Williams holds leases on BLM land in the Roan Plateau Roan Plateau area, within habitat for DeBeque milkvetch, one of Colorado’s imperiled wildflowers.  This endemic species is known only from a small area around the Roan Plateau and the town of DeBeque, and is thought to survive across a total geographic range of only 300 square miles.  The plant is at risk of extinction from a variety of threats.  Foremost among these threats is the explosion of oil and gas drilling in and around the plant’s range. 

CNE and the Colorado Native Plant Society petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the DeBeque milkvetch under the Endangered Species Act in 2004.  In February of 2007 the Service denied Debeque milkvetch protection under the Act because they believed that BLM had mechanisms in place to avoid potential threats.  

This spring Williams was twice cited for noncompliance by the BLM for failing to implement required mitigations to protect a population of DeBeque milkvetch that was next to one of their well pads.  The first citation was issued when Williams failed to put up temporary fencing around the plants before they started clearing vegetation from the site.  The second citation was issued after Williams dumped fill material on some of the plants at the edge of their pad, on a steep slope that had not been fenced off.  At BLM’s request, Williams carefully removed the fill and uncovered the plants.  Williams explained that the incident resulted from miscommunication.  Williams is currently moving forward with plans to build a surface pipeline in a nearby draw where an extensive Debeque milkvetch population was recently discovered through pipeline clearance surveys.

On our tour, Williams explained that they are actively trying to minimize and mitigate the environmental impacts of their activities.  They also discussed how they are leading the industry in pioneering new technologies that reduce the environmental impacts of oil and gas drilling.  The fact that this well-funded and -staffed company had problems implementing required mitigation measures suggests that we are justified in being concerned about whether BLM has the mechanisms in place to ensure that imperiled species, like DeBeque milkvetch, will be protected from the negative impacts of oil and gas development.  In this case, Williams took steps to fix their mistakes as soon as they were alerted by the BLM.  However, the incidents highlight the potential for inadequate implementation of mitigation measures.

Oil and gas development is often allowed in habitat for endangered, threatened and sensitive species, based on the idea that mitigation measures required by the BLM will ensure that impacts will not cause further declines and significantly increase the risk of extinction.  We have several major concerns about this premise.  The rapid pace of oil and gas development is overwhelming the BLM, and they often do not have adequate staff time to devote to monitoring and enforcement to ensure mitigation measures are implemented.  In addition, oil and gas drilling may have indirect and cumulative effects on imperiled species.  Mitigation measures for rare plants generally only require avoidance of direct disturbance of individual plants when such avoidance is possible.  They do not protect against indirect or cumulative effects that could result from dust, invasion by exotic species, impacts to associated species that pollinate rare plants or disperse their seeds, alteration of hydrology, direct disturbance of individual plants when avoidance isn't possible, etc.      

We appreciate the efforts that industry is taking to reduce and mitigate their environmental impacts, and the time that Williams spent sharing their perspective with us.  However, only time will tell if current mitigation measures will be sufficient to ensure that oil and gas development does not result in eventual extinction of wildflowers like DeBeque milkvetch.  Truly responsible and careful energy development would go beyond a focus on mitigation and reclamation, and recognize that some places, like the sensitive and pristine Roan Plateau, are too special to sacrifice to oil and gas drilling.