I found this in a recent news bulletin from the Wildlife Management Institute. Actually someone forwarded it to me this morning and I thought I would pass it along. I don't know any of the details, so I can only provide one side of the story. Too quiet in here.
New BLM office building to cut off critical pronghorn migration route:
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has contracted to
construct a new office building for itself within a narrow corridor used by
an already seriously stressed segment of migratory pronghorn, reports the
Wildlife Management Institute.
When BLM allowed oil and gas development in the well-known
Trapper=s Point big game migration route along the Upper Green River, a few
miles west of Pinedale, Wyoming, the agency was met with a storm of
protest. Records from archaeological sites along the route document
thousands of years of mule deer and pronghorn migration and use of those
animals by aboriginal hunters. At the time, BLM managers professed not to
have known of the route=s importance and, under intense pressure from a
wide range of constituents, they backed off allowing some development.
Now, however, BLM officials appear to be about to add insult to
injury by repeating their mistake just a few miles closer to Pinedale. They
are on the verge of building a new Pinedale Field Office directly in the
path of about 1,500 pronghorn that pass each spring and fall through a
narrow 200-yard wide gap of remaining habitat (referred to as Aantelope
alley@) between the town of Pinedale and massive development in the
Pinedale Anticline gas field. Pinedale and Sublette County officials also
have contributed to constriction of the migration route by repeatedly
allowing new subdivisions and even municipal buildings to be constructed in
the path of the pronghorn.
The Pinedale area has changed markedly during just the last
five years. Wildlife corridors and other prime habitats that sustain the
wild beauty of the area and attract hunters and tourists are in jeopardy
from rapid, extensive development of the Pinedale Anticline and Jonah gas
fields. Residential growth and sprawl have occurred partly as a result of
an influx of people for the area=s wildlife and scenic beauty and partly to
accommodate large numbers of influx of energy field workers and their
families. Housing prices have skyrocketed and locals worry about Pinedale
becoming more like nearby Jackson Hole, where working people have trouble
affording to live.
With new hotels in place and a city bus barn under construction
in antelope alley, there seems to be no plan for sustaining pronghorn
migration when the path is blocked by the new BLM office. To the contrary,
because the BLM office is literally and figuratively permitting fast-paced
development in the surrounding area, with negative impacts on pronghorn and
other wildlife, conservationists are left to wonder what the agency is
thinking and doing by not only allowing, but causing a final blow to this
pronghorn migration route so close to town.
Apparently, no environmental analysis will be done to assess
the impact of the construction decision. Bald eagles use the area at
several times each year. Part of the area is wetland. There are a number of
important archaeological sites. The key concern, however, is what will
become of the pronghorn when the migration route is shut down.
Conservationists maintain a hope that BLM will not add to the
area=s loss of critical wildlife habitats by insensitive siting of its new
office building and, instead, that it will act to conserve and safeguard
the already jeopardized migration route. They argue that there is an
opportunity for BLM¾in partnership with Pinedale, Sublette County, and
property developers¾to show leadership and create a positive outcome for
all, by constructing the new office on one of many available sites,
including those offered by large acreages of nearby BLM-administered public
domain. Furthermore, if additional funding is required to effect this
responsible relocation, conservationists point to the $3+ billion dollars
in oil and gas revenues that were returned last year in Sublette County
alone. (rpd)
New BLM office building to cut off critical pronghorn migration route:
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has contracted to
construct a new office building for itself within a narrow corridor used by
an already seriously stressed segment of migratory pronghorn, reports the
Wildlife Management Institute.
When BLM allowed oil and gas development in the well-known
Trapper=s Point big game migration route along the Upper Green River, a few
miles west of Pinedale, Wyoming, the agency was met with a storm of
protest. Records from archaeological sites along the route document
thousands of years of mule deer and pronghorn migration and use of those
animals by aboriginal hunters. At the time, BLM managers professed not to
have known of the route=s importance and, under intense pressure from a
wide range of constituents, they backed off allowing some development.
Now, however, BLM officials appear to be about to add insult to
injury by repeating their mistake just a few miles closer to Pinedale. They
are on the verge of building a new Pinedale Field Office directly in the
path of about 1,500 pronghorn that pass each spring and fall through a
narrow 200-yard wide gap of remaining habitat (referred to as Aantelope
alley@) between the town of Pinedale and massive development in the
Pinedale Anticline gas field. Pinedale and Sublette County officials also
have contributed to constriction of the migration route by repeatedly
allowing new subdivisions and even municipal buildings to be constructed in
the path of the pronghorn.
The Pinedale area has changed markedly during just the last
five years. Wildlife corridors and other prime habitats that sustain the
wild beauty of the area and attract hunters and tourists are in jeopardy
from rapid, extensive development of the Pinedale Anticline and Jonah gas
fields. Residential growth and sprawl have occurred partly as a result of
an influx of people for the area=s wildlife and scenic beauty and partly to
accommodate large numbers of influx of energy field workers and their
families. Housing prices have skyrocketed and locals worry about Pinedale
becoming more like nearby Jackson Hole, where working people have trouble
affording to live.
With new hotels in place and a city bus barn under construction
in antelope alley, there seems to be no plan for sustaining pronghorn
migration when the path is blocked by the new BLM office. To the contrary,
because the BLM office is literally and figuratively permitting fast-paced
development in the surrounding area, with negative impacts on pronghorn and
other wildlife, conservationists are left to wonder what the agency is
thinking and doing by not only allowing, but causing a final blow to this
pronghorn migration route so close to town.
Apparently, no environmental analysis will be done to assess
the impact of the construction decision. Bald eagles use the area at
several times each year. Part of the area is wetland. There are a number of
important archaeological sites. The key concern, however, is what will
become of the pronghorn when the migration route is shut down.
Conservationists maintain a hope that BLM will not add to the
area=s loss of critical wildlife habitats by insensitive siting of its new
office building and, instead, that it will act to conserve and safeguard
the already jeopardized migration route. They argue that there is an
opportunity for BLM¾in partnership with Pinedale, Sublette County, and
property developers¾to show leadership and create a positive outcome for
all, by constructing the new office on one of many available sites,
including those offered by large acreages of nearby BLM-administered public
domain. Furthermore, if additional funding is required to effect this
responsible relocation, conservationists point to the $3+ billion dollars
in oil and gas revenues that were returned last year in Sublette County
alone. (rpd)
|oo
