unf oil-gas article1

Uinta National Forest is embarking on a forestwide environmental impact study to determine the suitability of future oil and gas exploration and development in areas that have yet to be leased.
   The EIS will cover about 778,000 acres, taking in all of the forest except designated wilderness areas (58,000 acres) and privately held mineral resources in the Strawberry Reservoir area (61,000 acres).
   "Currently only a portion of the forest is available for leasing and most of that area has already been leased," Uinta Forest supervisor Dan Dallas said in a statement.
   The proposed action is necessary, he said, to comply with the Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Reform Act, which requires the Forest Service to analyze lands that are legally available for leasing.
   Energy leasing in the forest has already generated some controversy. Environmental and sportsmen's groups opposed leases issued around Strawberry last year, particularly in the Diamond Fork area above the reservoir. Approximately one-quarter of the leases were issued in what are now roadless areas, and the region is home to what is not only considered a blue-ribbon fishery, but prime big game habitat as well.
   In that sense, conservationists regard the EIS as a step forward - albeit one, they say, that should have been taken before the leases were issued.
   "This is definitely a good opportunity for the Forest Service to re-evaluate," said Cory Fischer, Trout Unlimited's Western field organizer. "The last [EIS] in 1997 covered only the high probability areas. A lot of changes have occurred since then. A lot of [conservation] work has been done there. We hope the EIS will take that into account."
   Altogether, it is estimated that the federal government has spent about $37 million over the past 10 to 15 years to improve Strawberry Reservoir and its tributaries.
   "This is something the Forest Service needs to do; it's probably overdue," said Kevin Mueller, executive director of the Utah Environmental Congress, which monitors the state's six national forests. "The EIS is a good opportunity for hunters and fishermen and those concerned with these places to get involved early and have some influence on the process. Otherwise, they could be significantly harmed by oil and gas development."
   jbaird@sltrib.com

   Public meeting

   The Forest Service will hold a pubic meeting, in the form of an informal workshop, to introduce its Uinta National Forest environmental impact study on Friday between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Provo City Library, 550 North University Ave.