Report warns of gas boom effects

Todd Hartman, Rocky Mountain News

Friday, September 28, 2007

The natural gas boom threatens the region's long-term economy if it degrades public lands, air and water and drives retirement and recreation dollars and other income sources out of mountain communities.

That's the thrust of a cautionary report issued Thursday by the environmental group The Wilderness Society, and backed by some outside economists. It warns that the pace and scope of the West's oil and gas "frenzy" is potentially incompatible with other important economic engines.

Officials with two oil and gas trade associations both said that the fossil fuel industry can fit in as part of a diverse economy, including the kinds of activities cited in the Wilderness Society report.

The report follows one issued in June by the Colorado School of Mines that characterized the oil and gas industry as a major economic force in the state, contributing $23 billion to the state's economy.

Conservationists and some economists don't take issue with the notion that the natural gas boom is fueling an economic rise in several parts of Colorado. But they said the earlier School of Mines report failed to also discuss the economic toll of the industry.

Colorado, with more than 33,000 active gas and oil wells, will see harmful effects on wildlife and the state's $2.4 billion hunting and fishing economy, the report said. The industry is also increasing air pollution, water contamination and the general industrialization of Colorado's scenic landscapes.

That, in turn, threatens to turn away baby boomer retirees who are bringing big investment portfolios with them and could hurt the recreation and professional service economies - including knowledge workers who pick Western Colorado as a place to work out of their laptops, the report said.

But Marc Smith, executive director of Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States, said "Oil and gas production is helping to diversify the economy and allowing a lot of folks from rural communities to stay in those communities and make a living."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.