ICYMI: Colorado BLM and Helen Hankins come under fire for ‘irresponsible’ drilling approach

Over the past few weeks, Colorado Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Helen Hankins has come under fire in the press, from local community leaders and others for her skewed and unbalanced approach to public land use.

A former superintendent of Dinosaur National Monument recently took Dir. Hankins to task in a Denver Post column, calling her drilling proposals ‘irresponsible’.

“Unfortunately, things are out of balance in Colorado. Bureau of Land Management state director Helen Hankins has proposed oil and gas leasing next to both Dinosaur National Monument and Mesa Verde National Park.” – Denny Huffman, former Dinosaur National Monument Superintendent, Irresponsible drilling proposals for national parks, Denver Post, January 29, 2013

In December, the current superintendent of Dinosaur National Monument publicly stated that the Monument had asked Hankins to defer or withdraw the leases, specially citing the following concerns:

“Our concerns would be cumulative impacts on air quality, on groundwater quantity and quality, night skies, soundscapes, migration routes of animals … and potential impacts on the endangered fish species in the rivers.” – Mary Risser, superintendent, Dinosaur National Monument, “North Fork oil, gas leasing protested,” Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, 18 December 2012.

Following public outcry and concerns raised by the current superintendent of the Monument, Dir. Hankins deferred the leases bordering Dinosaur National Monument from the upcoming February lease sale.

The North Fork leases originally scheduled for sale in 2012 generated 3,000 public comments from the valley’s 9,500 residents, most in opposition.  At a recent meeting with Colorado BLM, the town of Crawford raised concerns about one of the lease parcels located close to the town’s elementary school, popular hiking trail and transmissions lines.

While a local realtor in the North Fork Valley is:

“already seeing significant economic impacts from the mere threat of leasing happening, not even the lease sale going through.”

In a recent press release about Colorado BLM’s White River draft oil and gas resource management plan, sportsmen groups pointed to the BLM’s use of ‘seriously outdated information on mule deer numbers’, saying that:

 “The BLM’s plan to allow up to 15,000 new oil and gas wells in the Piceance Basin could be nothing short of a death sentence for one of the country’s largest mule deer herds and the greater sage-grouse, a species already teetering on the brink of no return.’’ – Kate Zimmerman, National Wildlife Federation’s public lands policy director, Wildlife Groups blast BLM plan for Colo,’s White River, January 30, 2013

John Ellenberger, the state’s former big game manager, said the BLM plan is full of holes and doesn’t address some basic issues, including how baseline data on wildlife will be gathered. He called the management approach that could result in high levels of disturbance in key wildlife habitat “unprecedented.’’ – Wildlife Groups blast BLM plan for Colo,’s White River, January 30, 2013.

Earlier this week, the Delta County Independent reported that Dir. Hankins refused requests from local community groups to meet and discuss the proposed leases, and at a recent Paonia Town Council meeting Dir. Hankins didn’t allow any questions from the public.

Jim Ramey, director of Citizens For A Healthy Community (CHC), said last Friday:

“We were greatly disappointed that state director Hankins …ignored our request for them to meet with community residents. We have consistently called upon the BLM to hold a public hearing in order to communicate directly with the concerned residents of the North Fork Valley, and the UFO and BLM’s Colorado office have consistently refused.” – Explanations do little to soothe concerns, Delta County Independent, January 31, 2013

The BLM answered questions from town council members only, making it clear they would not address any questions from the audience. – Explanations do little to soothe concerns, Delta County Independent, January 31, 2013

A new Colorado Pols blog, State BLM office spins fiction, Flubs North Fork PR tour, takes Dir. Hankins and the Colorado BLM office to task for misrepresenting facts – including not knowing their own mission.

This all seems to point to the Colorado BLM’s confounding confusion about its actual mission in managing the public’s lands. For instance State Director Hankins has claimed that “The first goal of the Department of Interior is to work towards energy independence.”

 But that’s not what the Department of Interior states, on its website, in a section entitled Our Mission: Protecting America’s Great Outdoors and Powering Our Future.

“The US Department of the Interior protects America’s natural resources and heritage, honors our cultures and tribal communities, and supplies the energy to power our future.”

The blog also calls out Dir. Hankins and her staff for not listening to the concerns of residents and business owners in Paonia, citing a quote from the town’s mayor:

“So (here’s) what I heard this morning, we heard a lot from BLM on process, and it didn’t really answer people’s questions. People felt not heard, although we all sat here and we tried to convey. I’ve heard the word ‘condescending.” – Paonia mayor Neil Schwieterman, Crowd gathers to question BLM in Paonia, KNVF Radio, January 23, 2013

Colorado BLM using stalling tactic at Mesa Verde, new drilling proposals could come back this summer

Is Colorado BLM Director Helen Hankins backpedaling on decisions to halt controversial drilling plans next to Mesa Verde National Park, Dinosaur National Monument, and in North Fork Valley?

Barely a month after deferring oil and gas leasing decisions, Dir. Hankins’ staff are showing signs she is planning to welch on her office’s commitment to protect national parks and the heart of North Fork’s economic and agricultural center.

Earlier this week, the Durango Herald reported that:

[Connie] Clementson [Field Manager of the BLM Tres Rios office] made clear that the decision to defer the leases in Southwest Colorado does not take that land off the table for future development. After the BLM answers all the protests received about the lease sale, the land could be renominated for leasing as soon as August or November, Clementson said.

The Tres Rios field office manages lands near Mesa Verde National Park. The National Park Service criticized Dir. Hankins plans to offer leases for drilling on these lands and cited the lack of coordination by her staff.

When BLM announced the oil and gas deferrals near North Fork’s agricultural community, the Montrose Daily Press reported the following comments by Colorado BLM Communications Director Stephen Hall:

The deferral is not permanent, but the parcels won’t be offered for lease any time soon, said Steve Hall, communications director for the BLM in Colorado. “We didn’t put a timeframe on it. It’s safe to say we aren’t going to have them up (for bid) in the near future,” he said. “But we didn’t do what some had asked, which is defer them until the new resource management plan.”

Dir. Hankins already deferred those North Fork leases earlier in 2012, then reinstated most of them after the public scrutiny died down. Is that what she’s doing now? And does Dir. Hankins plan to reoffer these same, heavily protested leases based on 30-year-old data?  Instead of being a real estate agent for Big Oil and driving-up speculation on public lands, Hankins should do the right thing and put our national parks, water and local economies on equal ground with oil and gas development.

Local residents turn out to protest Colorado BLM’s controversial ‘lease first, plan later’ approach

Wednesday, South Park and the North Fork Valley residents and business owners turned out to protest BLM’s controversial ‘lease first, plan later’ approach to oil and gas drilling at the Colorado BLM Resource Advisory Council (RAC) meetings. The public’s testimony focused on the need for BLM to finish critical planning and studies before they lease lands, in order to protect water supplies, local economies and wildlife.

Colorado Wildlife Federation Executive Director, Suzanne O’Neil, called on Colorado BLM to create a Master Leasing Plan (MLP) before any lease permitting moves forward in South Park.

“…The MLP process equips the BLM and the community and other stakeholders to take a careful look at potential conflicts between oil and gas development and drinking water, gold medal fisheries, wildlife, archeological treasures…[and] will provide certainty for industry by identifying the lands for leasing which have the least amount of conflict. To lease parcels in the interim simply would undercut the ability to apply the MLP tools effectively.”

Representatives from Great Old Broads for Wilderness told Colorado BLM that it’s ‘unacceptable to proceed with business as usual’ on oil & gas leases – calling for a Master Leasing Plan first. They also called on the BLM to protect South Park water, which supplies water for Denver Metro residents.

Clean Water Action Colorado delivered 2,000 comments from South Park residents calling for BLM to complete a Master Leasing Plan in South Park immediately to protect Denver Metro water.

A Lafayette resident told the BLM “[you should be] ashamed of yourselves” for not taking a more robust stance against fracking. Later one of the Colorado BLM RAC members noted that Governor Hickenlooper might drink fracking fluids, but that he didn’t want to.

A representative from Be the Change, Phil Doe, called out the Colorado BLM for failing to complete a single study on the impacts of fracking on water quality, air quality or wildlife before moving forward with leasing plans in areas where fracking would likely occur- including South Park.

The Colorado BLM deferred parcels in South Park in response to outcry from county commissioners, water experts, residents and sportsmen. The deferred South Park leases were located next to three major water reservoirs that supply the Denver Metro area with drinking water.

Doe also chided the Colorado BLM for rushing leases without proper data and planning, when just 30% of land leased by BLM in the state is actually under production.

Residents from the North Fork Valley took the opportunity to call on Colorado BLM to halt lease decisions until critical planning has been finished. Sarah Souter from the Western Slope Conservation Center delivered 11,586 comments to BLM asking that they plan first and then lease.

Western Slope Cons. Center gives 11,586 sigs to @blmcolorado to ask That they finish plans beforeleasing in North Fork Valley #copolitics

— Checks and Balances (@CandBP) February 13, 2013

Souter called the deferrals a good step but ‘only temporary’. She also called on the Colorado BLM to engage in a meaningful conversation with local residents and business in order to come up with a balanced approach. Presumably her comments were related to Colorado BLM Director Helen Hankins’ previous refusal to meet with local groups or to take questions from residents at public meetings about the oil and gas leasing proposals.

The Colorado BLM meetings continue through the week, though both Senator Udall and Governor Hickenlooper have cancelled their scheduled appearances – leaving us wondering if BLM’s controversial drilling proposals are just too hot to handle these days.