Wow, they want to drill for oil in the Great Salt Lake. This would be really bad for the Spiral Jetty, not to mention the environment.
Here is the statement from Friends of the Great Salt Lake:
On 7 January 2008, Pearl Montana Exploration and Production, LTD., requested a permit to drill exploratory wells in the north arm of the Great Salt Lake just five miles from Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty. Although the permit was earmarked to be fast-tracked, FRIENDS and others requested an extension for comments from the public until 13 February 2008. Please click below for a copy of the comments filed on behalf of FRIENDS and additional resources on the history of this important issue.
This permit is the first of many possible permit applications for oil drilling near Rozel Point. In 2006, FRIENDS and other conservation organizations successfully halted further development of oil and gas leases on 116,000 acres of the North Arm. Unfortunately, 50,000 acres already had open leases and have the potential for oil exploration and development.
We have included several items below that will help you understand this issue in historical and current terms.
FRIENDS submitted formal comments on 13 February 2008 to members of the Resource Development Coordinating Committee and John Baza, Director of the Division of Oil, Gas, and Mining.
Here is a recent article in the NY Times by KIRK JOHNSON
ROZEL POINT, Utah — Will McMillin and Liz Wing walked more than three miles of rutted, muddy road on a recent afternoon carrying a bicycle wheel, a wooden stool and a golf club.
The New York Times
Following directions they had gleaned from art Web sites and small road signs, they arrived here at a remote spot on the shores of the Great Salt Lake.
“We felt like we had to go, and that this was the time to do it,” Mr. McMillin said.
Their goal (more later on what they did with their props; think about the Dadaist/Surrealist artist Marcel Duchamp) was “Spiral Jetty,” a 1,500-foot curved construction of rock and earth by the artist Robert Smithson that juts into the lake.
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