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GALLERIES
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Note: Images, graphics and other information provided on this web site may not be used for commercial purposes.
This suite
of galleries includes satellite images, aerial photographs, and other
maps and graphics that address specific environmental issues and places
of concern. Links to other organizations and resources are provided
if you'd like more information, or want to find out what's happening
in a particular area (but please keep in mind that we are not responsible
for the content and do not necessarily support the opinions or positions
expressed on any non-SkyTruth website). Much of this material will
continually evolve, so come back for a visit once and a while to catch
up with what's new!
Many of the aerial photos in these galleries were acquired through
our partnership with EcoFlight.
Founded in 2002, EcoFlight provides aircraft for environmental
advocacy and creates innovative educational programs designed to
increase environmental awareness around the country for teachers
and students alike.
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Energy
Development |
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Oil
and gas drilling, production and transport leave a tangible "footprint" on
the landscape that can disrupt ecosystems, destroy habitat and
interfere with other uses of the land, such as agriculture, grazing,
hunting, fishing and other outdoor recreation. New technologies
like directional drilling can reduce this surface impact, but
because it is usually more expensive than old-fashioned vertical
drilling, it's not commonly being applied on our public lands.
Satellite and aerial images graphically illustrate the industrialization
of once-wild landscapes that occurs when drilling is approved,
and how rapidly this change can occur when drilling begins in
an area.
A good resource for learning more about energy development on
public lands throughout the Rocky Mountain West is the BLM
Action Center. On their website you'll find information
on how you can make a difference in the planning process; connections
to people
who can share their experiences and strategies in working on these
issues; a Media Toolbox with tips, templates and informed guidance; "hot" areas
that are currently undergoing planning where the future of wilderness
areas, archeological sites, and other resources are at stake; a planning
database with information on areas in your state; and information
about the lands that BLM manages and what the agency does. The Action
Center’s broad array of resources and staff expertise are designed
to help people work on a BLM planning process, including building
community support for your issues and communicating your positions
on those issues.
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 COALBED
METHANE - GALLERY
Coalbed
Methane (CBM), also called Coalbed Natural Gas (CBNG), is an
unconventional source
of natural gas that is abundant in coal-bearing formations in
parts of the western US, particularly in the San Juan Basin
of Colorado
- New Mexico, the Uinta Basin of Utah, and the Powder RIver Basin
of Wyoming - Montana.
CBM
production is unique: the natural gas is locked into the coal
by water pressure, so the only way to
produce the gas is to lower that water pressure by pumping
huge volumes
of ground water out of the coal-bearing formations. This raises
a number of concerns. Because water is such a scarce and precious
commodity in the West, many ranchers, farmers and residents
are concerned about the possible impact on their crucial supplies
of well water. The cheapest way for companies to dispose
of
the water
they pump out of the coal beds is to discharge it directly
into streams and rivers. But because the chemistry of the "produced" water
is often different from the natural stream water, farmers and
ranchers who use rivers and streams for irrigation or to water
their livestock
are worried about the consequences. Sport
fishermen, too, are concerned about the effect this water discharge
could have on
stream habitats
and fish populations. Another technique is to store the produced
water in holding ponds until it evaporates, but a recent
increase in the prevalence of West Nile Virus (including the
deaths of
endangered sage grouse from this disease) has biologists
concerned that these
holding ponds are serving as mosquito breeding areas. In
addition to the issue of water disposal, CBM drilling is typically
done
at a very close spacing (one well per 20 acres or less --
that's 32 or more wells per square mile), resulting in a dense
network
of access roads, well pads, and pipeline corridors that causes
severe landscape alteration.
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 For more information on CBM / CBNG development,
the areas at stake and the issues, please visit:
Northern Plains Resource Council
is a Montana-based grassroots conservation and family agriculture organization
that's committed to making sure coal bed methane is developed responsibly in
Montana, with full protections for farm and ranch communities, water quality,
and wildlife. Click
here to access information on Northern Plains' efforts to hold government
agencies and industry officials accountable to existing laws and provide the
public with information about problems associated with methane development
and ways to solve them.
Powder River Basin Resource Council
is a grassroots organization of individuals and affiliate groups
dedicated to the stewardship of Wyoming's resources. Click
here for more on PRBRC's work related to CBM.
American
Lands' Sagebrush Sea Project
seeks to protect and restore sagebrush landscapes across the
West. As part of this effort, American Lands and their partners
are working to protect sage grouse and black-tailed prairie
dogs from the impacts of coalbed methane development in Montana
and Wyoming. San Juan Citizen's Alliance
works for the land and people of the San Juan Basin. Their major
priorities include protecting wildlife and wildlands, advocating
greater corporate and government responsibility in development
of oil and gas resources, protecting and restoring rivers, and
promoting basic civil rights and civil liberties for all residents.
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UPPER
GREEN RIVER VALLEY, WYOMING - GALLERY
Nestled between Greater Yellowstone's high peaks and the Red Desert's
colorful badlands and sand dunes is the Upper Green River Valley,
the largest publicly owned block of wildlife winter range in the
Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. These lands also boast the longest
big-game migration route in the lower 48 states and are one of the
last strongholds for sage grouse, an icon of the prairie now in trouble
across most of its range. Energy development -- especially drilling
for natural gas -- is spreading rapidly in this area, threatening
a critical migration corridor, and thousands of new wells are proposed.
For more information see our project example under SkyTruth
at Work ,
an article from the High
Country News ,
our
testimony to Congress on the impacts of energy development (Adobe
PDF file). |
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For
more information on the Upper Green River Valley link to
the following sites:
Upper Green River Valley Coalition
is a group of citizens, businesses, and conservation
organizations dedicated to responsible, sustainable management of
the wildlife, waters, and air quality of Wyoming's Upper Green. Their
web site is a clearinghouse of information on the threats oil and
gas development pose to the Upper Green River Valley's world-class
natural values, and serves as a tool for organizing the public in
support of the region's wildlife, water and air quality, scenic vistas,
recreational opportunities and rural quality of life. The
BLM Action Center
is dedicated to helping people effectively engage and participate
in the processes used by the Bureau of Land Management to determine
how your wild lands will be managed.
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OTERO
MESA- PERMIAN BASIN, NEW MEXICO - GALLERY
Otero Mesa
lies just an hour's drive from El Paso and perhaps 90 minutes
from Las Cruces
or Alamogordo and encompasses more than 1.2 million acres of wilderness-quality
Chihuahuan Desert grassland, home to many species of wildlife,
native plants and independent cattle ranches that have been in
operation for generations. Just next door to the east sprawls the
Permian Basin, one of the country's largest and oldest mid-continent
oil and gas fields. Drilling in the Permian Basin is steadily encroaching
on Otero Mesa, and new proposals beign considered by the Bureau
of Land Mangement would allow development on the Mesa itself. |
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For
more information on the Otern Mesa issues link to the
following sites:
The
Coalition for Otero Mesa
is an alliance of sportsman and conservation
groups who have joined forces to help protect
this special part of New Mexico's conservation heritage.
New
Mexico Wilderness Alliance
is a grassroots environmental organization
dedicated to the protection, restoration, and continued enjoyment
of New Mexico's wildlands
and Wilderness Areas. Information on their Otero Mesa work can
be found here. Southwest
Environmental Center
is based in Las Cruces, NM, the closest
New Mexico metro area to the Otero Mesa, and is working to protect
this land. Visitors to their website will find further information
about Otero Mesa and tools to take action locally on behalf of
Otero Mesa here. The
BLM Action Center
is dedicated to helping people effectively
engage and participate in the processes used by the Bureau of
Land
Management to determine how your wild lands will be managed.
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ROAN PLATEAU, COLORADO
- GALLERY
The spectacular Roan Plateau is located a few miles northwest of
Rifle in central Colorado. Rising 3,500 feet above the Colorado
River valley, the dramatic Roan Cliffs give way to the broad and
rolling Roan Plateau. Several streams drain the area and eventually
form stunning box canyons. The area offers outstanding views of
the surrounding landscape. Because of its location within the gas-rich
Piceance Basin, the oil and gas industry has placed the Roan Plateau
high on its wish list. As with many areas across the West, the
Bureau of Land Management is under tremendous pressure to open
the top of the Roan Plateau to energy development. |
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VALLE
VIDAL-RATON BASIN- VERMEJO PARK,
NEW MEXICO - GALLERY
Located in the
heart of the Sangre de Cristo mountains of northern New Mexico,
the Valle
Vidal was donated to the public in 1982 as a 100,000-acre unit
of the Carson National Forest. Ranging from 7,700-12,584 feet in
elevation, the Valle Vidal is home to a magnificent array of mammals,
reptiles, amphibians, and fish -- including the native Rio Grande
cutthroat trout, mountain lion, turkey, buffalo, and the largest
elk herd in New Mexico. With its spectacular vistas, hiking trails,
ponds, lakes, and grazing lands, the Valle Vidal is a special place
to New Mexico’s hunters, anglers, ranchers, hikers, skiers,
wildlife viewers, photographers, and tourists. Boy scouts from
the neighboring Philmont Scout Ranch have long used the Valle Vidal
as a their "backyard" for wilderness excursions. Coalbed
methane drilling is being considered by the Forest Service for
this wild area. For a preview of what could happen to the Vidal,
one need only look at CBM development in adjacent parts of the
Raton Basin. |
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For
more information on theValle Vidal, link to the following
sites:
Amigos Bravos
Founded in 1988, Amigos
Bravos is the only non-profit river advocacy group in New Mexico
dedicated
to
preserving both the ecological and cultural richness of the
Río
Grande watershed. Click
here to access a variety of materials addressing
proposed CBM development in the Valle Vidal
The
BLM Action Center
is dedicated to helping people effectively engage and participate in the processes
used by the Bureau of Land Management to determine how your wild lands will be
managed.
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NORTH
SLOPE OF ALASKA- OIL DEVELOPMENT FOOTPRINT - GALLERY
Oil
exploration and drilling on Alaska's "North Slope" has
long been, and continues to be, a contentious environmental
issue. The undeveloped Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)
remains under constant threat. Images revealing the oil development
infrastructure of the Prudhoe Bay field provide an indication
of the type and extent of impact that ANWR could experience
if drilling is allowed.
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