Citizens for Huerfano County

Citizens for Huerfano ("where-fa-no") County or "CHC" is a Colorado non-profit corporation founded in response to the potential threat posed by Shell Western Exploration and Production, Inc. (SWEPI), a unit of Royal Dutch Shell exploratory drilling for natural gas and oil in the pristine Cuchara Valley, Spanish Peak and Gardner areas of Huerfano Co... unty. Our mission: to protect and promote the public health, safety, environment and wildlife of Huerfano County. Huerfano County is a a special place and where we have chosen to create our future, raise our families, build our homes and businesses and connect with the land. Like many who live here, visitors come to this corner of Colorado's Southern Front Range to escape from the pollution and noise of the big city, hike the hills and mountains and enjoy a slower, more peaceful existence immersed in the natural beauty of the southeastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. In Colorado, New Mexico, California, Wyoming, Texas and a growing number of places across the country where gas drilling and fracking (the process of injecting fluids and chemicals deep underground to release gas) has occurred, water is contaminated, air pollution is common, and miles of roads and truck traffic scar the land and overrun our tranquility. Citizens for a Huerfano County was founded in 2011 by a group of concerned residents who believe strongly in protecting this unique place from these very real threats posed by natural gas drilling. The threat is real... Shell Western Exploration and Production Inc (SWEPI, a unit of Royal Dutch Shell) has leased over 150,000 acres of private land and the Bureau of Land Management leased another 40,500 acres for oil and gas development ( details here ) as of the end of 2011. One permit to drill is under litigation. Four wells have just been approved by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and Huerfano County Commissioners (see map above). If Shell makes a significant discovery of natural gas or oil, this could mark the beginning of ...Read More