Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Aquifers will need decades to recover from methane development
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Monday, January 31, 2022
Interior Secretary Gale Norton inspects coalbed methane gas wells in Wyoming's Powder River Basin in 2005. Photo: National Archives ([link removed])
A new study by the Wyoming State Geological Surve ([link removed]) y finds that the coal-bed methane gas boom that left a legacy of orphaned wells across the state will also impact groundwater in Wyoming for decades to come.
During the methane boom in the early 2000s, drillers pumped huge amounts of water out of coal seams to release the gas. Wyofile reports ([link removed]) that the water was discharged onto the surface, and as a result, some sandstone aquifers in the Powder River Basin have declined by more than 100 feet since 2001.
According to the state study ([link removed]) , those aquifers will take 52 years to refill on average, with some looking at up to 144 years. Those estimates are the "best-case" scenario, because the state did not take climate change or the ongoing drought into consideration.
The most severe damage appears to be to aquifers within 20 miles of the Powder River, where much of the remaining coal-bed methane gas wells are located. As of 2015, there were approximately 3,000 orphaned coal-bed methane wells across Wyoming ([link removed]) , left behind by bankrupt companies for taxpayers to clean up.
** Poll shows broad support for Avi Kwa Ame monument designation
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A new poll ([link removed]) from the Nevada Conservation League and League of Conservation Voters shows strong support in Nevada for designating Avi Kwa Ame as a national monument.
With no background information, 60% of Nevada voters support the monument proposal ([link removed]) , with 10% opposed and 30% undecided. After hearing arguments from monument supporters and opponents, support for the monument increases to 70%, with nearly half of voters strongly supporting a monument designation.
Quick hits
** The oil industry has a $500 billion bubble problem
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Earther ([link removed])
** Colorado blaze renews focus on underground coal fires
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Associated Press ([link removed])
** Montana curbs wolf hunting near Yellowstone but refuses to reinstate quotas
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Associated Press ([link removed])
** Yellowstone bison plan to focus on transfer to tribes, hunts outside the park
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Billings Gazette ([link removed]) | Associated Press ([link removed])
** Search continues for petroglyph vandals in New Mexico; Pueblo group says BLM not doing enough
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Santa Fe New Mexican ([link removed]) | Albuquerque Journal ([link removed].)
** California to pay homeowners for wildfire resilience retrofits
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San Diego Union Tribune ([link removed])
** Rocky Mountain National Park rangers brace for more falls, heart attacks, and crashes as crowds grow
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Denver Post ([link removed])
** 4 of Utah's "Mighty 5" saw record crowds in 2021—so try another park
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KSL ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” It’s like trying to predict an earthquake. With all the technology we have today they are not coming any closer to predicting them. The same goes for a coal fire.”
—Prof. Jurgen Brune, Colorado School of Mines,
Associated Press ([link removed])
Picture this
** @Interior ([link removed])
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If you catch a glimpse of the Canada lynx at the @USFWSAlaska ([link removed]) Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge, look for their long legs, large paws, long dark tufts on the ears, and a short, black-tipped tail. But be careful, these excellent hunters will probably see you before you see them!
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