Steve Adami
Buffalo, Wyoming

I am a rancher and lifelong resident of Buffalo, Wyoming. I was offered a one size fits all, non-negotiable surface use agreement to use my ranch. I asked for some changes and received nothing.

The company that leased the federal minerals beneath our ranch did not want to negotiate with us and found the BLM to be an accommodating and cooperative partner in their effort to drill. The initial offer was withdrawn and the operator “bonded on.” BLM’s message to landowners in our area is this: “You’d better take whatever the operator is offering because if they ‘bond on’ you will get nothing.” This is not good faith negotiating. The developer had D6 Caterpillars working on our ranch within 48 hours after the approval of their development plan and drilling permits.

The “bond” BLM required for industry to come onto my ranch was $2,176. Two thousand dollars is not adequate compensation for my losses nor does it cover the damages caused by drilling eleven wells, bulldozing miles of roads installing miles of “utility corridors”, and constructing five off-channel water disposal pits. An engineer I retained estimated reclamation costs to be in excess of 3 to 4 million dollars, particularly given the overall lack of development control built into the initial plan.

I tried every step of the way to get protection for our land and water. I lost that battle, and our ranch looks nothing like it originally did under our stewardship. What was once open, pristine ranch land is covered with roads pits, pads, and constant traffic. Our private deeded ranch land was sacrificed by BLM for the development of federal minerals. What is needed is a leveling of the playing field between the dominate mineral estate and the subservient surface state.