Contested roadless areas auctioned off (CO)

[struggle4progress]

By David Frey, 8-11-06

Several roadless areas in and around the White River National Forest were offered up for oil and gas drilling on Thursday over the protests of environmentalists who hoped to keep the lands off limits.

The Bureau of Land Management leased 21,787 roadless acres in the White River and Grand Mesa-Uncompahgre-Gunnison National Forest for gas exploration in its quarterly auction in Lakewood. The combined leases sold for $1.4 million.

A group of environmental organizations, joined by some local outfitters and representatives of the outdoor manufacturing industry, have protested the roadless leases, hoping to see areas without roads stay that way. Although the sales already took place, the buyers' money is held in escrow until the BLM rules on the protest. BLM officials refused to disclose the buyers until the protest is settled, but buyers are often middlemen who buy them on behalf of energy companies.

The environmental groups are considering a lawsuit in the event they're unsuccessful in the protest or on appeal. They had asked the Forest Service and BLM to hold off on the sale until a state roadless task force had wrapped up its review of the protections it hoped to see in place in roadless areas across the state. That task force concluded that roads should be barred from future gas leases on all roadless areas ...

http://www.newwest.net/index.php/topic/article/10737/C74/L38
http://www.aspendailynews.com/article_15390

[whistle]

1. It's the system stupid...Imperialistic capitalism requires a continuous

...and expanding supply of land, labor and natural resources for exploitation and profits and what offers the greatest potential are public lands. The ruling power class will take what they want and tell to rest of us to go fuck ourselves (i.e. Dick Cheney's own words).

[enough]

2. k&r