The development proposed by Bill Barrett Corp. would encompass 137,000 acres, or about 215 square miles on the back side of the Book Cliffs. Trucks that now rumble along the Nine Mile Canyon National Backcountry Byway would be joined by even more big trucks and semitrailers, making hundreds of trips past the irreplaceable art left by Fremont Indians who lived in the area from 400 to 1200 A.D.
Another certainty is that exploration for gas and oil in the larger area around the San Rafael Swell is going to expand. The region contains some of the richest oil and gas deposits in the lower 48 states. Thousands of acres have been opened up for exploration through the sale of 10-year leases, which has rapidly accelerated under the Bush administration. The Bureau of Land Management has issued 4,000 to 5,000 new drilling permits in Utah in the past several years and expects 1,200 new applications this year.
What is less certain is whether the BLM can protect the area's most sensitive lands while maximizing the region's energy development potential. The agency has promised to take "every reasonable measure" to ensure the area's priceless archaeological resources will not be damaged. It has set distance requirements to keep equipment away from the rock art and guidelines to keep the company from impairing wilderness study areas.
The agency vowed to monitor all the company's activities.
Those promises were made last year when BBC was doing seismic studies for only 38 wells. Since then, the BLM has been inundated with applications for drilling permits. Its staffs are strapped trying to keep up with environmental assessments and are falling behind.
We believe it is possible for gas exploration and drilling to be done without permanently damaging the fragile archaeological treasures in the area, but only if Bill Barrett Corp. is monitored and rules and guidelines are enforced.
That is a difficult job that grows exponentially as more square miles in Utah are found promising for gas and oil extraction and the industry scrambles for ever more drilling permits. But it is a job that must be done. Natural treasures need not, and should not, be sacrificed on the altar of energy.
