How Colorado’s Thompson Divide Got Protection From Oil and Gas Drilling - The New York Times

The members of a self-described ragtag group had little in common, but their campaign could serve as model for future environmental efforts. By Zoë Rom Photographs by Eli Imadali Reporting from Carbondale, Colo. The drilling leases in a pristine corner of Colorado seemed like a done deal. But then an unlikely alliance of cowboys and environmentalists emerged. And things changed. The members of the group — a self-described ragtag organization that included ranchers, cyclists and snowmobilers — had little in common aside from a desire to protect the expanse, almost a quarter-million acres of public land known as the Thompson Divide. But they ultimately developed a novel legal strategy that helped win a 20-year pause on new oil and gas development across the area. That strategy could serve as a model for future conservation efforts. “It’s an incredible story of how it all came together,” said Zane Kessler, the founding executive director of the group, the Thompson Divide Coalition. The ar

The members of a self-described ragtag group had little in common, but their campaign could serve as model for future environmental efforts. By Zoë Rom Photographs by Eli Imadali Reporting from Carbondale, Colo. The drilling leases in a pristine corner of Colorado seemed like a done deal. But then an unlikely alliance of cowboys and environmentalists emerged. And things changed. The members of the group — a self-described ragtag organization that included ranchers, cyclists and snowmobilers — had little in common aside from a desire to protect the expanse, almost a quarter-million acres of pub