BLM, don’t be dissuaded by vocal minority
Dear Editor:
We hope the BLM refrains from rolling over to attempts to halt the North Fork Valley February 2013 gas lease sale.
I live in the North Fork Valley, actually in Paonia just across the street from a lease parcel, and hope that the lease sale goes forward; at least to the next step.
We as Americans need to promote the safe and environmentally sound recovery of our national resources. If the gas is here and it's under federal ownership, we owe it to all Americans to develop that resource.
BLM, please do not bow down to the wishes and whims of those who say NO. The BLM has done its study and is ready to proceed; we concur. All over the country drilling is proceeding without significant impact. The North Fork Valley is somewhat unique, YES; but that shouldn't prohibit the process to continue. Everyone believes their home is "sacred."
Ever visit San Juan River Valley where the river flows out of Navajo Lake in New Mexico? It's a great place. The valley is somewhat similar to our valley, meandering river full of fly fishermen, campgrounds along its banks; just a bit less irrigation. Also, there are plenty of pleasure boats on the lake itself. Another thing you'll notice if you look hard enough is that there are drill pads everywhere, I mean everywhere. There is also a great vineyard with winery right in the valley. The winery even has drill holes directly on the premise, you barely notice them. The grapes and wine are great; no negative influence of the drilling and gas production. Please go visit the San Juan Valley. Recovery of natural resources can exist along with all forms of agriculture and recreational activities all across the USA; the San Juan River valley is just one example.
BLM, please do not exempt a portion just because folks protest. I believe the majority of Delta County constituents are PRO DRILLING. The BLM will be overwhelmed by the local "vocal" minority and their scare tactics. The BLM will be overwhelmed by e-mails and calls from outsiders not only to the North Fork but to Colorado. BLM please continue with the due process.
As of Wednesday, Nov. 28, 994 people had signed a petition on the White House website which desires to withdraw the gas leases in the NFV. Of those, 729 listed their address. Guess how many were from the NFV? 195 were from our valley; that's 27 percent. Another 196 (27 percent) were from other areas of Colorado. The remainder, the other 46 percent, were all from out of state — New York, California, D.C., even Hawaii. Thus about 3/4 of the signers do not reside in the valley. This is important; as last year, when the sale initially came up word was that 3,000 or so comments were received in opposition to the sale. I think it would be reasonable to assume that the split of commenters at that time was similar to that of the WH petition signers. The local "vocal" minority has to rely on outsiders to get any real attention.
Yes, I work for a local energy company but I can and do speak for myself.
Please, BLM, let the process run its course. It's the right thing for America.
Jens Lange
Paonia