Caplis and Silverman allowed Schaffer to distort Udall, Salazar positions on Roan Plateau gas development as "far left"

Summary: Co-hosts Dan Caplis and Craig Silverman of 630 KHOW-AM failed to challenge their guest, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer, when he asserted that his Democratic opponent, U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, and U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar (D) represented "the far left" that wanted "essentially no [energy] development" on Colorado's Roan Plateau, while characterizing his own position as "right in the center" with Gov. Bill Ritter (D). In fact, Udall and Salazar have introduced legislation to implement a substantial portion of the Ritter plan for phased development with which Schaffer claimed to agree.

On the July 15 broadcast of 630 KHOW-AM's The Caplis & Silverman Show, co-hosts Dan Caplis and Craig Silverman uncritically allowed Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer to distort the positions of his Democratic opponent, U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, and U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar (D) regarding energy development on Colorado's Roan Plateau. Schaffer claimed that Udall and Salazar represented "the far left" that wanted "essentially no development" on the plateau, while describing his position as aligned with Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter, who, according to Schaffer, "came right to where I usually end up on these kinds of issues, which is right in the center." However, Caplis and Silverman did not mention Udall and Salazar have introduced legislation that, according to Ritter, "substantially addresses the same goals reflected in the uniquely Colorado plan I proposed in December."

After Schaffer's appearance, Udall joined Caplis and Silverman for an interview, but neither host asked about his position regarding Roan Plateau drilling.

From the July 15 broadcast of 630 KHOW-AM's The Caplis & Silverman Show:

SILVERMAN: Well, there have been some news accounts that I'd like you to react to. One, [Rocky Mountain News reporter] Lynn Bartels wrote that you were praising Bill Ritter and his handling of the Roan Plateau.

SCHAFFER: Yeah.

SILVERMAN: Is that accurate?

SCHAFFER: Yeah, it is. I -- well, I did on that point. You know, it's -- Roan Plateau is a remarkable resource for the state of Colorado. In fact, the gas, the clean-burning natural gas that is there to be harvested can provide about 20 years of -- it could heat every house in Colorado for 20 years. And the, you know, the people on the far left -- Ken Salazar and Mark Udall -- who wanted essentially no development there, who pursued a strategy of a moratorium on development were on one side, and then those on the other side, perhaps the far-right side of that debate, were for more aggressive development strategy. And I think Ritter came right to where I usually end up on these kinds of issues, which is right in the center. And that is an effort to allow for responsible development to go forward, and it's only one percent, for example, of the top of the Roan Plateau will be developed at any one point in time, and that's -- it's not a perfect compromise, but it strikes me as a reasonable one, again, considering you had Udall on the far left, developers, energy developers on the far right, and, I think, Ritter's compromise is, makes sense.

Udall and Salazar did in fact attempt to delay drilling on the Roan for one year after the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) refused Ritter's request for extra time to review its Roan drilling plan. But they also later introduced legislation in the House (H.R. 5851) and the Senate (S. 2879) that proposed to implement a substantial portion of Ritter's plan for phased development of the Roan Plateau. In the interview with Schaffer, Caplis and Silverman failed to bring up Udall and Salazar's legislation, despite its similarity to the phased development plan with which Schaffer claimed to agree.

According to an April 17 news release from the governor's office, "Gov. Ritter today praised U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar and Reps. John Salazar and Mark Udall for introducing legislation regarding land management and energy development on the Roan Plateau." The statement continued:

"The legislation introduced today substantially addresses the same goals reflected in the uniquely Colorado plan I proposed in December," Gov. Ritter said. "This legislation emphasizes significant protections for wildlife areas within the Roan and requires phased leasing and responsible development. I am confident that phased leasing will result in a more thoughtful pacing of energy development and far greater revenues to the state over time.

Furthermore, the News reported April 18 on Udall and Salazar's support of Ritter's plan:

Three Colorado Democrats will push federal legislation to require the state's Roan Plateau to be leased for energy development in phases and to expand lands designated as critical for wildlife habitat.

The package mirrors most of the provisions Gov. Bill Ritter has said he wants in place before more gas drilling begins. Ritter's requests were rejected by the Bureau of Land Management last month, prompting the current action by Sen. Ken Salazar and Reps. John Salazar and Mark Udall.

Sen. Salazar, Udall, and Rep. Salazar explained the substance of their legislation in a May 15 guest op-ed in the News:

First, our bill would replace the BLM's plan to lease the entire top of the Roan Plateau all at once with a phased leasing requirement.

Second, our bill would protect the "Areas of Critical Environmental Concern" covered by Ritter's plan, while allowing development of the natural gas resources along existing ridge-top roads. (Our bill would protect an additional 3,000 acres of critical habitat for native Colorado River cutthroat trout.)

Third, our bill would authorize BLM to waive the normal limits on the size of leases in order to maximize lease revenues to the state of Colorado.

Fourth, our bill retains the BLM's existing unitization requirement and reclamation requirements.

Finally, our bill gives the state and the public a bigger say in Roan decisions.

Like Ritter's plan, our bill would allow development of nearly all of the natural gas under the Roan Plateau. It represents a win-win for Colorado and the nation.

—C.H.