Rich Naval Oil Shale Reserve in Colorado's Roan Remains in Limbo

摘要

Although presumably natural gas-rich portions of the former Naval Oil Shale Reserve (NOSR) in northwestern Colorado were leased to producers nearly three years ago, the leases remain suspended because of two unresolved lawsuits brought by environmental and sportsmen groups clamoring to protect the region's irreplaceable wildlife and recreational values. The August 2008 lease sale, which leased portions of the NOSR as part of tracts atop and around the scenic Roan Plateau, was considered a long-awaited and heavily-contested milestone in and of itself.