Today, while government leaders convene from across the world at the Global Climate Action Summit, the United States Environmental Protection Agency released their plan to weaken critical methane pollution protections. Last summer we went to D.C. to comment on the…
Photo: Rob Zeigler Last spring, Secretary Zinke instructed the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to defer a lease sale in the Greater Chaco region due to a need for “more study.” This December, they plan to auction those same parcels…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 2, 2018 Colorado County and Conservation Groups Sue Trump Administration Again Over Southwest Colorado Oil and Gas Leases San Miguel County, Rocky Mountain Wild, the San Juan Citizens’ Alliance, and Conservation Colorado filed another lawsuit against…
Two years ago, we and our partners challenged the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on the leasing of 20,000 acres in the Santa Fe National Forest to oil and gas drilling. At that point, the BLM hadn’t (and still hasn’t)…
The road for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) methane waste rule has been long and winding, and unfortunately we’re not at the end. Last week, however, we threw a big wrench in Secretary Zinke’s never-ending attempts to rollback this…
Last night, we heard news we didn’t dare hope for: Secretary Zinke canceled next week’s oil and gas lease sale in Greater Chaco. This is because of you. You and thousands of others who spoke up and said drilling without a…
After hundreds of you spoke up in support of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) methane rule, Secretary Zinke is gutting it. In a move that proves the Administration will bend to corporate interests over public interests, Zinke just put…
Regulations around energy production can be complicated, but it’s also really important to our region’s ability to pursue local renewable energy through our rural cooperatives. This week, we joined forces with our partners at Local First to file a motion to…
Photo: Rob Zeigler The BLM is going further and further out of its way to avoid public input, but we’re not going to let them get away with it. When they released the protests for the March 2018 lease sale,…
This fall, over 175,000 people commented against a proposed delay of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) methane rule, a rule that is particularly important for those of us under the Four Corners Methane Hotspot and suffer the royalty losses,…
Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issuing a one-year delay of the BLM methane regulations, pushing aside 175,000 public comments, a vast majority of westerners, and the public interest of New Mexico. Read the full press release below, learn…
Photo: Anna Peterson Last week, we took three big steps toward a local, renewable energy future. We unveiled the extent of grassroots support in Durango, gained the City of Durango as an enthusiastic ally, and finally felt a breeze…
This administration is committed to rolling back environmental and public health protections for the benefit of corporate profits. And they have perseverence. First they tried to erase the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) methane waste rule entirely using the Congressional…
The San Juan Generating Station and San Juan Mine coal complex (SJGS/SJM) is New Mexico’s single largest polluter. While the facilities provide electricity to 500,000 customers, and employ several hundred of our community members, they do so at a great…
Yesterday, alongside our members and tribal partners, we took to D.C. to stand up for clean air. Since entering office, the Trump Administration has attacked both Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) methane regulations. We saved…
This week, despite recognizing the disproportionate impact it will have on our children, the Bureau of Land Management and Environmental Protection Agency both postponed the implementation of their methane regulations so they can revisit and rewrite them. Delaying and…
In March, we were forced to file a Freedom of Information Act Request (FOIA) to see the public comments on the Silverton heli-ski expansion. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Gunnison Field Office refused to provide public access to the…
In these trying times for environmental advocates, good news deserves emphatic celebration. And boy, do we have good news! As we previously told you, the San Juan National Forest (SJNF) has been facing the threat of a new era of…
This is our last chance to submit scoping comments on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) plan for oil and gas leasing in Greater Chaco. The BLM is telling us they don’t have a choice, that they have to lease: This is…
Today, the U.S.House of Representatives put the special interests of big oil and gas companies ahead of the public interest by voting to roll back the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) methane rule. The measure now heads to the Senate….
On Tuesday, four Navajo Nation chapter presidents, impacted community members, and one NM State Representative met with State Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Amy Lueders. The group requested a cancellation of the January 2017 oil and gas lease sale…
The oil and gas industry is no longer exempt from reporting toxic releases publicly through the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI). EPA estimates the oil and gas industry releases more toxic chemicals than any other industry, save power plants. Yet, they haven’t been…
Chaco just got a huge break. Friday afternoon, Saddle Butte San Juan Midstream LLC (“Saddle Butte”) withdrew their proposal for the Piñon Gathering System Project, better know as the Piñon Pipeline, in northwest New Mexico. The 150-mile pipeline would have carried 50,000 barrels per…
This is getting ridiculous. This week, with many partners, we submitted our protest to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Farmington Field Office’s January 2017 oil and gas lease sale – a lease sale that shouldn’t be happening in the first place….
In 2014 we (the San Juan Basin) became the national methane hotspot. Last month we had a huge win in curbing the hotspot with the passing of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)’s methane standards… and they’re already under attack. But before…
Today we filed a motion to intervene in the case recently brought against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) methane rule. The rule would protect the climate, public health, and our economy. It would also help address the Four Corners methane hotspot….
91% of public lands in northwest New Mexico are already leased for drilling… much of the last 9% is in Greater Chaco, and now the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) wants to frack for oil and gas there, too. In…
Today, the Obama Administration released the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) methane rule, aimed at curbing natural gas waste on public and tribal lands. It’s a win-win regulation. The standard will help to end the waste of valuable public resources,…
Today, the Obama Administration released the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) methane rule, aimed at curbing natural gas waste on public and tribal lands. It’s a win-win regulation. The standard will help to end the waste of valuable public resources,…
Friends, At the close of the constitutional convention in 1787, Ben Franklin strode out the doors of Independence Hall to be greeted by a question from an onlooker in the crowd. “Well, Doctor, what have we got—a Republic or a…
What changed? Right now, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Farmington Field Office (FFO) is amending its 2003 Resource Management Plan (RMP) to include new industrial fracking in Greater Chaco. The process recently reopened for official public comment until December…
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Farmington Field Office has agreed that their 2003 Resource Management Plan (RMP) does not sufficiently plan for fracking around Chaco Canyon. Yet, while they amend their RMP to reflect this awareness, they are still approving…
It’s easy to overlook what’s happening in oil and gas fields. Most of us don’t live at ground zero and the pollution is often invisible to the human eye. So, last weekend SJCA bussed folks from Durango, CO 45-miles south to Bloomfield, NM. We examined…
Area threatened by existing oil and gas development (yellow) on top of public lands (blue) in Northwest New Mexico. See oilandgasthreatmap.com for interactive map. You can’t drive through Northwest New Mexico and Southwest Colorado and miss our region’s oil…
This week we received evidence of a local public servant sacrificing the public interest for personal gain. Federal investigators released results of their inquiry into Steve Henke’s conduct while head of New Mexico’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Farmington Field…
Today NASA published a report that confirms the energy industry, primarily the natural gas extraction industry, is responsible for the Four Corners methane hotspot. The Four Corners methane hotspot is yet another environmental climate and public health disaster served to our…
Yesterday, Chaco got a moment to breathe. BLM’s Farmington Field Office announced it would not auction parcels in Greater Chaco for fracking leases as planned in October. This is the third time the sale of these three parcels has been postponed….
As the world transforms in response to technological innovation and evolving political preferences, chaos claws at order, building the future with every rip and tear. It’s a painful thing, this process. Inevitable, yes, but still painful. In April, San Juan…
Today the Environmental Protection Agency finalized standards for dangerous oil and gas methane pollution from new infrastructure. These are the first-ever national safeguards limiting methane waste and pollution and will go far to protect public health, address climate change, and…
The Bureau of Land Management in Farmington, NM hasn’t updated it’s 2003 Resource Management Plan (RMP) since horizontal fracking technologies became viable in the Four Corners. Currently, they are revising the RMP to reflect these new technologies. Yet, at the…
The Four Corners Power Plant (FCPP) and Navajo Mine complex is a massive source of pollution. It can’t be permitted to operate until 2041. Learn More. Amid last year’s crumbling coal economy, and despite promises to address climate change, the Obama Administration approved a…
Last week Peabody Coal joined Arch, Alpha, Patriot, and other US companies in bankruptcy. This progression of bankruptcies is raising a myriad of concerns about the financial viability of coal, the future costs of clean up, the dangers of self-bonding,…
This is part of our Wolf Creek Files blog series. Each post explains, in detail, the context behind an email or string of emails: who is writing, what is being discussed, and why it concerns us. Click here to see…
BLM deferred the sale of three oil and gas lease parcels near Chaco Canyon … again. It’s the third time. The deferment is a huge win, and it clearly illustrates the need for the BLM to complete its ongoing Resource Management Plan Amendment. As…
“This path must be paved with common sense policy changes that address our near-term climate challenges, aid coal-dependent communities to help them emerge from transition more sustainable and prosperous, defend taxpayers and the broader American interest, and protect our legacy of public lands.” In…
This morning President Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a pact between the two countries to take climate change head on. They announced intentions to reduce methane pollution from oil and gas industry by 40-45 percent over the…
“It is one of the best elk hunting experiences … people wait upwards of ten years to actually get the tag … and it would be forever changed to have a population center in literally a world class elk unit.”…
This is part of our Wolf Creek Files blog series. Each post explains, in detail, the context behind an email or string of emails: who is writing, what is being discussed, and why it concerns us. Click here to see…
“It makes me feel like bad decisions keep following bad decisions.” For three decades we have fought to protect Wolf Creek Pass from Texas-billionaire Red McCombs’ “Village at Wolf Creek” development. Wolf Creek Pass is a remote landscape in southwest…
This is part of our Wolf Creek Files blog series. Each post explains, in detail, the context behind an email or string of emails: who is writing, what is being discussed, and why it concerns us. Click here to see…
“There’s a sense of… disgust and outrage with our federal agency employees who know better.” For three decades we have fought to protect Wolf Creek Pass from Texas-billionaire Red McCombs’ “Village at Wolf Creek” development. Wolf Creek Pass is a…
Hey all, there is a really important meeting on Tuesday, February 16th in Farmington that we want you to know about. It’s from 1-4 pm, which we know is hard for a lot of people. If you can make it,…
This is part of our Wolf Creek Files blog series. Each post explains, in detail, the context behind an email or string of emails: who is writing, what is being discussed, and why it concerns us. Click here to see…
Our attorney’s dug through the “Wolf Creek Files” and what they found confirmed our worst fears: The National Forest Service was in collusion with developer Red “B.J.” McCombs, again. We’re sharing the evidence with you. Ever had the desire to read through…
“Where is that balance between economic development and sustainability, and preservation of the ecosystem?” For three decades we have fought to protect Wolf Creek Pass from Texas-billionaire Red McCombs’ “Village at Wolf Creek” development. Wolf Creek Pass is a remote…
This is the first in our Wolf Creek Files blog series. Each post will explain, in detail, the context behind an email or string of emails: who is writing, what is being discussed, and why it concerns us. WHO:…
“I think that the only hope we have to preserve this area is by the gathering of community to fight with political power.” For three decades we have fought to protect Wolf Creek Pass from Texas-billionaire Red McCombs’ “Village at…
Great news. Today the BLM released its proposed methane waste rule. We’ve worked on the rule, and advised BLM on its contents, with our partners Western Environmental Law Center and Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment. The rule is 300 pages,…
Our attorney’s dug through the “Wolf Creek Files” and what they found confirmed our worst fears: The National Forest Service was in collusion with developer Red “B.J.” McCombs, again. Emails show the agency concealed and destroyed information about the “Village at Wolf…
Photo Credit: EcoFlight This is a huge moment. Today we joined together with Diné CARE and other regional and national conservation groups to seek justice for the communities and species threatened by the the Four Corners Power Plant and Navajo…
We’re about to finally discover what the Forest Service has been hiding for over a year and a half. ———— Ever had the desire to read through and analyze 69,701 pages of correspondences and reports? No? That’s okay, we’re doing…
“Isn’t that over? Wasn’t McCombs’ deal approved?” I keep hearing this, despite the fact that San Juan Citizens Alliance, and Friends of Wolf Creek partners, continue fighting tooth and nail (in three lawsuits) to prevent the construction of a massive…
The Forest Service is stalling again. Last month, partner organization Rocky Mountain Wild (RMW) won a lawsuit against the Forest Service for inappropriately withholding public documents that RMW requested in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) concerning the proposed development…
In June nearly 40 artists convened on top of Wolf Creek Pass to celebrate its beauty and draw inspiration from the landscape. The over 70 pieces that resulted from the art day day are arriving at the Taylor Raymond Gallery…
We have some excellent news. The fight for Wolf Creek Pass continues, but today we took a great step forward. The Forest Service has not been transparent with the public about the “Village at Wolf Creek” project. Today we are thrilled to…
