Colorado Wildlife Federation Secures Measures to Protect Wildlife and Habitat from the Impacts of Oil and Gas Development in Colorado

(National Wildlife Federation)

Colorado is undergoing an unprecedented boom in oil and gas development, with a record 6,368 new drilling permits issued last year.  This year is on pace to break that record.  Much of this development occurs in sensitive wildlife habitat for mule deer, elk, pronghorn, sage-grouse, and wild and native trout fisheries. Sportsmen and other wildlife advocates do not want to stop drilling, but we want to ensure it occurs in a way that leaves healthy wildlife populations, important habitat and corridors intact when the oil and gas boom ceases. 

Colorado Wildlife Federation is working to seek fair and meaningful safeguards to ensure energy development is adequately addressed during the planning process, mitigation standards for wildlife habitat degradation are put in place , and that the Colorado Division of Wildlife is consulted on applications to drilli that impact wildlife.  Together with NWF and the Colorado Mule Deer Association (CMDA), CWF collaborated in a consensus-based approach to develop and promote the Wildlife Habitat Stewardship Act (H.B. 1298). A critical accompanying piece of legislation, H.B. 1341, also passed reconfiguring the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) expanding the panel from 7 to 9 members and for the first time, provides wildlife and public health interests a seat at the table with directors of the state department of natural resources and public health and environment agencies.

The Act, which passed unanimously and was enacted in 2007, mandates the creation of rules to establish standards for minimizing adverse impacts to wildlife and fish. As a result of the collaborative efforts of CWF, NWF, CMDA, Colorado Trout Unlimited, other groups, and the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW), COGCC has provisionally approved the following proposed rules: encourage oil and gas operators to voluntarily develop comprehensive drilling plans in consultation with CDOW; require avoidance, where possible, of critical sites like native cutthroat trout fisheries and sage-grouse leks; encourage use of technology to reduce the number of sites and locations in sensitive habitats; provide common-sense operational measures, and encourage consultation with the CDOW to avoid imposition of fallback standards in sensitive wildlife habitat.

These rules were provisionally adopted by the COGCC this fall. They will take final action on the rules in December, and will be subject to legislative review in the 2009 session of the general assembly in January before taking effect on April 1, 2009. CWF is hiring a lobbyist and will work diligently with partners to ensure that the rules withstand any legislative challenges.

Read more about the Wildlife Habitat Stewardship Act here. To read the full text of the Wildlife Stewardship Habitat Act (H.B. 1298) click here. To follow the rulemaking process, visit COGCC. The CWF website also provides information at http://www.coloradowildlife.org/.