Twin Energy, Real Estate Booms In West Cause Conflict

In the Rockies, developers and oil and natural gas companies are vying for access to the same land -- but what could be the consequences for local communities?

1 minute read

March 19, 2006, 9:00 AM PST

By David Gest


"Twin engines of growth -- in population and within the oil and natural gas industry -- are colliding in Greeley, the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the nation. Developers looking to cash in on rising land values are running into companies eager to sink more wells and drawing up plans for multibillion-dollar pipelines to carry gas to the East Coast."

"Similar conflicts are playing out from Montana to New Mexico because the Rockies' energy boom is in full bloom, prompting worries about the environment, property rights and the changing character of small towns swelling with new workers. Many fear another Western rush to fortune will be followed by hard times -- again."

Sunday, March 12, 2006 in The Chicago Tribune

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