drumpf's Forest Service Seeks to Allow Coal and Methane Leases in Sunset Roadless Area in Colorado

EarthJustice:

“The Forest Service is attempting to give Arch Coal, the nation's second largest coal company, the right to expand its mining into 1,700 acres of the Sunset Roadless Area—lands that belong to all Americans.

A rolling landscape of aspen and spruce-fir forests and beaver ponds, the Sunset Roadless Area is within Gunnison National Forest, 40 miles from Aspen, Colorado. The lush, wild forest is public land—prime habitat for goshawk, black bear, elk, cutthroat trout and the imperiled lynx, and enjoyed by hikers and recreationists visiting from near and far. Some of the spruce may be centuries old.”

From this:

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THE UNDERGROUND MINING WILL VENT HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF CUBIC FEET OF METHANE—a potent climate pollutant—into the atmosphere from a tight web of industrial facilities scraped and bulldozed through the forest.

Methane traps more than 80 times more heat than CO2 in the short-term. According data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, from 2013 to 2015, the mine Arch Coal seeks to expand was the largest single industrial source of methane pollution in Colorado. Arch Coal will not be required to capture, burn, or reduce any of the methane pollution.

TODAY, COLORADO’S SOLAR AND WIND INDUSTRIES employ more than 14,000 people, about twelve times as many as work in the state’s mines. Long-term, the future of jobs and energy in the state is becoming clearer—and cleaner. Deepening our reliance on dirty fuels will only lead to higher costs for us all.

For a short time, the Forest Service is asking for your comments on the draft Environmental Impact Statement for Arch Coal’s mine lease expansion into the Sunset Roadless Area:

The EarthJustice link above has more photos and action links.

Denuding any more of Colorado’s old growth forests makes no economic sense unless you are invested in Arch Coal. 

Please let the Forest Service know what you think of this plan before July 24th.