GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO)_ 80 percent of federal public lands in northwestern Colorado have been leased for oil and gas development.
It's a fact that has environmental groups worried about the potential impacts to areas that are rich with wildlife.
Thursday Eco Flight and the Colorado Environmental Coalition invited the media on a rare flight over the Piceance Basin.
"You just don't see behind the ridges and the industrial facilities that are in the middle of nowhere," says Jim Spehar, former Grand Junction mayor.
Here oil shale is abundant and so is wildlife, home to one of the largest mule-deer populations in the world.
"It's unfortunate that one of the best energy areas is also one of the best wildlife areas in the state there is bound to be some conflicts," says Gene Byrne, a former biologist with the Division of Wildlife.
Energy industry supporters say developing more of our nation's oil and natural gas would generate much-needed revenues for federal, state and local governments, spur new job growth and increase america's energy security.
"The concern is that the research with oil shale is a science project aimed at technology and we want the equal effort on the possible impacts it could have, says Spehar.
The US possesses 70 percent of the worlds oil shale, immature oil that if heated could be extracted and refined into liquid fuel but the technology to make this a worth-while energy source is still in the works.
"If it costs more to get a barrel of oil out than you can sell it for than it's not going to be viable."
The Bureau of Land Management is currently initiating a plan for oil shale development. Opening up 2 million acres of western public lands and while environmental groups are not against it they say proceeding without knowing the risks is troubling.
"What we don't want to see as a state that we are putting the cart before the horse that we are leasing our public lands to a technology that has not been proven," says Petrika Peters with the Colorado Environmental Coalition.
The Department of the Interior is releasing an Environmental Impact Study on the impact of oil shale development in January 2012.
Today's flight was a joint effort by Eco Flight and the Colorado Environmental Coalition.
