well this is par for the course ....... same ole same

[Spider]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/21/AR2006022101793.html
Federal Wildlife Monitors Oversee a Boom in Drilling
Energy Programs Trump Conservation

By Blaine Harden
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 22, 2006; Page A01

PINEDALE, Wyo. -- The Bureau of Land Management, caretaker of more land and wildlife than any federal agency, routinely restricts the ability of its own biologists to monitor wildlife damage caused by surging energy drilling on federal land, according to BLM officials and bureau documents.

The officials and documents say that by keeping many wildlife biologists out of the field doing paperwork on new drilling permits and that by diverting agency money intended for wildlife conservation to energy programs, the BLM has compromised its ability to deal with the environmental consequences of the drilling boom it is encouraging on public lands.


A pronghorn antelope is fitted with a radio transmitter, and early findings show that the animals -- as well as mule deer and breeding male sage grouse -- avoid the gas fields.
A pronghorn antelope is fitted with a radio transmitter, and early findings show that the animals -- as well as mule deer and breeding male sage grouse -- avoid the gas fields.
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Marbury v. Madison
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Plessy v. Ferguson
Brown v. Board of Education

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Here on the high sage plains of western Wyoming, often called the Serengeti of the West because of large migratory herds of deer and antelope, the Pinedale region has become one of the most productive and profitable natural gas fields on federal land in the Rockies. With the aggressive backing of the Bush administration, many members of Congress and the energy industry, at least a sixfold expansion in drilling is likely here in the coming decade.

Recent studies of mule deer and sage grouse, however, show steep declines in their numbers since the gas boom began here about five years ago: a 46 percent decline for mule deer and a 51 percent decline for breeding male sage grouse. Early results from a study of pronghorn antelope show that they, too, avoid the gas fields.

Yet as these findings have come in, the wildlife biologists in the Pinedale office of the BLM have rarely gone into the field to monitor harm to wildlife.

"The BLM is pushing the biologists to be what I call 'biostitutes,' rather than allow them to be experts in the wildlife they are supposed to be managing," said Steve Belinda, 37, who last week quit his job as one of three wildlife biologists in the BLM's Pinedale office because he said he was required to spend nearly all his time working on drilling requests. "They are telling us that if it is not energy-related, you are not working on it."

Belinda, who had worked for 16 years as a wildlife biologist for the BLM and the Forest Service, said he came to work in the agency's Pinedale office 20 months ago because of the "world-class wildlife." He has quit to work here for a national conservation group, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, as its energy initiative manager.

"It is a huge attraction for biologists to work in western Wyoming," he said. "But in this [BLM] office, they want you to look at things in a single-minded way. I have spent less than 1 percent of my time in the field. If we continue down this trend of keeping biologists in the office and preventing them from doing substantive work, there is a train wreck coming for wildlife."

Belinda is not alone in his view that the BLM, in its focused pursuit of increased drilling, is neglecting its congressional mandate to manage federal lands for "multiple use."

For years the BLM has reallocated money Congress intended for wildlife conservation to spending on energy. A national evaluation by the agency of its wildlife expenditures found three years ago that about one-third of designated wildlife money was spent "outside" of wildlife programs.

An internal BLM follow-up study found last year that this widespread diversion of money has caused "numerous lost opportunities" to protect wildlife. The study found that the unwillingness of the agency to use wildlife money for conservation programs has "reduced ability to conduct on-the-ground restoration" and made the BLM unable "to conduct adequate inventory and monitoring of habitats and populations."

The sum effect of these diversions, the study said, has damaged the credibility of land-use planning by the BLM. These findings were echoed last year in a report by the Government Accountability Office, which said that BLM managers order their field staff to devote increasing time to processing drilling permits, leaving less time to mitigate the consequences of oil and gas extraction.

page1

[Spider]

page 2 ......................
"It has become almost a cultural practice in the BLM to spend money that is appropriated for one purpose for whatever purpose somebody deems is a higher priority," said a senior BLM official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he said he would be fired for speaking publicly. "There is really no penalty for this."

The BLM's Wyoming director, Bob Bennett, disagreed strongly with this assessment. Bennett said that the BLM is "doing our level best to deal with the impacts" of energy development on wildlife.


A pronghorn antelope is fitted with a radio transmitter, and early findings show that the animals -- as well as mule deer and breeding male sage grouse -- avoid the gas fields.
A pronghorn antelope is fitted with a radio transmitter, and early findings show that the animals -- as well as mule deer and breeding male sage grouse -- avoid the gas fields.
Politics Trivia
Which major Supreme Court case was decided on the date February 24?

Marbury v. Madison
Dred Scott v. Sanford
Plessy v. Ferguson
Brown v. Board of Education

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Read what bloggers are saying about this article.

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"If a wildlife biologist is working on an application for a permit to drill, that doesn't mean he is not doing wildlife work," Bennett said. "The wildlife job is a broad job, and it does involve energy."

Here in Wyoming, what has angered Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D), along with state wildlife managers, environmental groups, many local residents and some oil industry executives is what they describe as growing evidence of a lack of balance in the federal push for more drilling -- even as scientific studies show significant and worrisome declines in wildlife around gas fields. Those studies have been funded by the BLM and the energy industry.

The BLM's pace of issuing new permits to drill in Wyoming and across the West has continued to increase, even though the oil and gas industry -- which is chronically short of drilling rigs and skilled workers -- cannot drill nearly enough holes in the ground to keep up with the permits that have already been granted. In the past two years, the BLM issued a record 13,070 drilling permits on federal land, but industry drilled just 5,844 wells.

"The pressure comes from Washington," said Freudenthal, who said he has assigned more state wildlife biologists to Pinedale and other active drilling areas in an attempt to keep up with the federal push. "As you go up the chain of command of BLM and into the Department of Interior, I am not sure they share our commitment to balance. No matter how large the benefits are from this development, it does not justify turning a blind eye to the environment."

At the BLM state office, Bennett said his agency would like to "take it slow and easy. We are trying to do that to the extent we can." But he said the bureau is under "a lot of national pressure, from industry and from Congress. The demand for gas is a real issue to people."

Pinedale is an especially profitable place to address that demand. With more gas extracted from a smaller footprint than anywhere else on federal land in the West, it produced an estimated $4 billion worth of gas last year.

In the Pinedale BLM office, as in agency offices across the West, monitoring and research on the impact of drilling on wildlife are almost never done by staff biologists, according to Roger L. Bankert, associate field manager for lands and minerals.

"This is an energy office, and our biologists don't have time to do the monitoring," Bankert said. He said it is "done by private consultants who are hired by the energy companies," with BLM approval.

Under a federal law intended to enlist the local community in the planning of oil and gas development, the Interior Department has named an advisory group to study and make recommendations about the impact of drilling here. The chairman of the group, Linda Baker, says she is alarmed by what she describes as the BLM's refusal to listen to her group's advice or adapt its management to findings that drilling is harming wildlife.

"We are seeing the handing over of a multiple-use valley to the energy industry," Baker said. "This is a disaster in the making."

Rather than slowing down to assess wildlife impact and to allow energy companies to catch up to drilling permits already issued, as recommended by Baker's group, state officials and several national environmental organizations, the BLM appears to be stepping on the accelerator. It has just released a proposal that recommends granting permits for drilling 3,100 more wells in nearby Jonah Field -- a sixfold increase over the number of current wells.

Federal management of drilling here has angered a former senior energy executive who lives near Pinedale.

"There is no well-thought-out, overall development plan for this field," said Kirby L. Hedrick, a former vice president at Phillips Petroleum Co. in charge of worldwide exploration and now a member of the board of directors of Noble Energy Inc. in Houston. "The BLM has been approving plans ad hoc."

[RaiderH8r]

I've been to Wyoming, too many fvcking deer and antelope already. I hate those fvcking things. If ever there were an argument for fully automatic hunting the antelope herds of Wyoming are it.

[Spider]

I've been to Wyoming, too many fvcking deer and antelope already. I hate those fvcking things. If ever there were an argument for fully automatic hunting the antelope herds of Wyoming are it.
I see ......... what about the wild horses in the red desert , should they be put in pens ? shot ? ........... Nothing is as majestic as seeing a sun rise in the red desert , and seeing Wild Horses running the desert ..............but more and more of seeing oil rigs , gas wells ............I am all for drilling but dayummmmmmm there has to be a limit .......... this isnt an insult , but what is it with republicans and the we have to use up everything right here , right now attitude ?

[RaiderH8r]

I see ......... what about the wild horses in the red desert , should they be put in pens ? shot ? ........... Nothing is as majestic as seeing a sun rise in the red desert , and seeing Wild Horses running the desert ..............but more and more of seeing oil rigs , gas wells ............I am all for drilling but dayummmmmmm there has to be a limit .......... this isnt an insult , but what is it with republicans and the we have to use up everything right here , right now attitude ?
There are plenty of wild horses, hell BLM has had to put quite a few down for population control. I don't care about wild horses, hell they're not even a native species, what about that? Ecologically, the don't belong there so by killing them off we're correcting a human error in introducing a non-native species to an ecosystem. Take that hippie wisdom :thanku:

Furthermore, you can either rely on people showing up to look at wild horses, which doesn't pay well and turns your state into a bunch of tour guides and truck stop waitresses or you can have a burgeoning industry with high pay levels generating a wealth of revenue for your state coffers to pay for such things like education and all the other social cry baby gimme gimme gimme crap that people want out of government. Wild horses specators don't foot that bill.

[Spider]

There are plenty of wild horses, hell BLM has had to put quite a few down for population control. I don't care about wild horses, hell they're not even a native species, what about that? Ecologically, the don't belong there so by killing them off we're correcting a human error in introducing a non-native species to an ecosystem. Take that hippie wisdom :thanku:
well we are not navtive to this land either , so do I get to pull a cheney ?

Furthermore, you can either rely on people showing up to look at wild horses, which doesn't pay well and turns your state into a bunch of tour guides and truck stop waitresses or you can have a burgeoning industry with high pay levels generating a wealth of revenue for your state coffers to pay for such things like education and all the other social cry baby gimme gimme gimme crap that people want out of government. Wild horses specators don't foot that bill.
this is what I thought ....... you cant defend the use it all up now line of thinking .....

[Spider]

talk about a strian on the ecosystem ........Does any animal have the impact humans do ?

[RaiderH8r]

well we are not navtive to this land either , so do I get to pull a cheney ?


this is what I thought ....... you cant defend the use it all up now line of thinking .....
It's supply meeting demand, it's not the companies "using" up anything, it's the consumers.

Bitch about high fuel costs, bitch about high energy prices then stop/gripe about anything that would alleviate the supply stress. Don't open ANWR, a place where maybe 10 people would see the rig. Something about having your cake and eating it too comes to mind.

[footstepsfrom#27]

Federal agency directors are presidential appointments.

[Spider]

It's supply meeting demand, it's not the companies "using" up anything, it's the consumers.

b**** about high fuel costs, b**** about high energy prices then stop/gripe about anything that would alleviate the supply stress. Don't open ANWR, a place where maybe 10 people would see the rig. Something about having your cake and eating it too comes to mind.
I see , so we dropped the they are not navtive to this land , to prices , well last I heard , it was the refineries that was lacking , not oil , but then when you have 20-80 oil well rigs with in 10 miles of each other , Production realy isnt that much of a problem ........... so what good is it to over drill and no way to refine the oil ? ........ as you was saying about cake and eating ?

[RaiderH8r]

I see , so we dropped the they are not navtive to this land , to prices , well last I heard , it was the refineries that was lacking , not oil , but then when you have 20-80 oil well rigs with in 10 miles of each other , Production realy isnt that much of a problem ........... so what good is it to over drill and no way to refine the oil ? ........ as you was saying about cake and eating ?
I was fvcking about on the native species bit, but we can get into that although it's not really of any use. They're here, hippies are queer, and love sheep.

Refining capacity has increased 27% since 1981. Look at how much people bitch about a 5 acre drill rig op, you think those same people will let a refinery go up? Hell no, not without one helluva fight. And that fight costs a boatload of $$, on top of construction costs.

Some of those rigs may be pulling natural gas so it's not all crude being pumped.

[Spider]

see the problem is I am for drilling , but I think there should be limit , go to Johana field outside of Farson , tell me that isnt exsessive , and and I will call you a lobbist ..........

[Spider]

I was fvcking about on the native species bit, but we can get into that although it's not really of any use. They're here, hippies are queer, and love sheep. I will make sure I tell the guysin the patch this .....

Refining capacity has increased 27% since 1981. Look at how much people b**** about a 5 acre drill rig op, you think those same people will let a refinery go up? Hell no, not without one helluva fight. And that fight costs a boatload of $$, on top of construction costs. so why not build on an old site ? why not go more nuclear ? you see where I am going with this ..... all this is about is big oil making $$$ while the getting is good , Ihave no problem with that , but when they break the law , circumvent proceedure , then wehave a problem .............

Some of those rigs may be pulling natural gas so it's not all crude being pumped.you dont say ............so how many would be pulling crude when you have 20 with in 10 square miles ?

[Garcia Bronco]

I was fvcking about on the native species bit, but we can get into that although it's not really of any use. They're here, hippies are queer, and love sheep.

Refining capacity has increased 27% since 1981. Look at how much people b**** about a 5 acre drill rig op, you think those same people will let a refinery go up? Hell no, not without one helluva fight. And that fight costs a boatload of $$, on top of construction costs.

Some of those rigs may be pulling natural gas so it's not all crude being pumped.


I used to seel cell phones and peole in rural areas used to make me laugh....Literally the same person...would bitch about limited service...yet...try to put up a tower and they'd fight you tooth and nail. People are dumb.

[RaiderH8r]

I will make sure I tell the guysin the patch this .....

so why not build on an old site ? why not go more nuclear ? you see where I am going with this ..... all this is about is big oil making $$$ while the getting is good , Ihave no problem with that , but when they break the law , circumvent proceedure , then wehave a problem .............

you dont say ............so how many would be pulling crude when you have 20 with in 10 square miles ?
When you tell them make sure you get it right, they're here, they're queer, and hippies hump sheep, or something. Throw in a brokeback mountain reference if you have to.

The 27% increase in capacity is solely due to expansion of existing refineries. The refiners usually purchased more land than they needed with the knowledge they would eventually expand.

Nuclear, fine with me. But same crybaby hippie sheep humpers are gonna stop that too.

And yes, oil co.s should make $$ when they can because nobody is rushing to help them when they're losing $10/bl so they have to beef up capital reserves to get through the lean times, and there will be lean times to be sure.

How much crude is pumping depends on the well, rock formation, equipment, etc. US fields tend to be mature so you don't get "gushers" but rather working through tight plays and rock formations requiring a lot of rig work to get a "little" bit of oil. Little is, of course, subjective, but you get my point. The margins are there for independents, who usually drill those wells domestically, just nowhere near the margins you get on the huge reserves the majors have. So you get more holes to get through tighter plays, but technologies are becoming more widely used to address that. It's expensive for co.s to drill new holes so they use better tech to get it done cheaper and expand their margin.

Nobody's circumventing anything. There are plenty of watch dog groups and others who file lawsuits against resource industries for farting in a westward breeze. They're not sitting on their hands while co.s circumvent and break laws.

[RaiderH8r]

I used to seel cell phones and peole in rural areas used to make me laugh....Literally the same person...would b**** about limited service...yet...try to put up a tower and they'd fight you tooth and nail. People are dumb.
Yup.

Get it done but not near me attitude makes me laugh heartily. HA HA HA. They love the sausage as long as they don't see it being made.

I actually, hand to God, sat in on a Yellowstone River Coordination Council (AKA hippies, but w/marginal cred) meeting discussing wind power in the Gallatin Valley (Bozeman/Livingston, MT). They lauded wind power as clean energy but when time came to ante up for a plan to install the things the bitching commenced. One lady, again hand to God, suggested putting the windmills in a valley so they would be hidden from view. I laughed hysterically the moment she said it and the glares (at the evil Republican) commenced. I was asked something to the effect of you don't support wind power anyway, you're an evil republican bent on destroying the earth but what's your problem with my suggestion? I composed myself and explained that putting the windmill in a valley would defeat the purpose because....how to put this.....NO FVCKING WIND WILL GET TO IT YOU STUPID BROAD! Of course I was a bit more diplomatic in my approach.

[Mile High Shack]

Yup.

Get it done but not near me attitude makes me laugh heartily. HA HA HA. They love the sausage as long as they don't see it being made.

I actually, hand to God, sat in on a Yellowstone River Coordination Council (AKA hippies, but w/marginal cred) meeting discussing wind power in the Gallatin Valley (Bozeman/Livingston, MT). They lauded wind power as clean energy but when time came to ante up for a plan to install the things the b****ing commenced. One lady, again hand to God, suggested putting the windmills in a valley so they would be hidden from view. I laughed hysterically the moment she said it and the glares (at the evil Republican) commenced. I was asked something to the effect of you don't support wind power anyway, you're an evil republican bent on destroying the earth but what's your problem with my suggestion? I composed myself and explained that putting the windmill in a valley would defeat the purpose because....how to put this.....NO FVCKING WIND WILL GET TO IT YOU STUPID BROAD! Of course I was a bit more diplomatic in my approach.

odds are that moron wasn't a real montanan anyway, probably from california

[RaiderH8r]

odds are that moron wasn't a real montanan anyway, probably from california
Damn right.

I suggested she just shut down the furnace, car, water heater, stove, computer etc. but no dice. I guess her convinctions are deep only to the extent that they don't actually inconvenience her life. Pretty common amongst hippies.

My solution for hippies: Save the planet, shoot yourself.

[Mile High Shack]

Damn right.

I suggested she just shut down the furnace, car, water heater, stove, computer etc. but no dice. I guess her convinctions are deep only to the extent that they don't actually inconvenience her life. Pretty common amongst hippies.

My solution for hippies: Save the planet, shoot yourself.

that would leave more meat for us at least

[Spider]

When you tell them make sure you get it right, they're here, they're queer, and hippies hump sheep, or something. Throw in a brokeback mountain reference if you have to. yeah that 300 pound rough neck didnt think I was funny .............

The 27% increase in capacity is solely due to expansion of existing refineries. The refiners usually purchased more land than they needed with the knowledge they would eventually expand. my point is build new refineries @ old sites .........

Nuclear, fine with me. But same crybaby hippie sheep humpers are gonna stop that too. all we have to do is find away of disposing the waste , my suggestion would be put it on a rocket , send it to the sun .....

And yes, oil co.s should make $$ when they can because nobody is rushing to help them when they're losing $10/bl so they have to beef up capital reserves to get through the lean times, and there will be lean times to be sure.

How much crude is pumping depends on the well, rock formation, equipment, etc. US fields tend to be mature so you don't get "gushers" but rather working through tight plays and rock formations requiring a lot of rig work to get a "little" bit of oil. Little is, of course, subjective, but you get my point. The margins are there for independents, who usually drill those wells domestically, just nowhere near the margins you get on the huge reserves the majors have. So you get more holes to get through tighter plays, but technologies are becoming more widely used to address that. It's expensive for co.s to drill new holes so they use better tech to get it done cheaper and expand their margin.

Nobody's circumventing anything. There are plenty of watch dog groups and others who file lawsuits against resource industries for farting in a westward breeze. They're not sitting on their hands while co.s circumvent and break laws.
LOL I was being sarcastic on the question , but yes you are right on that part , I understand we dont get gushers , but they are also pumping co2 gas in some old wells and bringing them back to life , picture a 5 spot domino, they force gas through the outside 4 holes , this brings up oil in the 5 middle hole ...this artical is a prime example of circumventing ............

[RaiderH8r]

yeah that 300 pound rough neck didnt think I was funny .............

my point is build new refineries @ old sites .........

all we have to do is find away of disposing the waste , my suggestion would be put it on a rocket , send it to the sun .....


LOL I was being sarcastic on the question , but yes you are right on that part , I understand we dont get gushers , but they are also pumping co2 gas in some old wells and bringing them back to life , picture a 5 spot domino, they force gas through the outside 4 holes , this brings up oil in the 5 middle hole ...this artical is a prime example of circumventing ............

Was that 300 lb. rough neck helping a sheep over the fence at the time? ;D Baaaaaaadddd roughneck. You could open a gay bar for roughnecks and call it The Tool Pusher, or The Pumping Piston. HA!

Carbon sequestration is pretty cool. They're also working on CO2 capture for use in carbon sequestration.

I'm sure someone will bitch about radiological material near the sun endangering the klingons near uranus or something.

The pres. proposed building refineries at abandoned military sights. They're paved, nothing natural would need to be destroyed. It was summarily crapped on.

[Rascal]

Shooting the material to the sun...yeah right the sun huggers wouldn't allow that to happen.

[Spider]

Was that 300 lb. rough neck helping a sheep over the fence at the time? ;D Baaaaaaadddd roughneck. You could open a gay bar for roughnecks and call it The Tool Pusher, or The Pumping Piston. HA!
Naw I am going to leave that alone , I dont know if I could take tiny , but I dont want ot find out either .............

Carbon sequestration is pretty cool. They're also working on CO2 capture for use in carbon sequestration. it is myfolks live up near the salt creek oil field .....................

I'm sure someone will b**** about radiological material near the sun endangering the klingons near uranus or something. ;D shít would never make it past mecury

The pres. proposed building refineries at abandoned military sights. They're paved, nothing natural would need to be destroyed. It was summarily crapped on.
But if Bill Clinton proposed it , it would have flew , and thats the difference , Sure clinton Bullshítted about a hummer , but he was on course with the goverment , the American people trusted Clinto still do , Clinton brings in more people then a rock star , Bush on the other hand isnt well liked ........so alot of things Bush preposes will be faught tooth and nail

[Spider]

Shooting the material to the sun...yeah right the sun huggers wouldn't allow that to happen.
it would never make the trip , remember these rockets would be built by the cheapest bidder ........ Besides the sun is full of radiation , the amount we would send would mount to a Sparrows beltch in a tornado

[RaiderH8r]

it would never make the trip , remember these rockets would be built by the cheapest bidder ........ Besides the sun is full of radiation , the amount we would send would mount to a Sparrows beltch in a tornado
You're using logic. Logic has no place in hippie ideaology. It would harm the whales. Fvcking beerslug. Check out the port thread, recent post. Slug was lending me a hand. I think I may puke again.

[Spider]

You're using logic. Logic has no place in hippie ideaology. It would harm the whales. Fvcking beerslug. Check out the port thread, recent post. Slug was lending me a hand. I think I may puke again.
nuke is the way to go ............ I have been here since 8:00 am , but I have the heavest pipe , so I am last to unload , Hilarious! Driller says , you will have to back up over there , dont know how you will do it , man I stabbed the hole first shot , group of people watching ........ I got out Strutting ...... ;D richard Pryor / Gene wildman........ thats right I am bad

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

talk about a strian on the ecosystem ........Does any animal have the impact humans do ?

I can think of two right off the top of my head:

http://z.about.com/d/politicalhumor/1/0/S/k/bush_dumbfmntn.jpg