Rock the Earth continues to pursue one of our signature projects – protection of Colorado’s Roan Plateau. In December the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) finally released their draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the Roan, outlining four different alternatives that would provide options for natural gas extraction from this wildlife gem of Colorado’s Western Slope.
One alternative in the draft SEIS is Rock the Earth’s Community Alternative. The Colorado Federal District Court found that the BLM had failed to consider this alternative, and that finding served as a primary basis for rejection of the BLM’s original management plan for the Roan. The draft SEIS also includes a new Settlement Alternative which incorporates the terms and conditions laid out in the historic settlement agreement reached in 2014 between governmental agencies, drilling companies, and conservation and sportsmen communities.
Rock the Earth, in concert with the larger conservation community, submitted detailed comments backing the Settlement Alternative. Comments included suggested modifications concerning air-quality sampling, habitat preservation, wilderness eligibility, and wild and scenic river designation eligibility. Rock the Earth also suggested that some of the protections laid out in the Community Alternative be incorporated into the final SEIS.
To date, Rock the Earth fans have submitted nearly 7,000 comments to the BLM in support of permanent protection to this amazing wild land! It is our sincere hope that the BLM will finalize the SEIS process by the end of summer so that a protective plan can be in place by the start of 2017.
To read our full comment letter or to learn more on the Roan Plateau, visit the project page.