Revisions to federal inventory of oil and gas deposits could leave wildlife in the lurch

[NVMojo]

Today: December 04, 2006 at 7:23:22 PST

Editorial: Protections still needed
Revisions to federal inventory of oil and gas deposits could leave wildlife in the lurch

The Interior Department has released a new report in which the Bush administration says about half of the oil and more than 25 percent of the natural gas found under federal land is off-limits to drilling because of environmental restrictions.

According to a recent story by the Associated Press, the report says that only 3 percent of oil deposits and 13 percent of natural gas contained beneath 99 million acres of federal land may be accessed under Bureau of Land Management's standard leases, which require only basic protections for cultural and environmental resources. Companies can drill for another 46 percent of the oil and 60 percent of gas deposits only after abiding by more stringent restrictions, designed to prevent erosion, protect antelopes' winter forage and bald eagles' nesting areas.

Energy industry officials lobbied Congress for creation of this new report, which drastically revises the findings of a 2003 Interior Department inventory of the same oil and natural gas deposits. That 2003 report, the AP says, covered 59 million acres in the Rocky Mountains, where it said more than 80 percent of the energy deposits were accessible, even though they were subject to restrictions.

more...

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/sun/2006/dec/04/566614165.html