In October, the Bureau of Land Management completed a new resource management plan for Colorado’s Western Slope, determining how 2 million acres of public land will be managed over the next 15 to 20 years.
The plan includes several conservation achievements. For example, set aside land designated as critical habitat and create special protections for big game. However, leases may be continued with a focus on areas with medium to high potential for oil and gas development, particularly those with unique geological conditions necessary for helium production.
Helium is a noble gas. That is, it is chemically inert and does not react with other substances. These properties mean it is in high demand for a variety of critical applications in medical technology, diving and national defense. For example, diagnostic procedures such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and nuclear detection systems, including neutron detectors, all rely on helium. Currently, there are no synthetic alternatives that can reproduce the low boiling point and low reactivity of this gas.
Although some helium is reused in some scientific fields, widespread adoption of recycling remains limited by cost and infrastructure barriers. Although some biotech companies are developing helium-free MRI systems or systems that use helium regeneration units, helium remains an essential resource that many technologies require. And global gas supplies are rapidly decreasing.
Luna Anna Archie/High Country News, in collaboration with EcoFlight
This shortage has increased pressure on federal public lands to produce resources essential to industry and national security. Helium cannot be recovered. Once released, it escapes into the atmosphere and eventually into space. According to the BLM, it is “a non-renewable resource found in recoverable quantities in only a few places around the world. Many of these are being depleted.”
In its final plan for western Colorado, BLM will close 543,300 acres at its Grand Junction field office to oil and gas leasing, while closing 692,300 acres, including approximately 165,700 acres identified for helium recovery. It is proposed to leave it open. A BLM spokesperson said dwindling domestic helium reserves influenced the management plan, noting that “the final decision in this plan to keep helium areas open for future leasing was based on helium’s scarcity and strategic It was based on its importance.”
Keeley Meehan, policy director for the Colorado Wildlands Project, a nonprofit focused on protecting public lands managed by the BLM, said the plan prioritizes resource extraction over critical habitat protection. Criticized that there is.
“The environmental impact, the impact on habitat and species, is the same as oil and gas,” Meehan said. “It destroys habitat connectivity.”
The sensitive areas in question include essential migratory corridors and seasonal ranges for species such as mule deer, elk, pronghorn, and bighorn sheep, as well as the endangered Gunnison sage-grouse that rely on them for breeding, nesting, and feeding. This includes habitats that are
According to United States Geological Surveyconducted a study of the nation’s helium resources and found that recoverable helium is abundant, at about 306 billion cubic feet, or about 150 years’ worth of supply at 2020 U.S. production levels, or about 21 billion cubic feet per year. 50 million cubic feet. It’s unclear how much of that helium is found on federal public lands. Since helium tends to occur naturally in natural gas reservoirs, and federal public lands in the West account for a large share of natural gas production, many of the United States’ helium reserves are likely to be on public lands.
Some rural areas in western Colorado, many of which have historically relied on resource extraction, welcome the prospect of continued helium production. The Alliance of Governments of Northwest Colorado (AGNC), a council of city and county governments in this region of the state, urged opening the region to helium mining in public comment to the agency, citing potential economic benefits. insisted.
“Helium has significant economic potential and could be a critical resource in supporting communities addressing pressing economic challenges,” AGNC wrote in a comment.
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But other communities disagree, and the plan is a sign of ongoing tensions between rural communities that rely on resource extraction and communities that rely on outdoor recreation, such as Pitkin and Eagle counties. It was revealed that there was. Mountain Pact, a coalition of local elected officials from more than 100 mountain communities whose economies revolve around outdoor recreation, says leaving helium leases in place will negatively impact the natural resources that attract tourism dollars and investment. He insisted in public comment that it would be granted.
“Protected public lands are a tremendous asset to communities in western Colorado,” Mountain Pact said in a letter to the BLM during public comment. “They play an important role in our way of life. They help make the communities we live in what they are meant to be, while also creating a healthier and better tomorrow for future generations. Contribute to
In addition to the above-ground impacts of helium production, similar to those of natural gas extraction, opponents also raised concerns about processing. Helium is separated from natural gas through a cryogenic process that uses cooling and pressure changes, which often requires energy from the natural gas.
But western Colorado currently lacks a facility capable of processing helium, and conservationists say building one, along with the necessary roads and other infrastructure, would destroy wildlife habitat and reduce the risk of damage. There are concerns that the area may be excluded from future conservation targets.
“We are really concerned about protecting these wild places and areas that are currently undeveloped,” Meehan said. This region contains high-priority wildlands and high-priority habitat. ”
