About 60 former state and federal wildlife managers are urging legislators to approve new oil and gas regulations in the face of industry warnings that the rules will cost the state jobs and tax revenue.
The letter sent Monday to legislators says the regulations developed over 18 months are weaker than what they believe are necessary to protect Colorado's big-game herds, native trout and other wildlife in the aftermath of record natural gas development.
Despite the concern, the 61 wildlife experts, including two former Colorado Division of Wildlife directors, said they support the rules passed in December by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. They wrote: "In the end, all of us who love this state want to ensure that our world-class natural resources are left in as good or better shape than when we inherited them."
If the Legislature approves the rules, they will take effect April 1.
The rules would implement two laws requiring more weight be given to the environment, public health and safety and wildlife when approving oil and gas development. The Legislature overwhelmingly passed the measures in 2007.
Now, however, industry officials and some legislators argue that a recession is no time to clamp down on businesses that have generated thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in revenue for the state. Uncertainty about the regulations' effects is causing companies to leave Colorado or scale back operations, they argue.
Critics also contend that the rules go beyond what the Legislature intended.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/02/03/ap5999654.html
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