and protection of the Roan.  “The Roan Plateau is one of the West’s special and unique places and it deserves a special effort to craft a sound long-term management plan," Ritter said. "We have just one chance to get this right.”  Click here to see the full text of Governor Ritter's statement.

Members of Colorado's congressional delegation have continued to work to defend the Roan.  Senator Ken Salazar and Reprsentatives John Salazar and Mark Udall proposed legislation to protect key habitats on the Roan Plateau while allowing for phased leasing of the Plateau's natural gas reserves, with development focused along the primary existing ridgetop roads.  CTU and other hunting/angling groups support the legislation as a good step in protecting many key areas on the Roan. Unfortunately, the legislation has not yet advanced either on its own or as an amendment to another bill.

A native Colorado River cutthroat trout from Trapper Creek on the Roan Plateau.

Background on the Roan Plan:  On June 8, 2007, the Bureau of Land Management issued its Record of Decision for the Roan Plateau management plan, giving approval to move forward with oil and gas development atop the Roan.  CTU had numerous concerns with the plan - including the BLM's own conclusion that their proposal would result in elimination of rare native cutthroat trout populations atop the Roan.  An overview of CTU's concerns with the BLM plan appears on a separate page on this site.

Since that time, the politics surrounding the Roan have run through a number of cycles.  Governor Bill Ritter asked BLM for a 120 extension so that the state's new leadership could have time to review the plan; BLM initially refused.  Senator Ken Salazar responded by blocking Senate confirmation of the new BLM director.  Representatives John Salazar and Mark Udall then secured an amendment to the House Energy bill that would establish "no surface occupancy" for exploration or drilling above the rim on the Roan Plateau (i.e., allowing leasing but requiring the use of directional drilling from adjacent lands rather than distrubing the top of the Roan).  The BLM changed gears and agreed to provide the Ritter Administration with 120 days to review the plan.  Senator Salazar then released his hold on the BLM director's nomination.  While it had passed the House, the Salazar-Udall amendment was unable to secure the support needed to pass through the Senate.  Then, in December, Governor Ritter came out with his proposal, which strengthened some protections on the Roan but nonetheless contemplated phased development atop the Plateau.  CTU did not support the Governor's proposal, as it still failed to protect the vital cutthroat trout watersheds within the Roan Plateau planning area.  Click here for more on the Governor's proposal and CTU's reaction.

In March 2008, BLM issued a second record of decision continuing the direction laid out in its first but addressing what it had defined as "Areas of Critical Environmental Concern" (ACECs)- including some of the Plateau's high-value native cutthroat trout habitats.  ACECs would enjoy protections from surface occupancy and ground disturbance - but those protections can  be waived by the BLM.

A copy of the BLM's Record of Decision can be viewed at the BLM's Roan Plateau website.