Rocky Mountain News
December 26, 2008, David A. Lien

I had the privilege of attending Gov. Bill Ritter's evening with sportsmen and conservationists in Denver on Dec. 19, and was impressed by his seeming innate ability to seek out achievable goals and focus on the needed processes to get there. When asked about his position regarding drilling on the Roan Plateau in Western Colorado, he mentioned conservation and climate change and energy security, but also indicated, without stating a definite position, that he might not be willing to oppose drilling on top of the plateau. In his news conference the following afternoon, he stated as much. This is disappointing, because in a remarkable moment during the 2006 State of the Union Address, President Bush caught the attention of the nation and the world with five words: "America is addicted to oil." And natural gas. Our president finally acknowledged that America needs to begin the process of using less, not more, oil and gas and that we must become less, not more, dependent on fossil fuels. Ritter's Roan position only serves to make us more dependent on fossil fuels and - considering that 86 percent of the gas that is likely to be produced from the Roan Plateau Planning Area over the next 20 years can be extracted without drilling any wells on top of the Plateau - is surprisingly shortsighted....

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2007/dec/26/a-poor-roan-decision/