Narrative Logan Wash - Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Logan Wash Mine
Proposed Natural Area
NARRATIVE
BACKGROUND
The Colorado Natural Areas Program (CNAP) was established in 1977 by the Colorado Legislature to
protect and preserve rare and unique natural features in Colorado through voluntary cooperative
agreements that establish a statewide system of designated natural areas.
Designation of a Colorado Natural Area is a multi-step process. The first step is the receipt of a letter
of registration from a willing landowner. This leads to the registration of the property into our system
with a vote of approval by our Colorado Natural Areas Council, a seven-member advisory board of
governor-appointed and Commission representative members. Then draft Articles of Designation are
reviewed by both CNAP staff and the landowner. Upon their agreement, the Colorado Natural Areas
Council recommends the designation of the natural area. The next step required by our legislative act
is to notify the County Commissioners and give them an opportunity to call a public hearing. We then
seek approval from the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission. Following Commission approval,
the Articles of Designation will be signed by both parties and a Certificate of Designation will go to
the Governor for signature to acknowledge the natural values of the site. Finally, we will register the
Articles of Designation with the County Clerk and Recorder so that they can be appended to the deed
of the property.
Mount Callahan Properties:
This proposal is to add the registered Logan Wash Mine Natural Area (82 acres) to the already
designated Mount Callahan and the Mount Callahan Saddle Natural Areas (680 acres). These three
Natural Areas are located in Garfield County, CO approximately 3 miles west of Parachute. They are
owned by OXY USA WTP LP (OXY) and Occidental Oil Shale, Inc., both subsidiaries of Occidental
Petroleum Corporation (“OXY”). This privately owned property is home to three of only four viable
populations of Penstemon debilis, the Parachute penstemon. This rare plant is ranked as critically
imperiled at the global and state level by the Colorado Natural Heritage Program and was listed as
threatened under the Endangered Species Act in July 2011. The Parachute penstemon grows only on
exposed cliffs of the Green River formation on the edge of the Roan Plateau.
The Colorado Natural Areas Program has been working with Oxy for over 25 years on this property.
Mount Callahan was designated a Natural Area in 1987; Mount Callahan Saddle was added in 2008.
The Colorado Natural Areas Council recommended the additional designation of Logan Wash Mine on
December 6, 2013. Notification of pending designation and a request for a public meeting was sent to
the Garfield County Commissioners in January 2014. They responded in April of 2014 that that they
had no concerns with designation and a public meeting was not necessary.
This is a cooperative agreement, and both parties believe that conservation and development goals can
be achieved from this unique partnership. CNAP has had a good working relationship with Oxy over
the last 25 years and this working relationship as a good example of how a state program can work
effectively with private industry to produce a positive outcome for conservation of native species.
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Taking into account the past cooperative agreements between Oxy and CNAP to protect the Parachute
penstemon and the pending designation of Logan Wash Mine, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
excluded this property from critical habitat designation under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in a
decision in August 2012.
MANAGEMENT
The management of the collective Mt. Callahan properties (including Logan Wash Mine) is the
responsibility of the owner, Oxy. By signing the Articles of Designation, the owner agrees to
voluntarily cooperate with CNAP to protect the features for which the area is designated. Oil and gas
development will proceed on the top of Mount Callahan and the adjacent Saddle, both of which have
rare plant populations. Oil shale mine reclamation will continue at Logan Wash Mine. The owner
agrees to implement established Best Management Practices (BMPs) to mitigate any impact of oil and
gas development or environmental reclamation activities that may impact rare plants on the designated
properties.
TRANSFER OF PROPERTY AND TERMINATION
The Articles of Designation run with the property. Any sale or transfer of the property by Oxy
is subject to the Articles of Designation which will be attached to any document of purchase or
transfer and incorporated within the Articles of Designation by reference. The purchaser or
transferee will succeed to the owner's rights and duties as listed in the Articles of Designation.
If either the owner or CNAP desires to terminate the agreement, each party must make a goodfaith effort to resolve issues before a possible termination. This agreement cannot be terminated
until after 2 years from initial notice.
SUMMARY
The Colorado Natural Areas Program is supportive of these expanded articles of designation to add the
Logan Wash Mine Natural Area to the already designated Mount Callahan and Mount Callahan
Natural Areas. Oxy is also in full support of updating the Articles of Designation to include the Logan
Wash Mine site in order to help protect the additional rare plant population. The finalization of this
agreement will formalize voluntary protections by Oxy for the Parachute penstemon at Logan Wash
Mine. This agreement will also fulfill our stated intentions to USFWS. The intent to designate this
additional property was a factor in the USFWS decision to exclude Oxy lands from critical habitat for
Parachute penstemon under the ESA, in recognition of Oxy’s long history of voluntary conservation.
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Colorado Natural Areas Program
Program Overview
Natural Areas’ Legislative Mandate:
Established Natural Areas:
• Recognize and conserve significant natural features
that make Colorado unique
• Establish voluntary, cooperative land management
agreements with landowners
• Promote outdoor education and scientific research
• Natural Areas Act passed in 1977; re-authorized in
2004; Council reauthorized in 2013
• 93 sites designated in 37 counties
• Over 180,000 acres designated
• Land Ownership: 36% on BLM lands; 29% state; 16%
private; 9% USFS; 7% municipal/county; 3% NPS
Benefits of Natural Areas:
• Public recognition of landowner’s exemplary stewardship
• Serve as examples of native conditions for restoration, research, and education
• Can help to avoid federal endangered species listings through protection of rare species and habitats
• Assistance to landowners for protection, interpretive and research projects
Clay-loving wild buckwheat
Photo by Dickson Pratt
CNAP engaging in land
management partnerships
Two Buttes Natural Area
Rare Dudley Bluffs Bladderpod
In Summary, the Colorado Natural Areas Program enters into
voluntary cooperative agreements with landowners to
help conserve the best natural features in the state.
Logan
Wash
Mine
Two Buttes
Designation
Registered Natural Area
Quick Facts
• Logan Wash Mine site is 82 acres and located in Garfield County
• Part of a larger complex of state designated Natural Areas including Mt. Callahan and Mt.
Callahan Saddle (“Mt. Callahan properties”) totaling 762 acres
• Owned by Occidental Petroleum Corporation (Oxy)
Site Values
Rare Plants:
• Logan Wash Mine is home to the critically imperiled Parachute penstemon
(Penstemon debilis) , which is a federally threatened species
• The collective Mt. Callahan properties contain 3 of the 4 largest and most
viable populations of Parachute penstemon in the world
• 5 other rare plant species occur on the Mt. Callahan properties
Plant Communities:
• Property contains excellent examples of unique native plant communities
including: Western Slope Grasslands, Western Slope Sagebrush Shrublands,
and Western Slope Douglas Fir Forest
Unique Conservation Partnership:
• CNAP has been working with Oxy, owner of the Mt. Callahan properties, for
over 25 years in order to help protect the federally threatened Parachute
penstemon.
• Due to the partnership between Oxy and CNAP and with the designation
of State Natural Areas on Oxy owned property, federal designation of critical
habitat for Parachute penstemon has been avoided on Oxy’s Mt. Callahan
properties. This shows that a win-win can result from voluntary cooperation
between the State and private industry.

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