OIL LEASING SPARKS DEBATE
The U.S.
Forest Service’s proposal to open 370,000 acres south of
Yellowstone National Park to oil and gas leasing is drawing
opposition. The proposal centers on Wyoming, home to wildlife,
including wolves and grizzly bears. Environmentalists say drilling
threatens the area that serves as a wildlife corridor between the
Gros Ventre and Bridger wilderness areas. “Once a company buys the
privilege to lease, there is no point of return,” says Caroline
Byrd, an attorney with the Wyoming Outdoor Council. The Forest
Service initially planned a brief environmental assessment of the
project; now, the agency has decided to complete a more
comprehensive environmental impact statement. The study, still in
the preliminary “scoping” phase, has already drawn 1,500 comments,
most of them opposing the development, according to Forest Service
spokesman Scott Fitzwilliams. “This is going to be bigger than the
Rocky Mountain Front,” he says.
Though the
comment period for scoping ended Feb. 2, you can direct questions
to the Bridger National Forest, P.O. Box 1888, Jackson, WY 83001,
307/739-5500, or call the Wyoming Outdoor Council at
307/332-7031.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Oil leasing sparks debate.
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