Bill would put Roan lease areas in wilderness

Draft legislation by a Denver congresswoman for new Colorado wilderness areas could trigger debate about whether wilderness and drilling can exist side by side on the Roan Plateau near Rifle. U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, a Democrat, included the Roan Plateau in legislation that she released last week for discussion purposes. Her plan would create 34 wilderness areas covering 890,000 acres. The proposal includes more than 40,000 acres encompassing much of the 55,000 acres that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management leased last year for oil and gas development on and around the Roan Plateau top. Federal wilderness is off-limits to activities such as vehicle use and energy development. Spokesman Kristofer Eisenla said DeGette’s proposal would designate wilderness in valleys and cliff areas, whereas many of the proposed drilling locations are just off roads that follow the tops of ridgelines. “Feasibly, they could probably coexist together,” Eisenla said...read more