Uinta National Forest Oil and Gas Environmental Impact Statement

In January 2006 the Uinta N.F. started the first public input period, or scoping period, for a new Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process that will analyze and make decisions for current and future oil and gas field developments across the Forest.

Decisions central to this public National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) planning process include:

• Where to allow (or not allow) oil/gas leases to be sold to industry across most of this 897,400 acre National Forest;
• Identifying and applying legal commitments, or ‘leasing stipulations’, that would prohibit or mitigate impacts on the surface such as riparian areas, trout streams, wildlife habitat, roadless areas, etc, for those areas to be approved for leasing;
• In light of the above possible amendments to the commitments and direction outlined in the 2003 Uinta N.F. Forest Plan may be needed.

The initial public ‘scoping’ comment period ends March 20^th. 

Your input now on behalf of the wildlife, critters, streams, and the roadless forested mountains is important!  Why?  Because it is still early in this public planning process and your input will count and will be addressed.  This initial public scoping comment period is a key point in time for recreationists, fishermen, hunters, conservationists, and everyone concerned to make their voices heard early in the process.  Further, without your early public input, this is the process that would lead to a future for the Uinta N.F. that is characterized by extensive oil and gas field ‘development.’  Put bluntly, ‘development’ here means a lot of new roads, pipelines, and oil wells scattered across the Forest that degrade fish and wildlife populations and their habitats, as well as the clean mountain streams and the outstanding roadless forests and mountains that currently characterize the Forest. 

Click here to read the Uinta National Forest’s letter asking for your early input and scoping comments.  The formal Federal Register notice that started this process can be viewed by clicking here.  To read recent Salt Lake Tribune and Provo Herald articles on this new EIS process click here.  You can also call the UEC and ask for Kevin to get more information (801-466-4055). 

In 2004 some 50,000-odd acres under the Uinta National Forest were leased for oil and gas prematurely.  The region leased is largely roadless, and spans from Strawberry Reservoir, south to the Diamond Fork and Soldier Summit areas.  We believe that this 2004 leasing decision, which is under an Objection process now, was putting the cart before the horse because the leasing was done prior to completing this needed Forest-wide oil and gas leasing EIS.  The red crosshatched areas on the map below note the areas that were leased prematurely: