Proposed Energy Corridors ‘Powering’ Debate Over Use of Public Lands
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Denver, CO – New "energy corridors," ten football fields wide and hundreds of miles long, would cross the Colorado wilderness if a new plan by the federal government moves forward. It would create thousands of miles of new thoroughfares for power lines and oil and gas pipelines across public lands in the West, and the plan has just been released for public comment.
Nada Culver with The Wilderness Society in Denver says it's a big opportunity to chart the future course of the West's growing energy grid, but she says this draft version of the plan needs some improvement.
"Given the magnitude of development that is permitted in these corridors, it's essential that we get it right the first time before the landscape is transformed, to make sure that this is the right place, the right way and the right power sources."
Culver says the current proposal would cut corridors across popular mountain recreation areas, as well as through areas that Congress is now considering protecting with national wilderness designation.
"It certainly is a concern having a corridor two-thirds of a mile wide, that could become basically a forest of transmission lines, running along a recreation area."
The Bureau of Land Management says the corridors will help meet the West's growing energy demands, while consolidating transmission and pipelines to create a smaller overall footprint on the landscape. Culver believes a more careful examination of all possible options is necessary. She also sees it as an opportunity to prioritize the use of renewable energy on the grid.
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