Desolation Canyon.  Copyright Ray Bloxham/SUWA

The current director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Bob Abbey, recently announced that he plans to retire at the end of this month.  Please write him and urge him not to authorize approval of the disastrous proposed Gasco development project as one of his final acts as director.  This devastating natural gas project at the doorstep of Desolation Canyon is not the legacy he should be remembered by.

Over the last few months we have updated you about the alarming progress of this ill-conceived plan that would put over 200 wells inside of the Desolation Canyon proposed wilderness.  Your efforts in this matter are making a difference.

In March, the BLM released a final environmental impact statement indicating that it intended to approve this ruinous gift to industry (despite the fact that it had before it an alternative—Alternative E—that would have allowed for the drilling of over 1,100 wells while still protecting the proposed Desolation Canyon wilderness).  Like a child on Christmas morning, Gasco had visions of dollars and drills dancing in its head as it anticipated smooth sailing to project approval.  Not quite.  The Gasco project has been roundly panned in editorial pages across the nation and by thousands of citizen activists just like you.[1] Due to these efforts the record of decision (the final approval of the development) has hit some turbulence and has not been finalized.

With the project not yet finalized and Director Abbey retiring, we have an additional opportunity to help the BLM change course.  Please take advantage now by writing Director Abbey and telling him to think of his legacy.

Director Abbey can leave a legacy of a tarnished Desolation Canyon, sacrificed on the altar of one company’s greed, or a spared Desolation Canyon, saved for creatures and recreationists alike.  Please write him today and ask him to select Alternative E, the conservation alternative, for the sake of the wilderness and his legacy as BLM Director.

You can also add to your impact by signing our Change.org petition and spreading the word.