From the Glenwood Springs Poste Independent (Philip Yates): "A recent poll of 400 licensed hunters and anglers in Colorado reveals that 71 percent of them strongly believe the federal government should take more steps to protect wildlife and fish habitat from oil and gas extraction. The poll, conducted by Harrisonburg, Va.-based Response Management, sought out the opinions of hunters and anglers in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and New Mexico about energy development activities in the Rocky Mountains and its possible impacts on hunting and fishing. Respondents in the survey were identified through hunting and fishing licenses. About 90 percent of those surveyed in Colorado were male. Most were between 45 to 54 years old, according to a summary of the poll.
"The survey reported that 66 percent of Colorado hunters and anglers also thought that public lands should be managed equally between protecting fish and wildlife habitat and oil and gas development. The other 32 percent of respondents said public lands should be managed in favor of fish and wildlife habitat.
"Colorado respondents ranked hunting and fishing as the top use of public land, according to the survey. Wildlife and fish habit management, outdoor recreation, watershed protection and renewable energy development all followed.
"Out of nine possible uses of public lands, Colorado hunters and anglers ranked oil and gas development as seventh, ahead of using public lands for timber cutting and livestock range."
Meanwhile, from the Colorado Independent (Abrahm Lustgarten):
That clarion call to develop energy here on U.S. soil rallied fervid support in the past year when substantial natural gas deposits were identified from Connecticut to Louisiana -- anything but your typical drilling states. Since burning gas emits 23 percent less greenhouse gas than burning oil, finding new resources here at home targets two important priorities: climate change and energy independence. But it turns out drilling for gas may not be as clean as burning it. And it may come at the expense of another vital resource: water.
Category: Colorado Water
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