Rousseau_UpperColoRiver_19

A well rig for a horizontal hydraulic fracturing is seen on a private land near the Roan Plateau in Garfield County. Currently there are only a few wells being fracked in Garfield County, an area that has historically has a major oil and gas boom. In addition to independent lan owners, more than 90 percent of the BLM area is available or leased to energy development. The newer frakcing technique requires hundreds of thousands of gallons of water extraction for each well, which directly or indirectly is fed by the Colorado River or its tributaries. Photo by Heather Rousseau