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Pinedale Online > News > November 2006 > 2006-2007 BLM Wildlife Winter Range Exceptions

Wildlife Closure area. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
Wildlife Closure area
Antelope walk across a road behind the closed gate of one of the Mesa wildlife closure areas south of Pinedale. This picture was taken in the winter of 2005, 1/4 mile west of the southern end of Paradise Road in the Pinedale Anticline.

Drill Rig Activity. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
Drill Rig Activity
A truck goes to a drill rig in the Jonah Field, winter 2005.

Winter drilling. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
Winter drilling
Natural gas companies would like to be able to drill year-round. Companies have donated millions of dollars for wildlife research and off-site mitigation projects. Picture taken winter 2005.

Area Map. Photo by .
Area Map
Area map showing the location of the Pinedale Anticline and Jonah Field. Map by Ultra Petroleum.
2006-2007 BLM Wildlife Winter Range Exceptions
Allowing gas companies access to areas normally closed to protect crucial big game wintering areas
by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online!
November 13, 2006

(Pinedale) – There has been a lot of recent publicity and debate about the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) decision to grant exemptions to winter range restrictions on the Mesa south of Pinedale for oil and gas drilling activity.

Wildlife biologists are concerned with recent studies that indicate poor range conditions and decreases in mule deer and antelope populations in the area, while natural gas companies are trying to get longer drilling seasons to maximize the economics of their drilling efforts and man-power utilization. Companies requesting exceptions are Ultra, Shell, Exxon, Anschutz, Chevron, EOG, Stone and BP.

Wyoming Game & Fish (WYG&F) recently sent a letter to the BLM recommending no further exceptions be granted for industry this winter. Recent vegetation studies indicate plant growth rates this past summer on the Mesa winter range are a fraction of normal, likely due to more than six years of drought that has impacted much of the West.

Of the 22 exemptions in front of the BLM for 2006-2007, 14 have already been granted. Decisions on eight have not yet been announced to the public.

One point that is being missed in some of the recent news media stories about the issue is that most of the drilling exceptions being requested and granted are for two-week or less time periods in November and December. These exceptions are tied to a specific company and to a specific drill rig location. These are not broad-brush permissions to allow all companies to go everywhere on the Mesa during the entire winter.

Of the 22 exemption requests for this winter season, 17 are 3-15 day, short-term activity requests for access to specific drill sites in November and December in order to complete wells, plug and abandon wells, install pipelines or monitor flowback.

There are five requests for longer time period exceptions. Four of those five exception requests are for well sites in the Jonah Field south of Highway 351, not in the Pinedale Anticline or on the Mesa. Only one of the five long-term exemption requests, Ultra’s deep drill well, is located on the Mesa. It is on the very southern end of the Mesa within one mile of Highway 351, approximately one mile from the New Fork River, three miles west of the main Pinedale Anticline drilling activity area. That request is for access from November 10, 2006 through May 17, 2007 in order to drill the well.

According to BLM Pinedale Field Manager Dennis Stenger at the most recent meeting of the new Pinedale Anticline Working Group (PAWG) on November 6th, “The BLM typically does not give exceptions beyond the two-week exception period.”

“At this time there are no new proposals for drilling throughout the winter,” Stenger told the PAWG. He added that the BLM has a commitment to try to maintain the viability of wildlife herds on the Mesa.

The BLM has a web page where the 2006-2007 Wildlife Exceptions for the Pinedale Field Office are posted online. The information can be found at http://www.wy.blm.gov/pfo/wildlife/wild_2006_2007.htm.



Related Links
  • (PAWG) Socio-Economic Task Group, Report and Monitoring Plan - Pinedale Anticline Working Group report to the BLM (April, 2005)

  • Mesa Antelope. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Mesa Antelope
    A group of antelope in the winter range closure area adjacent to the Pinedale Anticline, winter of 2005, near Paradise Road.

    Gas Pipelines. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Gas Pipelines
    New gas pipelines from the Pinedale Anticline have significantly reduced the number of needed truck trips into the area. Winter 2005.

    Deer on a ranch pasture. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Deer on a ranch pasture
    Some local ranchers near the Pinedale Anticline have noticed increasing numbers of deer and antelope in their fields during the winter, including this ranch 12 miles west of the heart of the drilling activity in the Pinedale Anticline and Jonah Field, near Highway 351. Winter 2005.

    Antelope on ridgetop. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Antelope on ridgetop
    A large group of antelope congregate on a hilltop. Picture taken from U.S. Highway 189, between Daniel and Big Piney, west of the Mesa. Fence is the highway right-of-way fenceline. Winter 2005.

    Antelope on ridgetop. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Antelope on ridgetop
    Same ridgetop as in previous photo, further south, showing more of the animals using that area for winter range, west of the Mesa. Winter 2005.

    Deer on ranch. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Deer on ranch
    Mule deer use Pinedale and area ranches as part of their winter ranges to survive the winter. Deer easily adapt to town environments and readily forage on urban landscaping.

    Deer use ranch pastures. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Deer use ranch pastures
    Deer use area ranches as part of their winter range territory. This ranch is west of the Pinedale Anticline and the Mesa. Picture taken December, 2005.

    Sagebrush on the Mesa. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Sagebrush on the Mesa
    Biologists note that new growth on sagebrush in the Mesa this past summer is a fraction of what it has been in non-drought years. Picture taken in the Jonah Field, winter 2005.

    Winter Range. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Winter Range
    Antelope use the rolling, open sagebrush hills of the Mesa south of Pinedale during the winter because the snow rarely gets very deep, making travel easier, and they can find forage above the snow. The Green and New Fork Rivers transect the Mesa, providing water and a greater variety of plants to eat. Big game are also attracted to ranches in the area and feed on hay ranchers put out for their cattle and horses in the winter.
    Pinedale Online > News > November 2006 > 2006-2007 BLM Wildlife Winter Range Exceptions

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