Protection of the Otero Mesa
January 14, 2010

On Wednesday, January 13, I introduced Governor Richardson at an Albuquerque event honoring him for his efforts to protect the Otero Mesa. As part of a press release announcing that event, I said:

"It is pointless to endanger valuable water reserves and unique natural areas at the Otero Mesa when decades of gas reserves are available by applying proven new extraction technologies to existing gas fields. It is time for a sensible resource management plan for the Otero Mesa.”

Here’s my reasoning:

The courts have ruled that the Bureau of Land Management’s environmental impact study on drilling on the Otero Mesa was inadequate for its decision to open up 90% of the Mesa to gas and oil development. The BLM will be required to readdress the environmental assessment for the area.

When the Bush administration began its push to open the Otero Mesa to natural gas development 8 years ago, it was widely believed that we were running short on natural gas reserves. This was the main argument in favor of opening the area to energy development , though even the BLM acknowledged the resource there is not very large.

Since then, new recovery techniques have led to a consensus that we actually have massive reserves on hand - hence the recent TV ads bragging we have a hundred year supply of natural gas. Under these circumstances there is no justification for risking the interests of water users, ranchers, outdoorsmen, and environmentalists for a commodity already in abundant supply. The BLM needs to revise its Otero Mesa resource management plan to reflect current information.