[Coalition_for_valle_vidal] PRESS RELEASE: Sen. Bingaman Introduces bill to protect the Valle Vidal

[Jim O'Donnell]

-------------- next part --------------
  
                              
-------------- next part --------------


Coalition for the Valle Vidal		New Mexico Wildlife Federation
P.O. Box 238     			2921 Carlisle Blvd NE Suite 200J
Taos, New Mexico 87571 		Albuquerque, NM 87110
505.758.3874 				505-299-5404


September 20, 2005

Press Release ? For Immediate Release and Distribution

Contact:     Ed Olona, New Mexico Wildlife Federation, 505.447.6364
		   William Brown, Coalition for the Valle Vidal, 505.758.8008
		   Bill Schudlich, Trout Unlimited, 505.470.4878
		   Gary Foney, past pres., NM Oil and Gas Assoc. 505.390.9064
		

Senator Bingman Introduces Bill to Protect the Valle Vidal from 
Destruction

(Taos, NM, September 20, 2005) -  A New Mexico natural area cherished 
by Boy Scouts, prized by elk hunters and widely recognized as a 
national treasure would be permanently protected from oil and gas 
industrialization under a bill introduced today by Senator Jeff 
Bingaman.

Senator Bingaman said: ?The definable characteristic of being a New 
Mexican is shown most clearly in the places we cherish -- the places 
that we recognize as so special that we want to set them aside for our 
children and our grandchildren.?

The Valle Vidal Preservation Act would assure continued public access 
to the Valle Vidal, keeping it open to tens of thousands of Boy Scouts, 
hunters, anglers and wildlife enthusiasts, backpackers and hikers while 
prohibiting the desecration of the area for, what amounts to, a very 
small amount of gas.

?Even if there were significant gas resources under the Valle Vidal it 
would be very difficult to risk turning it into an industrial zone.  
But we don't really face that choice here.  The eastern half of the 
Valle Vidal comprises less than 1 percent of the gas-producing Raton 
Basin. According to the Forest Service, even with the most optimistic 
projections the gas resources are less than one half of one percent of 
the Raton Basin resources,? Bingman said.

Former USGS minerals specialist William Brown pointed out that: ?The 
United States in 2005 will consume about 24 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) 
of natural gas, or about 66 billion cubic feet (Bcf) per day. Estimates 
of natural gas available from the Valle Vidal range from about 0.03 to 
0.16 Tcf, or about 30 to 160 Bcf. These trivial amounts of natural gas 
represent roughly one-half to 2-1/2 day's supply of current USA natural 
gas demand, and would trickle slowly into supply lines over a period of 
15 to 20 years. The quantities of gas available from the Valle Vidal 
will decline further as a percentage of USA gas demand as consumption 
increases steadily during the next two to three decades.?

  ?We know how much gas is in there: not much, and this is one place 
where the surface values far outweigh anything underground,? said Bill 
Schudlich, chairman of the New Mexico Council of Trout Unlimited. ?This 
is our state?s number one elk herd and top habitat for Rio Grande 
Cutthroat trout. Drilling the Valle Vidal would be like ripping up your 
floorboards to get at a dime.?

Trout Unlimited is one of over 200 area businesses and organizations 
opposed to the industrialization of the Valle Vidal.   Six northern New 
Mexico municipalities as well as the Taos County Commission, the Santa 
Fe County Commission and the Chambers of Commerce in Questa and 
Cimarron have also voiced their strong opposition to drilling.  
Opponents to drilling include members of the oil and  gas industry:

?I am a supporter of the oil and gas industry.  I am pro-development.  
I?ve made my living from developing the resources of this state.  But 
as we look for balance, there are some places unique enough and special 
enough to be set aside.  That is the Valle Vidal,? said Gary Foney, the 
past president of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association.

In the end, Bingaman said, ?It would be easy to simply pursue resources 
wherever we find them.  We certainly need the energy and have shown 
remarkable ingenuity in extracting oil and gas from places previously 
thought unreachable and with gradually lessening effects on the 
surrounding landscape.  But our essential character is revealed in 
making the harder choice to slow down and recognize that some places 
are special and warrant special treatment.  The Valle Vidal is such a 
special place.?


###

-------------- next part --------------