Conservation versus Preservation
SCI/275
January 26, 2014

Conservation versus Preservation
January 26, 2014

Letter to Editor:

Dear Editor,

I am writing you this letter today to inform you of how we must fight to preserve the wildlife, natural resources, and attractiveness located within the boundaries of the Bridger Teton National Forest. If you are not aware of what the Bridger Teton National Forest is, it is a “3.4 million acres of public land located in western Wyoming.” (University of Phoenix, 2014, p 1) For the most part, “It has remained virtually untouched by human presence and is the largest contiguous piece of public land in the lower 48 states.” (University of Phoenix, 2014, p. 1) The area has been chosen as a national forest and which “potentially allows for a variety of different activities to occur within its borders, including recreation, fishing, hunting, mining, and logging.” (University of Phoenix, 2014, p. 1)

If one follows the “Four Steps for Risk Assessment” listed in the text book Visualizing Environmental Science (Berg, Hager, & Hassenzahl, 2011) one can easily see how drilling oil and harvesting the forest’s natural resources will damage the local environment.

The first step is “Hazard Identification” and it is simple to see the many hazards that come with drilling oil in a forest. The simplest hazard to recognize is the heavy-duty machinery and vehicles which are needed for drilling oil. Thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of trees will be crushed and cut down to make room for the machinery and drilling equipment. There are limitless species of wildlife which all depend on these trees for survival. In addition, countless species of plants will be damaged and crushed into the soil.

The second step is “Dose-response Assessment” which one has previously begun. The amount of heavy-duty machines, such as drills, and vehicles, like bulldozers and transport trucks, will create excessive amounts of pollution. This pollution is by now foreign to the local vegetation and wildlife. Imagine how it will react to being soaked in these toxins.

The third step is “Exposure Assessment” which goes hand-in-hand with step two. It will take numerous long years for the oil companies to prepare the land inside Bridger Teton National Forest for drilling and even additional numerous years to empty out every drop of oil from the underground wells. The forest will be exposed to hazardous toxins throughout the entire process.

The fourth and final step is “Risk Characterization.” Each species in the forest will be affected and it will take numerous years for the conditions to return to the same state they are in now. Some species may not even survive the extended drilling process.

I request of you to please write an article informing your readers of the horrible hazards that go hand-in-hand with drilling. We have got to help to preserve the natural beauty and wildlife which inhabits the Bridger National Forest.

Thank you for your time,