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Mission 21 · Ouray National Wildlife Refuge, UT

Vernal oil and gas amendment

Ouray National Wildlife Refuge

The agency files it as “Notice of Intent To Amend the Vernal Resource Management Plan for Oil and Gas Leasing and Prepare an Associated Environmental Assessment, Utah”

Timing

The agency stopped taking comments on October 5. What you find still counts: it backs the formal objections from people who did comment, it goes to the lawyers on the fight, and it is the story.

What to go and check

At Ouray National Wildlife Refuge, photograph the refuge water itself: the ponds and wetland pools, where water enters and leaves them, how full they are right now, and any birds or animals using them. Date every shot.

The decision

The BLM's Utah office is proposing to amend the Vernal Resource Management Plan to open federal minerals beneath the Ouray National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas leasing, with a no surface occupancy stipulation that would allow directional drilling from outside the refuge boundary. This action requires a NEPA Environmental Assessment, and the agency is currently opening a public scoping period to

Read the whole thing, and write to the agency about it

How to record it so it counts

  1. 01Photograph the source and its surroundings: the wet ground, the vegetation, any pipe, trough or diversion.
  2. 02Photograph the flow with something in the frame that shows it is moving, or note that it is standing.
  3. 03Photograph any use by wildlife or stock: tracks, trampling, a trough.
  4. 04Note the date and time; springs change with a season.
  5. 05Write one paragraph. If you’ve known this spring for years, say what you’ve seen it do.
What would count
  • Water in the frame on a dated photo where the document said dry.
  • The years you’ve known it, in your own words.
All of it, with the phone settings, in the field guide
Are you going?

Say yes or no. It tells the next person whether anyone has this ground covered, and it is the only way we know a request was answered rather than just read. You can change your mind any time, and nobody follows up.

Join, then say you’re going

Nobody has answered yet

Before you go
  1. Public land only. Plenty of land inside a national forest or park boundary is privately owned, and that is not yours to walk on. A gate or a closure sign means stop. Check the rules for the specific place you are going, because they differ.
  2. Don’t touch survey stakes, flagging, equipment or anything a crew left. Photograph it; leave it.
  3. Don’t approach crews, contractors or agency staff about the project. Don’t interfere with any operation.
  4. Wildlife at a distance. No drones in wilderness or anywhere they’re prohibited. Stay off closed roads and trails.
  5. If you’re not sure, don’t. Weather, terrain, water, fire and people are your call, and yours alone.

More Than Just Parks doesn’t direct where you go or what you do. Terms.