The RMP specifically excludes analysis of horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracking as unfeasible and uneconomical, which was the case 13 years ago, but does not reflect the realities of today’s market. As BLM writes a revised resource management plan to reflect this change, the agency has admitted the 2003 document used to authorize the leases is obsolete. But this\u00a0didn’t stop the agency from using the outdated plan to authorize oil and gas activity on public lands in the Santa Fe National Forest and the Greater Chaco region.<\/p>\n
In June 2018, we successfully challenged these leases in court, stopping expansion oil and gas drilling and fracking into previously undeveloped areas of the Santa Fe National Forest. The judge found the Bureau of Land Management failed to quantify the full life cycle of emissions from oil and gas, including their indirect and cumulative effects on people and the environment. Likewise, the BLM failed to analyze the water quantity impacts of fracking a region currently suffering extraordinary drought that has closed the forest to public use altogether. The court sent the leases back to the BLM and U.S. Forest Service, which must now perform a true analysis of fracking impacts on the Santa Fe National Forest. For now, the remote and steep west side of the Jemez Mountains north of Cuba and near the San Pedro Parks Wilderness will remain free of fracking. We’ll follow up on any future attempts to despoil this area for fossil fuel extraction.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off” transparent_background=”off” background_color=”#f1f3f2″ allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”30px||30px|” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off” custom_padding_tablet=”30px||40px|”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” use_custom_gutter=”off” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on” custom_padding=”0px||0px|” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”off”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Partners” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n
Partners<\/h3>\n\n\n\n![\"Amigos](\"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Amigos-Bravos-Logo.png\")
<\/a><\/div>\n![\"din\u00e9](\"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Dine\u0301-CARE-Logo.png\")
<\/a><\/div>\n![\"san](\"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/SJCA-Logo.png\")
<\/a><\/div>\n![\"sierra](\"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Sierra-Club-Logo.png\")
<\/a><\/div>\n![\"Wildearth](\"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Wildearth-Guardians-Logo.png\")
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Related Documents” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n
Related Documents<\/h2>\n\n- Santa Fe National Forest Final Decision (6.14.18)<\/a><\/li>\n
- Santa Fe National Forest Reply Brief (1.27.17)<\/a><\/li>\n
- Santa Fe National Forest Opening Brief (11.18.17)<\/a><\/li>\n
- Santa Fe National Forest fracking complaint (5.3.16)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Staff” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n
Staff<\/h3>\n
Kyle Tisdel: Bio<\/a> | Docket<\/a><\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off” transparent_background=”off” allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding_tablet=”30px||40px|” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off” disabled_on=”on|on|on” disabled=”on” collapsed=”on”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” use_custom_gutter=”off” custom_padding=”0px||0px|” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Project Updates” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n
Project Updates<\/h2>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_blog admin_label=”Latest 5 Posts” fullwidth=”on” posts_number=”5″ show_thumbnail=”off” show_content=”off” show_more=”off” show_author=”off” show_date=”off” show_categories=”off” show_comments=”off” show_pagination=”on” offset_number=”0″ use_overlay=”off” background_layout=”light” use_dropshadow=”off” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” include_categories=”139″ \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” disabled_on=”on|on|on” disabled=”on” collapsed=”on”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]<\/p>\n
\n2017.02.24-KSNM Intervene OR Mtn and Memo.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n2017.02.24-KSNM Intervene Memo.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\nPresident Clinton designated the Klamath-Siskiyou National Monument in 2000. It is the first and only national monument specifically established to
\nprotect biological diversity. But ecologists agreed after the designation that many of the most important parts of the region were excluded from the monument’s boundaries. In 2015, 85 scientists concerned about increasing
\nthreats to the area signed a letter urging monument expansion in to better
\nprotect and connect important habitats for the monument\u2019s spectacular variety
\nof plants and animals \u201cwhose survival in the region,\u201d according the monument\u2019s
\noriginal proclamation, \u201cdepends upon its continued ecological integrity.\u201d In January 2017, President Obama expanded the monument to include these ecologically important areas.<\/span><\/p>\nSoon after, a timber company and the Association of O&C Counties, keen on logging, filed separate lawsuits suggesting an obscure law requires the area be logged and supersedes the Antiquities Act, used to designate and expand the monument. They’re wrong, and we’re representing the Soda Mountain Wilderness Council, Klamath-Siskiyou Wild, Oregon Wild, and the Wilderness Society, defending the monument from this industry attack.<\/p>\n
(WELC project #484)<\/em><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/KSNM-thumb.jpg\")
<\/div>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” disabled_on=”on|on|on” disabled=”on” collapsed=”on”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]<\/p>\n
\n2013.07.23 Coal Train ED_WA Complaint Final.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\nED.Order on MTD.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n60 Day Notice Letter.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n2013.6.4 Complaint_final.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n100_158_CoalDust_FactSht_04_X1A__2_.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\nWELC and its partners have filed two lawsuits against Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) and several coal companies for violations of the federal Clean Water Act pertaining to the companies\u2019 emission of coal into waterways in several locations across Washington.<\/p>\n
These companies use open-top rail cars, which lose huge volumes of coal dust during transportation \u2013 an average of 500 pounds of coal per rail car per train trip. Each train is composed of 120 cars or more, which adds up to 30 tons of lost coal per train. Investigations undertaken by our clients have turned up coal chunks and particles from rail cars in Washington\u2019s waters.<\/p>\n
Approximately 90% of BNSF’s annual coal shipments are from coal mines in the Powder River Basin (PRB) located in Wyoming and Montana. PRB coal breaks apart easily and contains mercury, arsenic, uranium, and hundreds of other toxins harmful to fish and human health. Additionally, PRB coal dust falls onto train tracks, contributing to track destabilization and dangerous train derailments.<\/p>\n
On June 5, 2013,\u00a0WELC attorney Andrea Rodgers and partners filed the suit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle, where coal dust has been identified in and along multiple waterways including the Pugent Sound. On July 24, 2013, we filed another lawsuit in\u00a0U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington in Spokane, where coal dust has been identified in and along multiple waterways including the Spokane and Columbia Rivers.<\/p>\n
Under the Clean Water Act, anyone discharging pollutants into U.S. waters must first obtain what is known as a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. BNSF does not have such a permit.<\/p>\n
Our partners in these lawsuits are the Sierra Club, Puget Soundkeeper, Columbia Riverkeeper, RE Sources for Sustainable Communities, and Friends of the Columbia Gorge. NRDC and Spokane Riverkeeper joined the lawsuit filed in Eastern Washington.<\/p>\n
In addition to WELC, the plaintiffs are represented by the Law Offices of Charles M. Tebbutt, P.C. of Eugene, OR; Jessica Yarnall Loarie of the Sierra Club Law Program; and David Pettit and Morgan Wyenn of the Natural Resources Defense Council.<\/p>\n
Updates:<\/p>\n
1.02.14: A federal judge in Spokane, Washington denies BNSF’s motion to dismiss our lawsuit aimed at holding them accountable for toxic coal dust that is released from uncovered coal cars polluting Washington’s waterways in violation of the Clean Water Act.<\/p>\n
3.12.14: Victory! A second federal judge – this one in Seattle, Washington – denied BNSF’s motion to dismiss our lawsuit aimed at holding them accountable for toxic coal dust that is released from uncovered coal cars polluting Washington’s waterways in violation of the Clean Water Act. In January, another federal judge denied BNSF’s attempt to thrown out a similar lawsuit that we filed in Spokane, Washington.<\/p>\n
(WELC project #705)<\/em><\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/westernlaw.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/coal)
<\/div>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” disabled_on=”on|on|on” disabled=”on” collapsed=”on”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]<\/p>\n
2016.05.03-SFNF Fracking Complaint.pdf<\/a><\/div>\nDespite more than a hundred protests<\/a> from citizens and organizations, The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service auctioned 20,000 acres of the Santa Fe National Forest<\/a> for fracking. The lease sales engender a dangerous pattern of federal resource agencies manipulating a grossly outdated 2003 resource management plan (RMP) to facilitate a rush to frack New Mexico’s Mancos Shale in advance of a true analysis of the impacts of modern fracking technologies and techniques. This is the same rationale used to exploit the Greater Chaco region, which we are also challenging in court<\/a>.<\/p>\nThe RMP specifically excludes analysis of horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracking as unfeasible and uneconomical, which was the case 13 years ago, but does not reflect the realities of today’s market. As BLM writes a revised resource management plan to reflect this change, the agency has admitted the 2003 document used to authorize the leases is obsolete. But this hasn’t stopped the agency from using the outdated plan to authorize oil and gas activity on public lands in the Santa Fe National Forest and the Greater Chaco region.<\/p>\n
Horizontal wells have double the surface impact (5.2 acres) of vertical wells (2 acres) and emit over 250 percent more air pollution, including toxic volatile organic compounds and greenhouse gases.\u00a0 Horizontal wells also require 5-10 times more water \u2013 a significant concern in the arid Southwest.<\/p>\n
Additionally, horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracking use thousands of gallons of secret, toxic chemicals rumored to include benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, xylene, naphthalene, formaldehyde, hydrochloric acid, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, ethylene glycol, and sodium hydroxide. If a wellbore is not properly sealed, cased, or its integrity is otherwise compromised, these chemicals can escape as they move through the well, risking groundwater contamination.<\/p>\n
The challenged leases would expand oil and gas drilling and fracking into previously undeveloped areas of the Santa Fe National Forest on the remote and steep west side of the Jemez Mountains north of Cuba and near the San Pedro Parks Wilderness.<\/p>\n
WELC represents the San Juan Citizens Alliance, Din\u00e9 Citizens Against Ruining our Environment, Amigos Bravos, WildEarth Guardians, and the Sierra Club.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/SFNF_thumb)
<\/div>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Protecting the Santa Fe National Forest from Fracking Despite more than a hundred protests from citizens and organizations, The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service auctioned 20,000 acres of the Santa Fe National Forest for fracking. The lease sales engender a dangerous pattern of federal resource agencies manipulating a grossly outdated 2003 resource […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"parent":5836,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"
2016.05.03-SFNF Fracking Complaint.pdf<\/a><\/div>Despite more than a hundred protests<\/a> from citizens and organizations, The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service auctioned 20,000 acres of the Santa Fe National Forest<\/a> for fracking. The lease sales engender a dangerous pattern of federal resource agencies manipulating a grossly outdated 2003 resource management plan (RMP) to facilitate a rush to frack New Mexico's Mancos Shale in advance of a true analysis of the impacts of modern fracking technologies and techniques. This is the same rationale used to exploit the Greater Chaco region, which we are also challenging in court<\/a>.<\/p>The RMP specifically excludes analysis of horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracking as unfeasible and uneconomical, which was the case 13 years ago, but does not reflect the realities of today's market. As BLM writes a revised resource management plan to reflect this change, the agency has admitted the 2003 document used to authorize the leases is obsolete. But this hasn't stopped the agency from using the outdated plan to authorize oil and gas activity on public lands in the Santa Fe National Forest and the Greater Chaco region.<\/p>
Horizontal wells have double the surface impact (5.2 acres) of vertical wells (2 acres) and emit over 250 percent more air pollution, including toxic volatile organic compounds and greenhouse gases.\u00a0 Horizontal wells also require 5-10 times more water \u2013 a significant concern in the arid Southwest.<\/p>
Additionally, horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracking use thousands of gallons of secret, toxic chemicals rumored to include benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, xylene, naphthalene, formaldehyde, hydrochloric acid, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, ethylene glycol, and sodium hydroxide. If a wellbore is not properly sealed, cased, or its integrity is otherwise compromised, these chemicals can escape as they move through the well, risking groundwater contamination.<\/p>
The challenged leases would expand oil and gas drilling and fracking into previously undeveloped areas of the Santa Fe National Forest on the remote and steep west side of the Jemez Mountains north of Cuba and near the San Pedro Parks Wilderness.<\/p>
WELC represents the San Juan Citizens Alliance, Din\u00e9 Citizens Against Ruining our Environment, Amigos Bravos, WildEarth Guardians, and the Sierra Club.<\/p>
<\/div>","_et_gb_content_width":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[253],"tags":[232,280,265,318],"class_list":["post-1485","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-climate-energy","tag-fracking","tag-kyle-tisdel","tag-new-mexico","tag-santa-fe-national-forest"],"yoast_head":"\nProtecting the Santa Fe National Forest from Fracking - Western Environmental Law Center<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/es\/safeguarding-climate\/reforming-oil-gas-operations\/protecting-santa-fe-national-forest-fracking-nm\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_MX\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Protecting the Santa Fe National Forest from Fracking - Western Environmental Law Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Protecting the Santa Fe National Forest from Fracking Despite more than a hundred protests from citizens and organizations, The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service auctioned 20,000 acres of the Santa Fe National Forest for fracking. 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The lease sales engender a dangerous pattern of federal resource agencies manipulating a grossly outdated 2003 resource…","post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1485"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1485\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18929,"href":"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1485\/revisions\/18929"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1485"}],"curies":[{"name":"gracias","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Related Documents” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n
Related Documents<\/h2>\n\n- Santa Fe National Forest Final Decision (6.14.18)<\/a><\/li>\n
- Santa Fe National Forest Reply Brief (1.27.17)<\/a><\/li>\n
- Santa Fe National Forest Opening Brief (11.18.17)<\/a><\/li>\n
- Santa Fe National Forest fracking complaint (5.3.16)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Staff” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n
Staff<\/h3>\n
Kyle Tisdel: Bio<\/a> | Docket<\/a><\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off” transparent_background=”off” allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding_tablet=”30px||40px|” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off” disabled_on=”on|on|on” disabled=”on” collapsed=”on”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” use_custom_gutter=”off” custom_padding=”0px||0px|” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Project Updates” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n
Project Updates<\/h2>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_blog admin_label=”Latest 5 Posts” fullwidth=”on” posts_number=”5″ show_thumbnail=”off” show_content=”off” show_more=”off” show_author=”off” show_date=”off” show_categories=”off” show_comments=”off” show_pagination=”on” offset_number=”0″ use_overlay=”off” background_layout=”light” use_dropshadow=”off” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” include_categories=”139″ \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” disabled_on=”on|on|on” disabled=”on” collapsed=”on”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]<\/p>\n
\n2017.02.24-KSNM Intervene OR Mtn and Memo.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n2017.02.24-KSNM Intervene Memo.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\nPresident Clinton designated the Klamath-Siskiyou National Monument in 2000. It is the first and only national monument specifically established to
\nprotect biological diversity. But ecologists agreed after the designation that many of the most important parts of the region were excluded from the monument’s boundaries. In 2015, 85 scientists concerned about increasing
\nthreats to the area signed a letter urging monument expansion in to better
\nprotect and connect important habitats for the monument\u2019s spectacular variety
\nof plants and animals \u201cwhose survival in the region,\u201d according the monument\u2019s
\noriginal proclamation, \u201cdepends upon its continued ecological integrity.\u201d In January 2017, President Obama expanded the monument to include these ecologically important areas.<\/span><\/p>\nSoon after, a timber company and the Association of O&C Counties, keen on logging, filed separate lawsuits suggesting an obscure law requires the area be logged and supersedes the Antiquities Act, used to designate and expand the monument. They’re wrong, and we’re representing the Soda Mountain Wilderness Council, Klamath-Siskiyou Wild, Oregon Wild, and the Wilderness Society, defending the monument from this industry attack.<\/p>\n
(WELC project #484)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” disabled_on=”on|on|on” disabled=”on” collapsed=”on”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]<\/p>\n
\n2013.07.23 Coal Train ED_WA Complaint Final.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\nED.Order on MTD.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n60 Day Notice Letter.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n2013.6.4 Complaint_final.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n100_158_CoalDust_FactSht_04_X1A__2_.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\nWELC and its partners have filed two lawsuits against Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) and several coal companies for violations of the federal Clean Water Act pertaining to the companies\u2019 emission of coal into waterways in several locations across Washington.<\/p>\n
These companies use open-top rail cars, which lose huge volumes of coal dust during transportation \u2013 an average of 500 pounds of coal per rail car per train trip. Each train is composed of 120 cars or more, which adds up to 30 tons of lost coal per train. Investigations undertaken by our clients have turned up coal chunks and particles from rail cars in Washington\u2019s waters.<\/p>\n
Approximately 90% of BNSF’s annual coal shipments are from coal mines in the Powder River Basin (PRB) located in Wyoming and Montana. PRB coal breaks apart easily and contains mercury, arsenic, uranium, and hundreds of other toxins harmful to fish and human health. Additionally, PRB coal dust falls onto train tracks, contributing to track destabilization and dangerous train derailments.<\/p>\n
On June 5, 2013,\u00a0WELC attorney Andrea Rodgers and partners filed the suit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle, where coal dust has been identified in and along multiple waterways including the Pugent Sound. On July 24, 2013, we filed another lawsuit in\u00a0U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington in Spokane, where coal dust has been identified in and along multiple waterways including the Spokane and Columbia Rivers.<\/p>\n
Under the Clean Water Act, anyone discharging pollutants into U.S. waters must first obtain what is known as a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. BNSF does not have such a permit.<\/p>\n
Our partners in these lawsuits are the Sierra Club, Puget Soundkeeper, Columbia Riverkeeper, RE Sources for Sustainable Communities, and Friends of the Columbia Gorge. NRDC and Spokane Riverkeeper joined the lawsuit filed in Eastern Washington.<\/p>\n
In addition to WELC, the plaintiffs are represented by the Law Offices of Charles M. Tebbutt, P.C. of Eugene, OR; Jessica Yarnall Loarie of the Sierra Club Law Program; and David Pettit and Morgan Wyenn of the Natural Resources Defense Council.<\/p>\n
Updates:<\/p>\n
1.02.14: A federal judge in Spokane, Washington denies BNSF’s motion to dismiss our lawsuit aimed at holding them accountable for toxic coal dust that is released from uncovered coal cars polluting Washington’s waterways in violation of the Clean Water Act.<\/p>\n
3.12.14: Victory! A second federal judge – this one in Seattle, Washington – denied BNSF’s motion to dismiss our lawsuit aimed at holding them accountable for toxic coal dust that is released from uncovered coal cars polluting Washington’s waterways in violation of the Clean Water Act. In January, another federal judge denied BNSF’s attempt to thrown out a similar lawsuit that we filed in Spokane, Washington.<\/p>\n
(WELC project #705)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” disabled_on=”on|on|on” disabled=”on” collapsed=”on”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]<\/p>\n
2016.05.03-SFNF Fracking Complaint.pdf<\/a><\/div>\nDespite more than a hundred protests<\/a> from citizens and organizations, The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service auctioned 20,000 acres of the Santa Fe National Forest<\/a> for fracking. The lease sales engender a dangerous pattern of federal resource agencies manipulating a grossly outdated 2003 resource management plan (RMP) to facilitate a rush to frack New Mexico’s Mancos Shale in advance of a true analysis of the impacts of modern fracking technologies and techniques. This is the same rationale used to exploit the Greater Chaco region, which we are also challenging in court<\/a>.<\/p>\nThe RMP specifically excludes analysis of horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracking as unfeasible and uneconomical, which was the case 13 years ago, but does not reflect the realities of today’s market. As BLM writes a revised resource management plan to reflect this change, the agency has admitted the 2003 document used to authorize the leases is obsolete. But this hasn’t stopped the agency from using the outdated plan to authorize oil and gas activity on public lands in the Santa Fe National Forest and the Greater Chaco region.<\/p>\n
Horizontal wells have double the surface impact (5.2 acres) of vertical wells (2 acres) and emit over 250 percent more air pollution, including toxic volatile organic compounds and greenhouse gases.\u00a0 Horizontal wells also require 5-10 times more water \u2013 a significant concern in the arid Southwest.<\/p>\n
Additionally, horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracking use thousands of gallons of secret, toxic chemicals rumored to include benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, xylene, naphthalene, formaldehyde, hydrochloric acid, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, ethylene glycol, and sodium hydroxide. If a wellbore is not properly sealed, cased, or its integrity is otherwise compromised, these chemicals can escape as they move through the well, risking groundwater contamination.<\/p>\n
The challenged leases would expand oil and gas drilling and fracking into previously undeveloped areas of the Santa Fe National Forest on the remote and steep west side of the Jemez Mountains north of Cuba and near the San Pedro Parks Wilderness.<\/p>\n
WELC represents the San Juan Citizens Alliance, Din\u00e9 Citizens Against Ruining our Environment, Amigos Bravos, WildEarth Guardians, and the Sierra Club.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Protecting the Santa Fe National Forest from Fracking Despite more than a hundred protests from citizens and organizations, The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service auctioned 20,000 acres of the Santa Fe National Forest for fracking. The lease sales engender a dangerous pattern of federal resource agencies manipulating a grossly outdated 2003 resource […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"parent":5836,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"
2016.05.03-SFNF Fracking Complaint.pdf<\/a><\/div>Despite more than a hundred protests<\/a> from citizens and organizations, The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service auctioned 20,000 acres of the Santa Fe National Forest<\/a> for fracking. The lease sales engender a dangerous pattern of federal resource agencies manipulating a grossly outdated 2003 resource management plan (RMP) to facilitate a rush to frack New Mexico's Mancos Shale in advance of a true analysis of the impacts of modern fracking technologies and techniques. This is the same rationale used to exploit the Greater Chaco region, which we are also challenging in court<\/a>.<\/p>The RMP specifically excludes analysis of horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracking as unfeasible and uneconomical, which was the case 13 years ago, but does not reflect the realities of today's market. As BLM writes a revised resource management plan to reflect this change, the agency has admitted the 2003 document used to authorize the leases is obsolete. But this hasn't stopped the agency from using the outdated plan to authorize oil and gas activity on public lands in the Santa Fe National Forest and the Greater Chaco region.<\/p>
Horizontal wells have double the surface impact (5.2 acres) of vertical wells (2 acres) and emit over 250 percent more air pollution, including toxic volatile organic compounds and greenhouse gases.\u00a0 Horizontal wells also require 5-10 times more water \u2013 a significant concern in the arid Southwest.<\/p>
Additionally, horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracking use thousands of gallons of secret, toxic chemicals rumored to include benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, xylene, naphthalene, formaldehyde, hydrochloric acid, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, ethylene glycol, and sodium hydroxide. If a wellbore is not properly sealed, cased, or its integrity is otherwise compromised, these chemicals can escape as they move through the well, risking groundwater contamination.<\/p>
The challenged leases would expand oil and gas drilling and fracking into previously undeveloped areas of the Santa Fe National Forest on the remote and steep west side of the Jemez Mountains north of Cuba and near the San Pedro Parks Wilderness.<\/p>
WELC represents the San Juan Citizens Alliance, Din\u00e9 Citizens Against Ruining our Environment, Amigos Bravos, WildEarth Guardians, and the Sierra Club.<\/p>
<\/div>","_et_gb_content_width":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[253],"tags":[232,280,265,318],"class_list":["post-1485","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-climate-energy","tag-fracking","tag-kyle-tisdel","tag-new-mexico","tag-santa-fe-national-forest"],"yoast_head":"\nProtecting the Santa Fe National Forest from Fracking - Western Environmental Law Center<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/es\/safeguarding-climate\/reforming-oil-gas-operations\/protecting-santa-fe-national-forest-fracking-nm\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_MX\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Protecting the Santa Fe National Forest from Fracking - Western Environmental Law Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Protecting the Santa Fe National Forest from Fracking Despite more than a hundred protests from citizens and organizations, The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service auctioned 20,000 acres of the Santa Fe National Forest for fracking. 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The lease sales engender a dangerous pattern of federal resource agencies manipulating a grossly outdated 2003 resource…","post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1485"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1485\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18929,"href":"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1485\/revisions\/18929"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1485"}],"curies":[{"name":"gracias","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Staff” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n
Staff<\/h3>\n
Kyle Tisdel: Bio<\/a> | Docket<\/a><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off” transparent_background=”off” allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding_tablet=”30px||40px|” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off” disabled_on=”on|on|on” disabled=”on” collapsed=”on”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” use_custom_gutter=”off” custom_padding=”0px||0px|” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Project Updates” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_blog admin_label=”Latest 5 Posts” fullwidth=”on” posts_number=”5″ show_thumbnail=”off” show_content=”off” show_more=”off” show_author=”off” show_date=”off” show_categories=”off” show_comments=”off” show_pagination=”on” offset_number=”0″ use_overlay=”off” background_layout=”light” use_dropshadow=”off” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” include_categories=”139″ \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” disabled_on=”on|on|on” disabled=”on” collapsed=”on”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]<\/p>\n 2017.02.24-KSNM Intervene OR Mtn and Memo.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n 2017.02.24-KSNM Intervene Memo.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n President Clinton designated the Klamath-Siskiyou National Monument in 2000. It is the first and only national monument specifically established to Soon after, a timber company and the Association of O&C Counties, keen on logging, filed separate lawsuits suggesting an obscure law requires the area be logged and supersedes the Antiquities Act, used to designate and expand the monument. They’re wrong, and we’re representing the Soda Mountain Wilderness Council, Klamath-Siskiyou Wild, Oregon Wild, and the Wilderness Society, defending the monument from this industry attack.<\/p>\n (WELC project #484)<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” disabled_on=”on|on|on” disabled=”on” collapsed=”on”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]<\/p>\n 2013.07.23 Coal Train ED_WA Complaint Final.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n ED.Order on MTD.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n 60 Day Notice Letter.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n 2013.6.4 Complaint_final.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n 100_158_CoalDust_FactSht_04_X1A__2_.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n WELC and its partners have filed two lawsuits against Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) and several coal companies for violations of the federal Clean Water Act pertaining to the companies\u2019 emission of coal into waterways in several locations across Washington.<\/p>\n These companies use open-top rail cars, which lose huge volumes of coal dust during transportation \u2013 an average of 500 pounds of coal per rail car per train trip. Each train is composed of 120 cars or more, which adds up to 30 tons of lost coal per train. Investigations undertaken by our clients have turned up coal chunks and particles from rail cars in Washington\u2019s waters.<\/p>\n Approximately 90% of BNSF’s annual coal shipments are from coal mines in the Powder River Basin (PRB) located in Wyoming and Montana. PRB coal breaks apart easily and contains mercury, arsenic, uranium, and hundreds of other toxins harmful to fish and human health. Additionally, PRB coal dust falls onto train tracks, contributing to track destabilization and dangerous train derailments.<\/p>\n On June 5, 2013,\u00a0WELC attorney Andrea Rodgers and partners filed the suit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle, where coal dust has been identified in and along multiple waterways including the Pugent Sound. On July 24, 2013, we filed another lawsuit in\u00a0U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington in Spokane, where coal dust has been identified in and along multiple waterways including the Spokane and Columbia Rivers.<\/p>\n Under the Clean Water Act, anyone discharging pollutants into U.S. waters must first obtain what is known as a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. BNSF does not have such a permit.<\/p>\n Our partners in these lawsuits are the Sierra Club, Puget Soundkeeper, Columbia Riverkeeper, RE Sources for Sustainable Communities, and Friends of the Columbia Gorge. NRDC and Spokane Riverkeeper joined the lawsuit filed in Eastern Washington.<\/p>\n In addition to WELC, the plaintiffs are represented by the Law Offices of Charles M. Tebbutt, P.C. of Eugene, OR; Jessica Yarnall Loarie of the Sierra Club Law Program; and David Pettit and Morgan Wyenn of the Natural Resources Defense Council.<\/p>\n Updates:<\/p>\n 1.02.14: A federal judge in Spokane, Washington denies BNSF’s motion to dismiss our lawsuit aimed at holding them accountable for toxic coal dust that is released from uncovered coal cars polluting Washington’s waterways in violation of the Clean Water Act.<\/p>\n 3.12.14: Victory! A second federal judge – this one in Seattle, Washington – denied BNSF’s motion to dismiss our lawsuit aimed at holding them accountable for toxic coal dust that is released from uncovered coal cars polluting Washington’s waterways in violation of the Clean Water Act. In January, another federal judge denied BNSF’s attempt to thrown out a similar lawsuit that we filed in Spokane, Washington.<\/p>\n (WELC project #705)<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” disabled_on=”on|on|on” disabled=”on” collapsed=”on”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]<\/p>\n Despite more than a hundred protests<\/a> from citizens and organizations, The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service auctioned 20,000 acres of the Santa Fe National Forest<\/a> for fracking. The lease sales engender a dangerous pattern of federal resource agencies manipulating a grossly outdated 2003 resource management plan (RMP) to facilitate a rush to frack New Mexico’s Mancos Shale in advance of a true analysis of the impacts of modern fracking technologies and techniques. This is the same rationale used to exploit the Greater Chaco region, which we are also challenging in court<\/a>.<\/p>\n The RMP specifically excludes analysis of horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracking as unfeasible and uneconomical, which was the case 13 years ago, but does not reflect the realities of today’s market. As BLM writes a revised resource management plan to reflect this change, the agency has admitted the 2003 document used to authorize the leases is obsolete. But this hasn’t stopped the agency from using the outdated plan to authorize oil and gas activity on public lands in the Santa Fe National Forest and the Greater Chaco region.<\/p>\n Horizontal wells have double the surface impact (5.2 acres) of vertical wells (2 acres) and emit over 250 percent more air pollution, including toxic volatile organic compounds and greenhouse gases.\u00a0 Horizontal wells also require 5-10 times more water \u2013 a significant concern in the arid Southwest.<\/p>\n Additionally, horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracking use thousands of gallons of secret, toxic chemicals rumored to include benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, xylene, naphthalene, formaldehyde, hydrochloric acid, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, ethylene glycol, and sodium hydroxide. If a wellbore is not properly sealed, cased, or its integrity is otherwise compromised, these chemicals can escape as they move through the well, risking groundwater contamination.<\/p>\n The challenged leases would expand oil and gas drilling and fracking into previously undeveloped areas of the Santa Fe National Forest on the remote and steep west side of the Jemez Mountains north of Cuba and near the San Pedro Parks Wilderness.<\/p>\n WELC represents the San Juan Citizens Alliance, Din\u00e9 Citizens Against Ruining our Environment, Amigos Bravos, WildEarth Guardians, and the Sierra Club.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Protecting the Santa Fe National Forest from Fracking Despite more than a hundred protests from citizens and organizations, The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service auctioned 20,000 acres of the Santa Fe National Forest for fracking. The lease sales engender a dangerous pattern of federal resource agencies manipulating a grossly outdated 2003 resource […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"parent":5836,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" Despite more than a hundred protests<\/a> from citizens and organizations, The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service auctioned 20,000 acres of the Santa Fe National Forest<\/a> for fracking. The lease sales engender a dangerous pattern of federal resource agencies manipulating a grossly outdated 2003 resource management plan (RMP) to facilitate a rush to frack New Mexico's Mancos Shale in advance of a true analysis of the impacts of modern fracking technologies and techniques. This is the same rationale used to exploit the Greater Chaco region, which we are also challenging in court<\/a>.<\/p> The RMP specifically excludes analysis of horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracking as unfeasible and uneconomical, which was the case 13 years ago, but does not reflect the realities of today's market. As BLM writes a revised resource management plan to reflect this change, the agency has admitted the 2003 document used to authorize the leases is obsolete. But this hasn't stopped the agency from using the outdated plan to authorize oil and gas activity on public lands in the Santa Fe National Forest and the Greater Chaco region.<\/p> Horizontal wells have double the surface impact (5.2 acres) of vertical wells (2 acres) and emit over 250 percent more air pollution, including toxic volatile organic compounds and greenhouse gases.\u00a0 Horizontal wells also require 5-10 times more water \u2013 a significant concern in the arid Southwest.<\/p> Additionally, horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracking use thousands of gallons of secret, toxic chemicals rumored to include benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, xylene, naphthalene, formaldehyde, hydrochloric acid, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, ethylene glycol, and sodium hydroxide. If a wellbore is not properly sealed, cased, or its integrity is otherwise compromised, these chemicals can escape as they move through the well, risking groundwater contamination.<\/p> The challenged leases would expand oil and gas drilling and fracking into previously undeveloped areas of the Santa Fe National Forest on the remote and steep west side of the Jemez Mountains north of Cuba and near the San Pedro Parks Wilderness.<\/p> WELC represents the San Juan Citizens Alliance, Din\u00e9 Citizens Against Ruining our Environment, Amigos Bravos, WildEarth Guardians, and the Sierra Club.<\/p>Project Updates<\/h2>\n
\nprotect biological diversity. But ecologists agreed after the designation that many of the most important parts of the region were excluded from the monument’s boundaries. In 2015, 85 scientists concerned about increasing
\nthreats to the area signed a letter urging monument expansion in to better
\nprotect and connect important habitats for the monument\u2019s spectacular variety
\nof plants and animals \u201cwhose survival in the region,\u201d according the monument\u2019s
\noriginal proclamation, \u201cdepends upon its continued ecological integrity.\u201d In January 2017, President Obama expanded the monument to include these ecologically important areas.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
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