Welcome To Alison’s Blog

PHoto tour of Holy Terror Farm - does it make sense to drill our foodshed?

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 12:41:49 -0700

Pro Mountain Biker Alison Gannett riding on Jumbo- parcel 6190
She teaches mountain bikes camps with a commercial guiding permit from the BLM on this parcel. Mountain Bike guests camp at Holy Terror farm, bordering parcel 6207, and surrounded by proposed parcels on all sides.

Holy Terror Farm- Alison walks the dogs on this parcel 6207 every day. Kids farm camps camp here Bwith tents and campfires.

Families come visit the farm, and get to meet all the animals, including Hank, an Akbash who guards the orchard and chickens.
All the farm water for Holy Terror Farm comes from parcel 6207

Hank and his sister Blue guard the chickens from mountain lions, bears, skunks and racoons. All the wildlife and animals drink water from parcel 6207.

Holy Terror Farm's Hay is all chemical-free and irrigated with water from Parcel 6207, shown behind the tractor.

U-pick fruit is a popular pastime at Holy Terror Farm. All the water for the fruit comes from parcel 6207. Agri-tourism is a $1.26 Billion dollar industry in Colorado, and growing!

Our pristine irrigation water all comes from inside parcel 6207, directly from Terror Creek. Kids love to play and swim in the irrigation ditches. All our animals drink this water from parcel 6207.

At Holy Terror Farm, we are almost 100% self-sustainable - growing and raising all our own food and fuel with water from parcel 6207.

Holy Terror Farm Vacationers Asher Mathews, age 5 Boulder, CO
His favorite things about the farm are: the pigs, especially Porkchop, playing in the river, picking vegetables, getting the eggs from the chickens, moving the cows, playing with the dogs that protect the vegetables.

Meara came all the way from Japan to do an apprenticeship on our Holy Terror Farm, here pitting cherries. The North Fork Valley is a hub for those wanting to grow without chemicals. It is the largest concentration or Organic farmers in the state of Colorado, and one of the largest in the Country. The county produces 77% of the states apples, almost all the cherries, is second largest in fruits, berries and nuts, and number 3 for bee colonies. Holy Terror Farm once produced 2% of the States cherries!

Benjie came all the way from Australia to apprentice on Holy Terror Farm. All our chickens are chemical-free, watered from parcel 6207. Here she learns how to process chickens.

Bacon, the pig, loves to bathe in the water from parcel 6207.
Our rare-breed Scottish Highland cows enjoy chemical -free grass watered by parcel 6207.

Holy Terror Farm owner Alison Gannett hosts an dinner at the farm, with 100% of the food grown in the gardens, fields and orchards.
All watered with irrigation from parcel 6207.

Film crews come from all over the world to Holy Terror Farm and The North Fork Valley for its agricultural self-sustainability, recreational tourism, and scenic beauty. Alison was dubbed “The queen of Green” by the Denver Post. State Senator Gail Schwartz brought The Colorado Food System Advisory Council to Holy Terror farm for agri-educational tour in 2011.

Parcel 6207 and 6205 are in the background for this photo shoot for KEEN FOOTWEAR. Other shoots include Patagonia, Outside Magazine and Outside Television, New Zealand documentary, Osprey backpacks, and a documentary for Telluride Mountain Film Festival and Banff Film Festival. Alison was names a Green all-Star next to Leaonardo DiCaprio and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Alison’s family first came to Paonia in 1874.

Holy Terror Farm owner Jason Trimm eats a chemical-free peach right off the tree. U-pick fruit is a popular activity for school groups and farm-stays.
All water for the fruit comes from parcel 6207.

Visitors to our Holy Terror Farm hike up this BLM trail on parcel 6207 almost every day. Hunters and fishermen also use this trail.

Holy Terror Farm over looks parcels 6205, 6207, and 6190. Weddings are held in the gardens, overlooking the parcels.

Our pigs have a view of parcel 6207 on Holy Terror Farm. They are chemical-free and raised on pasture grasses irrigated with water drawn from parcel 6207

Our cows drinking water from parcel 6207, which contains Terror Creek, and the source of all of Holy Terror Farm's 1889 Homestead water.

Holy Terror Farms gardens are all chemical-free. We grow and raise all our own food, as well as sell direct to customers wanting chemical-free food.
The gardens get all their water from parcel 6207, on Terror Creek, shown behind the farm.

Farm owner Alison Gannett mountain biking with her dogs on Parcel 6207

Holy Terror Farm hosts weddings, reunions, farm-stays, and farm-to-table dinners, overlooking parcels 6207, 6205, and 6190.

Families come to Holy Terror Farm with their kids to hike, bike, swim and learn where their fruit, veggies and meat comes from.
Parcel 6207 in the background.

Holy Terror Farm Owner Alison Gannett shows the days chemical-free grape harvest, irrigated with water from parcel 6207

Holy Terror Farm owner Jason Trimm - chickens, dogs, cows, pigs, and humans all get their water from parcel 6207.
The Akbash livestock guardian dogs protect the orchard from deer and elk, and guard the pigs and chickens from mountain lions, bears, skunks and racoons.

Holy Terror Farm has over 200 varieties of fruits, nuts and berries - these chemical-free orchards all get water directly from parcel 6207

Everyone loves to hike on parcel 6207, shown here, overlooking Holy Terror Farm.

Hiking from Holy Terror Farm up on parcel 6207. From here we can see the town of Paonia and at least 15 proposed parcels for oil and gas drilling.
We have great jobs from agriculture and tourism - why ruin those jobs?

Hiking on Holy Terror Farm up the trail - photographer is standing on parcel 6207. The Fire Mountain Canal, water for 488 farmers and residents of Paonia, behind farm owner jason trimm. In 2010, the landslide area blew out the ditch and almost washed away our farm. Any additional seismic activity from oil and gas drilling on parcel 6207 would be a hazard to health and human safety. This ditch could wash away the Hotchkiss school.

For our farm tourists, they love to swim in our pond at Holy Terror Creek, all fed directly from Parcel 6207.

Kids love to swim and fish in Terror Creek - one of our swimming holes on parcel 6207.

Holy Terror Farm's lush chemical-free orchard, just below parcel 6207 in background.

Prepping our chemical-free gardens on Holy Terror Farm. Water from within parcel 6207, with views onto parcel 6205, 6207 and 6190

We grow our own grains and beans at Holy Terror Farm. These chemical-free foods rely on clean water from parcel 6207.

Mountain Bike Camp at Holy Terror Farm getting ready to ride on Jumbo Mountain (parcel 6190)

Families come to camp with their kids at Holy Terror Farm, and hike, bike and swim in parcel 6207.

Mountain Bike Camp at Holy Terror Farm, bordering parcel 6207, and surrounded 360 degrees by proposed parcels. Campers come from all over the world and the USA.

Giant herds of Elk , deer and turkeys live at the and parcel. 6207 in the winter. Bike Camp participants relish the pristine views at the trails and farm.

GaS Drilling Impacts: 30,000 acres of planned gas leases in the North Fork Valley:

Tue, 3 Jan 2012 08:46:07 -0700

This is our beautiful valley, as shown from Terror Creek Winery.
We want to preserve this pristine quality of life.
The ugly photo above is only 80 miles away from us- and heading our way.

Its a sad day here at our Holy Terror Farm - we are bordered and surrounded by over 30,000 acres of proposed oil and gas drilling here in the North Fork Valley. These proposed leases, on BLM public land, contain all our farm's water supply and are a stones throw from our front door. Here at the farm, we raise and grow almost all our own food - pigs, cows, chickens and over 300 varieties of fruits and veggies. What we can't eat, dry, can or freeze, we sell direct to customers and on an online farmer's market - LocalFarmsFirst.com. Almost everyday I practically cry myself to sleep thinking that we could loose our life savings, our land, our dreams, and our sustenance. This North Fork Valley is considered the "breadbasket" of food production in Colorado, and has the highest concentration of Organic farms in the State. This land has been identified as a top priority for agriculture in Colorado, and now also heavily relies on agri-tourism, like we do here at the farm hosting farm-stays, school tours, kids farm camps, apprenticeships, events and weddings. While drilling might be appropriate in some areas, oil and gas development here will devastate our local economy and our good jobs, through potential air, water, noise, light, traffic, and dust pollution.
Can you help us Save Our Farm by WRITING THE BLM?
Can you sign our PETITION to protect our farm?
Like us: NORTH FORK FRACKING

Statistics, information, links:

Air Quality
As soon as drilling starts, subterranean toxic gases are released into the air. http://huff.to/rmCNwe
Fracking requires thousands of gallons of diesel fuel per well to run the drill rig. More is used in the process of hauling
equipment and water to the site. Nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from truck and rig engines cre-
ate ground level ozone, urban-like smog, in even remote areas. One molecule of ozone can burn an irreparable hole in
lung tissue. http://bit.ly/dozD76 & http://bit.ly/u5w1dP
High levels of urban-like smog are being found in rural areas due to gas drilling. http://nyti.ms/heBQp6
Fracking water that flows back up out of the ground is put into holding ponds or sprayed into the air, contributing to ozone
production and acid rain, but...THE GAS DRILLING INDUSTRY WAS EXEMPTED FROM THE CLEAN AIR ACT! http://bit.ly/
dozD76
Water Quality
Generally, 1-8 million gallons of water may be used to frack a well. A well may be fracked up to 18 times. http://bit.ly/biaJ2r
For each frack, 80-300 tons of chemicals may be used. Presently, the natural gas industry does not have to disclose
chemicals used, but scientists have identified volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene
and xylene. http://bit.ly/biaJ2r
Courts and government agencies in several states have documented over 1,000 cases of water contamination near areas
of oil and gas drilling. http://bit.ly/biaJ2r
EPA study finds chemicals related to fracking in Pavilion, WY domestic water wells. EPA Newsroom: http://1.usa.gov/uufbPG
Health effects of exposure to these chemicals include neurological problems, birth defects, and cancer. Many of these
fracking chemicals are known to cause endocrine disorders. http://bit.ly/uTtuOk
Many of the chemicals are odorless, tasteless substances for which there are no existing testing procedures, nor any
methods for removal from water or the environment. Several chemicals used in fracking are normally required to be dis-
posed of in hazardous waste dumps, but are unregulated in fracking. http://bit.ly/dozD76
Four scientists at Duke University found that levels of flammable methane gas in drinking water wells increased to dangerous
levels when water supplies were close to natural gas wells. The average concentration of the methane detected in the water
wells near drilling sites fell squarely within a range that the U.S. Department of Interior says is dangerous and requires urgent
“hazard mitigation” action, according to the study. http://bit.ly/jtoYFa
Concentrated chemical solids left over from the evaporation process are now being sold and used to de-ice roads, leaving
them in the environment and free to flow downhill into our streams and rivers. http://bit.ly/sxj97O
THE GAS DRILLING INDUSTRY WAS EXEMPTED FROM THE SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT! http://bit.ly/hz0UAp
Economic Impacts
Gas drilling devalues properties and hinders financing. http://bit.ly/vMxty3
Our local economy relies heavily on organic farming and viticulture. Pollution threaten these industries. http://bit.ly/u5w1dP
Hunters, outdoor enthusiasts and tourists also feed our local economy. A high concentration of gas wells will negatively
impact this income source. (See photos next two pages)
Health care costs increase with pollution from drilling & fracking. http://bit.ly/u5w1dP
Often, well crews are hired from outside the area, decreasing economic benefit to local communities. http://bit.ly/dozD76
Other Health/Quality of Life Impacts
Large diesel trucks hauling trailers full of toxic chemicals drive on two-lane county roads twenty-four hours a day. Acci-
dental spills are frequent occurrences,necessitating hazmat cleanup efforts. Noise, dust, and air pollution and damage to
roads are other results. Eye witness, Garfield County.
Drilling rigs work around the clock under extremely bright lights, and may be located immediately next to your home. Eye
witness, Garfield County.
Earthquakes are being attributed to drilling practices. http://bit.ly/tOSHFE
How the Natural Gas Industry Poisons Cows and Crops http://bit.ly/vIveid
Poor Oversight of Gas Drilling
2004 EPA report on hydraulic fracturing criticized as flawed due to heavy industry influence http://bit.ly/vDoT6L
BLM environmental assessment needs to be updated from the 1989 version it is now using.
Water testing needs to be established before drilling starts. http://bit.ly/t1mwkk
Effective Community Organizing is being taught by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund. http://bit.ly/9c2r9F

References & Resources
General
http://nyti.ms/sK0c6X - NY Times: Drilling Down- Articles in the Drilling Down series from The New York Times examine the
risks of natural-gas drilling and efforts to regulate this rapidly growing industry
http://bit.ly/oMOeBH Fracking - Gas Drilling’s Environmental Threat - 133 Stories in the Series byProPublic.org
http://bit.ly/8Um70D - TEDX video by Theo Colborn
http://bit.ly/81zRth - Gasland, the movie
bit.ly/vkF7Pt - ProPublica, Nov. 10, 2011
Energy Department Panel Warns of Environmental Toll of Current Gas Drilling Practices by Nicholas Kusnetz
“Concerted and sustained action is needed to avoid excessive environmental impacts of shale gas production and the con-
sequent risk of public opposition to its continuation and expansion,” said members of the Energy Department’s Shale Gas
Subcommittee in a draft report released today...”
http://bit.ly/81zRth from: Gasland
Air Quality
http://huff.to/rmCNwe Huffington Post, Fracking: EPA Targets Air Pollution From Natural Gas Drilling Boom,
By DINA CAPPIELLO 07/28/11
“...Gases escape into the atmosphere during drilling, from storage tanks, compressors along pipelines and other equipment.
http://bit.ly/uTtuOk Natural Gas Operations from a Public Health Perspective published in Human and Ecological Risk
Assessment: an International Journal (peer-reviewed). September, 2011
”...A list of 944 products containing 632 chemicals used during natural gas operations was compiled. Literature searches
were conducted to determine potential health effects of the 353 chemicals identified by Chemical Abstract Service (CAS)
numbers. More than 75% of the chemicals could affect the skin, eyes, and other sensory organs, and the respiratory and
gastrointestinal systems. Approximately 40-50% could affect the brain/nervous system, immune and cardiovascular systems,
and the kidneys; 37% could affect the endocrine system; and 25% could cause cancer and mutations. These results indicate
that many chemicals used during the fracturing and drilling stages of gas operations may have long-term health effects that
are not immediately expressed. In addition, an example was provided of waste evaporation pit residuals that contained nu-
merous chemicals on the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and Emer-
gency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA) lists of hazardous substances.”
Citation: Colborn, T.; Kwiatkowski, C.; Schultz, K., and Bachran, M. Natural gas operations from a public health perspective. Human &
Ecological Risk Assessment. 2011; 17(5):1039-1056.
http://nyti.ms/heBQp6 in NY Times, quoting the PINEDALE JOURNAL:
In Pinedale, Wyo., Residents Adjust to Air Pollution By KIRK JOHNSON, March 9, 2011
...”the worst ozone pollution event here in three years — in one of the places people might least expect. The nearest me-
tropolis, Salt Lake City, is 180 miles away, and the usual smog suspects — cars, trucks, factories, indeed people in general
— are few and far between in a county of only 8,800 residents...”
Water Use and Quality
http://bit.ly/uQtjLF Oh, Canada’s Become a Home for Record Fracking
by Nicholas Kusnetz ProPublica, Dec. 28, 2011, 11:09 a.m.
“The project used 259 million gallons of water and 50,000 tons of sand to frack 16 gas wells side by side... By the end of the
year, Apache and its partner, Encana, topped it by half at a neighboring site.”
http://bit.ly/tfbROE Fracking of wells puts big demand on Colorado water Denver Post:
http://bit.ly/et7pbN - ProPublica, Feb. 25, 2011 Hydrofracked? One Man’s Mystery Leads to a Backlash Against Natural
Gas Drilling by Abrahm Lustgarten
“...For three decades Henry was responsible for cementing and hydraulic fracturing jobs around the world... ‘I can guarantee
you that 90 percent of the time you do not have cement behind the pipe for several thousand feet down at the bottom that
keeps your fluids, whether it is produced fluids or frack fluids, where you want them to be,’ Henry says...
... New Mexico state officials had released a report detailing that contaminants from oil and gas waste pits... had leaked into
groundwater in more than 700 cases. Colorado regulators had tallied more than 300 similar cases—not just the conspicuous
well blow-ups in Silt but also an underground leak of fracturing fluids that seeped out of a cliff side and formed a 200-foot
toxic icefall. A hospital nurse in Colorado had nearly died of organ failure after treating a rig worker who had spilled fracturing
fluids on his clothing.
http://nyti.ms/uyOdDt from the New York Times “Drilling Down” series - EPA documents:
“This is a confidential Environmental Protection Agency draft document on the environmental impacts of the oil, gas and coal
industries. It shows that federal authorities are concerned about public drinking water supplies in the region of the Marcellus
Shale... The document also suggests that the environmental impacts from the oil and gas industry are likely to grow in the
coming year...”
http://bit.ly/c4mEtc ProPublica.org Feds Warn Residents Near Wyoming Gas Drilling Sites Not to Drink Their Water -
by Abrahm Lustgarten ProPublica, Sept. 1, 2010
The federal government is warning residents in a small Wyoming town with extensive natural gas development not to drink
their water, and to use fans and ventilation when showering or washing clothes in order to avoid the risk of an explosion.
http://bit.ly/u60wNw - ProPublica.org, Nov. 10, 2011 EPA Finds Compound Used in Fracking in Wyoming Aquifer
by Abrahm Lustgarten
“...the chemical compounds the EPA detected are consistent with those produced from drilling processes, including one -- a
solvent called 2-Butoxyethanol (2-BE) -- widely used in the process of hydraulic fracturing...The wells also contained ben-
zene at 50 times the level that is considered safe for people, as well as phenols -- another dangerous human carcinogen --
acetone, toluene, naphthalene and traces of diesel fuel... The EPA said the water samples were saturated with methane gas
that matched the deep layers of natural gas being drilled for energy...”
http://bit.ly/sxj97O Pittsburgh Post-Gazette What can be done with wastewater? Rapid expansion of gas drilling has led
to problems with disposal, contamination Sunday, October 04, 2009 By Joaquin Sapien, ProPublica
http://bit.ly/tCAhnp Earthworks: A family’s water well was contaminated after hydraulic fracturing near their
home By Laura Amos
“..I was eventually diagnosed with... a very rare condition of a tumor in my adrenal gland. None of my doctors had any idea of
how I could have acquired such a rare disease. The tumor and my adrenal gland had to be removed... An explanation: 2-BE...
Encana’s spokesman, Walt Lowrey, assured several of our neighbors, and my husband and me that 2-BE was NOT used. In
addition, Lowrey told many reporters in western Colorado, Denver and the Associated Press that 2-BE was not used on the
pad, or anywhere in this area... However, on January 31, 2005, I learned that the industry had not been telling the truth...”
http://bit.ly/t1mwkk Water Testing Before Drilling Starts: Why and How by George Monk - West VA Surface Owner’s
Rights Organization
“It is becoming more and more evident that testing of a well or spring water source, especially a household/drinking water
source, is an absolute necessity before a natural gas well is drilled in one’s area. This is called baseline testing... you can
count on the driller to say that your water was bad before they drilled.”
Economic Impacts
http://bit.ly/vMxty3
WCNY Radio: Does Natural Gas Leasing Hurt Property Values?
“Gas/oil leases are generally NOT (emphasis in the original) accepted by lenders such as Wells, First Place Bank, Provident
Funding, GMAC, FNCB, Fidelity, FHA, First Liberty or Bank of America. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to the meet the
‘acceptable if commonly granted’ rule...
Surface or sub surface rights within 300 feet of a residential structure OR within 300 feet of property boundary lines would
not be acceptable for FHA [Federal Housing Administration] (Department of HUD [Housing and Urban Development]) financ-
ing...’
http://bit.ly/u5w1dP - shaleshock.org - The Potential Health Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing -Testimony before the New
York State Assembly Standing Committees on Environmental Conservation and Health
May 26, 2011 Sandra Steingraber, Ph.D., Distinguished Scholar in Residence, Department of Environmental Studies, Ithaca
College
“In adults, these pollutants are variously linked to bladder, lung, and breast cancer, stroke, diabetes, and premature death. In
children, they are linked to premature birth, asthma, cognitive deficits, and stunted lung development...
...This harm comes with economic costs. Premature birth, which is the leading cause of disability in the United States, car-
ries $26 billion a year price tag. The direct and indirect costs of childhood asthma are $18 billion a year...
... Organic farmers who raise food near fracking operations are facing potential boycotts and will lose their certification if their
crops and animals are chemically contaminated...”
http://bit.ly/vIveid Fracking With Food: How the Natural Gas Industry Poisons Cows and Crops www.alternet.org
In April 2009, 19 head of cattle dropped dead after ingesting an unknown substance near a gas drilling rig in northern Louisi-
ana. Seven months before that, a tomato farmer in Avella, Penn. reported a series of problems with the water and soil on his
property after drilling started: he found arsenic levels 2,600 times what is recommended, as well as dangerously high levels
of benzene and naphthalene – all known fracking components. And in May 2009, one farmer in Clearview, Penn. told Re-
uters he thought that gas drilling operations had killed four of his cows...
Other Health/Quality of Life Impacts
http://bit.ly/tOSHFE What We Know About Fracking Activity and the Ohio Earthquake - JANUARY 2, 2012
by TERRENCE HENRY stateimpact.npr.org
The New York Times is reporting that Ohio officials say the earthquake wasn’t caused by fracking, but rather by injection
wells disposing of used fracking fluid..”
http://bit.ly/uRV5Pf The Pennsylvania Guide to Hydraulic Fracturing, or “Fracking” - NPR article on impact of fracking
in Pennsylvania
“Explo sives are places at inter vals along the hor i zon tal sec tion of the well to per fo rate the steel cas ing...”
YouTube Videos:
Heavy Fraffic Coming to Your Town Soon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZZQxe6FiGA
Fracking Hell: The Untold Story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEB_Wwe-uBM&feature=related
Poor Oversight of Gas Drilling
http://bit.ly/hz0UAp www.waterdefense.org
Industry that plays “fast and loose” with the rules, and no cop on the job
In addition to the infamous “Halliburton Loophole” exempting fracking from the Safe Drinking Water Act, the gas industry
benefits from a host of sweeping exemptions to our most basic environmental and public health protections. Other laws that
the gas industry is exempted from include key provisions of the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, CERCLA (Superfund Act),
Resource Conversation and Recovery Act (hazardous waste act), and the Environmental Policy Act.
Between all these exemptions, the gas industry has often been described as completely free of all federal oversight. How-
ever, federal law does still prohibit the gas industry from one particular practice: the injection of diesel fuel as a fracking fluid.
While gas companies are permitted to inject hundreds of known carcinogenic compounds as fracking fluids (without informing
the public of what chemicals they are using), the Safe Drinking Water Act still mandated that gas companies not use diesel
fuel as a frack fluid. But on January 31, 2011, the House Energy and Commerce Committee announced their preliminary re-
sults of a year-long investigation into the practices of gas companies. The congressional investigation found that oil and gas
companies injected over 32 million gallons of diesel fuel into gas wells in 19 states between 2005 and 2009—in direct viola-
tion of the one federal provision from which they were not exempt. Despite having federal laws carved to suit their profits and
need for secrecy, the gas industry could not follow the one guideline it had set for itself.
http://bit.ly/rB3rfJ: NATURAL GAS: Fracking companies injected 32M gallons of diesel, House probe finds (01/31/2011)
Mike Soraghan, Environment & Energy News reporter
“Drilling service companies have injected at least 32 million gallons of diesel fuel underground as part of a controversial drill-
ing technique, a Democratic congressional investigation has found... Injecting diesel as part of “hydraulic fracturing” is sup-
posed to be regulated by U.S. EPA. But an agency official told congressional investigators that EPA had assumed that the
use of diesel had stopped seven years ago...” (italics added)
http://bit.ly/vDoT6L EPA Fracking Study Will Look at Water Use water-contamination-from-shale.com
“...The EPA... issued a report on hydraulic fracturing in 2004, but it was criticized as flawed due to heavy industry influence on
the panel that reviewed that study. The 2004 study ostensibly found that fracking posed no threat to water quality, but an EPA
whistle-blower claimed findings that showed benzene and other toxic chemicals in fracking fluid could migrate into ground
water had been suppressed in the final report.”

Click here to Write Your Letter to the BLM

Natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing chemicals with 10 or more
health effects Health Effects of Some Fracking Chemicals
• 2,2’,2”-Nitrilotriethanol
• 2-Ethylhexanol
• 5-Chloro-2-methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one
• Acetic acid
• Acrolein
• Acrylamide (2-propenamide)
• Acrylic acid
• Ammonia
• Ammonium chloride
• Ammonium nitrate
• Aniline
• Benzyl chloride
• Boric acid
• Cadmium
• Calcium hypochlorite
• Chlorine
• Chlorine dioxide
• Dibromoacetonitrile 1
• Diesel 2
• Diethanolamine
• Diethylenetriamine
• Dimethyl formamide
• Epidian
• Ethanol (acetylenic alcohol)
• Ethyl mercaptan
• Ethylbenzene
• Ethylene glycol
• Ethylene glycol monobutyl ether (2-BE)
• Ethylene oxide
• Ferrous sulfate
• Formaldehyde
• Formic acid
• Fuel oil #2
• Glutaraldehyde
• Glyoxal
• Hydrodesulfurized kerosene
• Hydrogen sulfide
• Iron
• Isobutyl alcohol (2-methyl-1-propanol)
• Isopropanol (propan-2-ol)
• Kerosene
• Light naphthenic distillates, hydrotreated
• Mercaptoacidic acid
• Methanol
• Methylene bis(thiocyanate)
• Monoethanolamine
• NaHCO3

Write A letter to the BLM - SAVE OUR FARM

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:58:32 -0700

Send to:

hhankins@blm.gov, bsharrow@blm.gov, co_ufo_leasing@blm.gov

olund@deltacounty.com, Bertram@tds.net, datchley@deltacounty.com, bhovde@deltacounty.com, alisongannett@me.com, watchdog@piceance.org, senator_mark_udall@markudall.senate.gov, senator_bennet@bennet.senate.gov, feedback@ios.doi.gov

Cut and paste and CUSTOMIZE the below text in YOUR OWN WORDS:

To: BLM Uncompahgre Field Office
   Barb Sharrow - Field Office Manager
        2465 South Townsend Avenue
        Montrose, Colorado 81401

From: (fill in company, name and address)

RE: Proposed August 2012 North Fork Lease Sale - as pertaining to Holy Terror Farm which borders proposed lease parcel 6207, containing Terror Creek

Dear Ms. Hankins and Ms. Sharrow:

1. (write here why you have visited or why you want to visit Holy Terror Farm, especially highlight any educational farm aspects (farm tours, wine tours, apprenticeships, festivals) or recreational tourism (swimming, mtn biking, hiking, fishing, hunting, camping)).
2. (write here what you value, such as clean air, clean water, pristine agricultural landscapes, no traffic, noise, dust,etc)
3. (Describe why you would not want to buy, eat or pick food at our farm if there was even potential contamination).
4. (Describe why you might not want to vacation here if there was truck traffic, loud compressors, driliing rigs surrounding the farm, light pollution in the night skies, or air and water pollution).

The BLM should remove/defer proposed lease parcel 6207, which borders the entire Holy Terror Farm, contains Terror Creek, contains the farm's pristine views and primary airflow. Parcel 6207 recharges the farm’s drinking water well, and contains the intake source of farm's ONLY irrigation water, providing water for heirloom/rare livestock and over 300 varieties of chemical-free heirloom fruits and vegetables.

Proposed lease parcels 6189, 6206, 6215, 6216, and 6205 all feed into the farm's air quality, pristine viewsheds for events like weddings, and the farm's only drinking water well, recharged by the unstable and leaky Fire Mountain Canal and Paonia Reservoir.

Justification for removal and/or deferral is warranted until the outdated management plan has been updated and properly protects the resources and economic drivers that exist today for Holy Terror Farm, including, but not limited to - Organic and chemical-free agriculture, Recreational Tourism, Agri-tourism, and Agri-education. This argument should justify the removal and/or deferral of any land/minerals leasing in the North Fork Valley until the new RMP is complete.

Justification for removal and/or deferral is also warranted due this ‘new information’ and ‘changed circumstances’ which the BLM is required to review per NEPA.

Signed,

(fill in company, name and address)

If you have the time, please also send a copy via US mail to: BLM Uncompahgre Field Office Barb Sharrow – Field Office Manager 2465 South Townsend Avenue Montrose, Colorado 81401

Letter to the BLM - general save our North Fork Valley

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:11:59 -0700

Save OUr Farm

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 11:03:12 -0700

View Alison and Jason's PETITION on Change.org to protect our Holy Terror Farm from fracking - our entire farm border’s the proposed leasing parcel 6207, which contains our irrigation water for our chemical-free gardens and orchards, our water for our cows, pigs, and chickens, and the source of our drinking water well. We are further surrounded by leasing parcels on all sides, where the visual impacts would kill our agri-tourism (weddings, kids camps, family farm-stays, Mountain Bike Camps) and agri-education businesses (school tours, kids camps).

Can you Write the BLM? Sample letter, addreses, key points here.

Want to DONATE?

View our North Fork Fracking Facebook page , a forum Alison started to help local residents unite, share info, and ask questions, and share information.

We need your help for media attention. Our plea is doing well - see how hot our story is on Reddit (one of the top sites in the world where reporters look for hot stories and also Treehugger, and tweeted by 350.org, who found our plea and story on Reddit.

The farm is owned by Alison Gannett, a World Champion Extreme Skier, Award-winning Global Cooling Consultant, Chemical-Free Farmer and my husband, farmer Jason Trimm. Read the Denver Post article on Skier Turned Farmer.

One of Alison’s goals: unite two unlikely partners - local coal miners and farmers. Fracking Tremors could kill her coal mining neighbors while working underground. The Bowie coal mine runs 1800 feet underground, surrounding her chemical-free farm. Those same tremors could cause giant irrigation canal on 13 acres of their property, providing water to 488 residents and farms, to potentially collapse and wipe out the farm, or a nearby school.

Alison, and award-winning climate change consultant, has recently abandoned her position against underground coal mining, with the Cornell Study showing that "clean" natural gas has a higher carbon footprint than coal.

From their farming perspective, one drop of fracking chemicals could shut down her online farmers market - including over 50 area Organic and chemical-free farmers. Important to note is that even without contamination, the perception of fracking could keep retailers from buying their produce and animals.

Alison's other goal is to unite conservative and hippy farmers alike, with articles like 16 Cattle drop dead Near Mysterious Fluid at Gas Drilling Site. While water studies and tremors may be disputed by the industry players, no one disputes the negative health effect studies showing air pollution and its impacts on residents and school children.

Goal:
DEFER ALL OIL AND GAS LEASING IN COLORADO’S NORTH FORK VALLEY
The North Fork Valley is a very special place, producing almost all of the apples, pears and cherries the state of Colorado, and holding the State's largest concentration of Organic Farms. In addition, the local economy is now dependent upon economic drivers including agri-tourism (weddings, farm-stays, farm markets), agri-education (school tours, kids camps, farm/ranch/winery tours), and recreational tourism (mtn biking, hiking, camping, rafting, kayaking, swimming).

Recently, the Bureau of Land Management proposed leasing 30,000 acres of land in the North Fork Valley for oil and gas development, containing/surrounding most of the areas drinking/Irrigation water sources and tourism destinations.

Our goal - make the case that actual or PERCEIVED effects (such as food/water/wine contamination, visual landscape scarring, air pollution, noise traffic and light pollution) would affect how you plan your vacation or where you buy your food from. Agri-tourism, agri-education, recreational tourism and Organic agriculture were not not factors when the BLM determined these parcels appropriate for drilling in the 22 year-old RMP. We have a strong case to delay or remove these parcels from the proposed lease sales if the public can show through letters to the BLM that these issues are important.

Sign Alison and Jason's Petition to save their North Fork Valley farm from fracking.

Want to support national change?
Sign this Petition to KEEP DRILLING TOXICS OUT OF OUR DRINKING WATER
TELL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES TO SUPPORT THE FRAC ACT We need your help to pass the FRAC Act - twin bills in the Senate (S S587) and House (HR1084) that remove the exemption to the Safe Drinking Water Act for fracking and call for the disclosure and monitoring of the chemicals used in the process. Contacting your elected officials is critical to its passage.
More Stories on our local issue:

Dec 22nd Story in the Crested Butte News, featuring Holy Terror Farm

Help, Reddit, The BLM in Colorado is trying to lease 30,000 acres for fracking, including land completely surrounding my farm

http://www.treehugger.com/fossil-fuels/farmer-calls-reddit-help-him-protect-30000-acres-his-homeland-fracking.html

Fracking the North Fork - Colorado Residents rally against drilling Assault

CNN iReport - Oil and Gas Leases threaten Beautiful Western Colorado Valley