Stand up for the quality of life in Delta County

Dear Editor:

If you ask folks in the North Fork Valley and the rest of Delta County what they like about this place, you often get the answer "The quality of life. I like the quality of life here and I don't want it to change."

"Quality of life" means different things to different people. It might mean enjoying the views, four-wheeling in the West Elks Wilderness, snow-mobiling on Grand Mesa, growing your own food. It could mean a safe place to raise kids or a community that supports itself. Or it could mean a place where you have the freedom to live your life and the government doesn't tell you what to do with your house and property.

Well, your quality of life is now threatened. Big government and big corporations propose to occupy the public and private lands surrounding the North Fork of the Gunnison with oil and gas leases. Life will change in Delta County if the BLM lease sale of 30,730.27 acres goes through.

Some people argue that this is a good thing. It will add jobs and bring money to the county. But, think about it. In other places in the West, oil and gas companies brought in workers from other places. They set up man-camps to house outsiders. The jobs went to these outsiders, not the locals. In other places in the West, the locals put up with out-of-state truck traffic, bore the burden of fixing the roads, and must protect themselves from the increase in crime by the outsiders. In other places in the West, the water has been used up or contaminated and caused destruction of farms and ranchland.

So if you really want to preserve the quality of life in Delta County, then stand up for it. Tell big government and big corporations they can't take your property rights and our public lands. Just say "NO" to oil and gas leasing in the North Fork Valley. Write to the BLM. Comments must be submitted in writing by Jan. 9, 2012, to the BLM Uncompahgre Field Office, Attn: Oil and Gas Lease Sale, 2465 S. Townsend Ave., Montrose, CO 81401, fax 240-5368 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Elaine Brett

Hotchkiss

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