High Country News

Results for keyword: energy development

The BLM struggles to get ahead of oil and gas development in the West

Master leasing plans, or MLPs, are a new tool designed to help the Bureau of Land Management better coordinate energy leasing and development in areas that may need special treatment or protection.

by Kimberly Hirai, Mar 14, 2012
Protecting wildlife corridors remains more theory than practice

There's a growing understanding of the scientific importance of wildlife migration corridors, but protecting them is a huge political challenge.

by Mary Ellen Hannibal, Dec 30, 2011
Why bother cooking what nature failed to finish?

A tar sands development proposed for Utah is insane on every level: economically, environmentally and just practically.

by Mike Duncan, Mar 21, 2011
Crude combat

Can U.S. environmentalists derail a huge Canadian tar sands project that affects this side of the border?

by Cally Carswell, Aug 11, 2010
Monstertruck alley

Imperial Oil's plan to transport gigantic equipment to Alberta, Canada, will require major work on highways in Idaho and Montana.

by Denver Nicks, Aug 10, 2010
The leasing protest game

Conservationists can file formal protests when the BLM wants to auction off public land to energy companies, but the differences between regional management plans and styles make the protest game little more than a crapshoot.

by April Reese, Apr 14, 2008
The hazards of the leasing game

Protecting environmentally sensitive Western lands from the current oil and gas frenzy is a challenge to the conservationists who file protests with the BLM.

by Paul Larmer, Apr 14, 2008
Hatching a plan for sage grouse

A new report suggests the battle to protect the greater sage grouse in Wyoming must be fought on many fronts.

by Christine Hoekenga, Oct 04, 2007
Who will pick up the pieces when this boom ends?

Mary Flitner remembers the last Sublette County energy boom in the 1950s and wonders whether there will be anything left of her community after this one.

by Mary Flitner, Jul 16, 2007
The need to remember Black Sunday

As western Colorado begins to dance to the tune of a brand-new energy boom, it’s good to remember that the last one ended in a total bust

by Jim Spehar, May 14, 2007