mineral management plan march 1980 glen canyon national recreation
TRANSCRIPT
MINERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN
MARCH 1980
GLEN CANYON
NATIONAL RECREATION AREA
ARIZONA AND UTAH
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
RECOMMENDED: Sb Superintendent, Glen Canyon National
Recreation Area
2/25/80
Date
APPROVED: 3/03/80 Acting Regional Director, Rocky Mountain Region Date
CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION AND ORIENTATION
II. MANAGEMENT ZONING PLAN Map 1 Table 1
III. PROPOSED BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENTS
IV. PROPOSALS FOR LAND EXCHANGE
V. MINERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN Map 2
VI. CONTIGUOUS AREAS OF WILDERNESS, PRIMITIVE OR NATURAL CHARACTER
Map 3
VII. MINERAL RESOURCES A. Oil-Impregnated Rocks
Map 4 Pilot Fireflood Project Map 5
B. Oil and Gas C. Coal D. Uranium
Shootering Canyon Uranium Project Map 6
E. Vanadium F. Copper, Manganese and Gold G. Construction Materials H. Halite and Gypsum I. Availability of Mineral Resources
(Summary)
VIII. LANDOWNERSHIP, MINERAL INTERESTS AND ACCESS A. State Lands and Mineral Interests
Map 7 B. Federal Oil and Gas Leases and Minin
Claims C. Access to Mineral Interests
IX. CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION WITH OTHERS
X. BIBLIOGRAPHY
XI. THE PLANNING TEAM AND CONSULTANTS
XII. APPENDIXES
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APPENDIXES
1. Public Law 92-593
2. Department of the Interior Definitions of Mineral Resource Terms
3. Oil and Gas Resources
4. Comments on the Oil and Gas Resources
MAPS
1. Management Zoning Plan
2. Mineral Management Plan
3. Contiguous Areas of Wilderness, Primitive or Natural Character
4. Fossil Fuel Resources
5. Tar Sand Triangle and Pilot Fireflood Project
6. Uranium - Vanadium Resources
7. Mineral Interests and Ownership
TABLE
1. Management Zones
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I. INTRODUCTION AND ORIENTATION
A General Management Plan (GMP) for Glen Canyon National Recreation Area was prepared during the period 1973 - 1979 and was approved on November 21, 1979, after it and an accompanying final environmental statement (FES 79-23) had been released to the public. That Plan called for the preparation of a resources management plan to consist of four resource components: cultural, natural, grazing, and mineral. This report is about the management of mineral resources within the Recreation Area and is derived from its GMP.
Created by the Glen Canyon Dam (completed in 1964) and authorized by the Colorado River Storage Project Act of April 11, 1956 (P.L. 84-485), Lake Powell exists primarily for the purposes of river regulation, irrigation, flood control, and generation of hydroelectric power. "To provide for public outdoor recreation use and enjoyment of Lake Powell and lands adjacent thereto...and to preserve scenic, scientific, and historic features contributing to public enjoyment of the area," Congress established the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in 1972 (P.L. 92-593--Appendix 1), to be administered by the National Park Service (NPS). This act specifies that "nothing...shall affect or interfere with the authority of the Secretary...to operate Glen Canyon dam and reservoir" for the purposes of the Colorado River Storage Project Act, the achievement of which is the responsibility of the Water and Power Resources Service (formerly the Bureau of Reclamation).
This act also specifies that "the administration of mineral and grazing leases within the Recreation Area shall be by the Bureau of Land Management. The same policy followed by the Bureau of Land Management in issuing and administering mineral and grazing leases on other lands under its jurisdiction shall be followed in regard to the lands within the boundaries of the Recreation Area subject to the...(finding) that such...would not have significant adverse affects...on the administration of the National Recreation Area (and) the conservation and management of natural resources..."
II. MANAGEMENT ZONING PLAN
The management zoning plan (Map 1) also contained in the GMP, specifies the long-term allocation of the land and water resources of the Recreation Area into four management zones: the Natural Zone, covering some 668,670 acres, in which maintenance of isolation and natural processes while allowing grazing activities is the management strategy; the Recreation and Resource Utilization Zone (RRU--557,890 acres), characterized by maintenance of natural processes while allowing
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to the extent possible both mining and grazing; the Cultural Zone (25 acres), in which the preservation, interpretation, and restoration (where deemed appropriate by professional analysis) of historic and archeological resources are the exclusive themes; and the Development Zone (19,270 acres), in which provision of visitor services and maintenance of facilities is practiced. Table 1 summarizes this information and contains examples of permitted activities and development in each of the zones.
The Natural Zone includes the Recreation Area's outstanding scenic resources, relatively undisturbed areas isolated and remote from the activities of man, or areas bordering on places with established land-use practices complementary to those of the Natural Zone such as Primitive Areas managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The RRU Zone consists of areas possessing somewhat less scenic value, greater susceptibility to the activities of man, or value for utility rights-of-way or development. The Cultural Zone embraces historic or cultural resources and the Development Zone centers around the existing developed areas, except at Dangling Rope Canyon, Llewellyn Gulch, and Farley Canyon, areas that are currently undeveloped.
The lakeside boundary of the Natural Zone is coincident with the fluctuating surface of Lake Powell except at Antelope Island. The 3,700-foot contour has been shown as the boundary between these. However, as the water surface fluctuates when it is lower than this contour, there would be more Natural Zone acreage with a corresponding decrease in RRU Zone acreage. Conversely, the opposite would occur when the fluctuating water surface is higher than this contour. The Natural Zone for Antelope Island has to be treated differently because if Lake Powell's surface falls below contour 3,620 this area ceases to be an island. For this situation the Natural Zone would be coincident with the top of the south side of the channel between this island and Castle Rock. When lower, the Natural Zone would remain at this channel.
The riverside boundary of the Natural Zone downstream from Glen Canyon Dam is coincident with the fluctuating surface of the Colorado River along its right bank. Its left bank is, for the most part, in the Navajo Indian Reservation. The same principle for increase or decrease in the Natural Zone acreage at Lake Powell would apply along the affected portion of the Colorado River.
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Table \ Managemont *onei.
MANAGEMENT ZONE EXAMPLES OF PERMITTED ACTIVITIES
NATURAL
RRU (RECREATION & RESOURCE UTILIZATION)
DEVELOPMENT
CULTURAL
Recreational
Hunting, hiking, camping, picnick
ing. horseback riding, swimming.
tuckpacking, canoeing, kayaking
Sam* at. NATURAL management
/one but include* btcvdtnq, scemc
towing lauto. 4 wheeldnve, boa,!).
tpeedboaling, water skiing, lithmg.
lailboatinq, houseboat louring, river
ra i t ing. riding trailbikes and
tlunehuqgiei
Bicycling, picnicking, horseback
riding, iwimming, tuning, trailer
and motorhomp camping, Ji l l and
ctaitt activities, outdoor resort '
activities, interpretive programs.
riding trailbikei and dunebuggies
Interpretation of hutoric and
artheological features
NonrtcfMtioful
Grazing.
Grazing, mining. installation of utility and transput (a l ion ' syilumj. 1 Includes the utilities planning corridor.
Grazing,
management of
dam and utility
structures.
Scholarly itudv.
Common it
E xamples are not all inclusive.
Grazing may be subsequently pro
hibited in certain areas identified
by a future Grazing Resources
Management Plan.
Recreational uses of motorized
equipment prohibited.
Motorized equipment permitted where it constitutes a "minimum management tool" (Append'X 3). Mining prohibited.
Examples are not all inclusive.
Riding trailbikei and dune buggies
restricted to designated areas.
Grazing may be subsequently pro-
hibited as described above.
Mining may be subsequently pro
hibited in certain areas identified
by a future Mineral Resourcei Man
agement Plan.
Examples are not all inclusive.
Grazing prohibited in the developed
areas within the Development
zone
Mming prohibited.
Examples are not all inclusive.
Grazing and agriculture may be
permitted.
i Mining prohibited.
DEVELOPMENT PERMITTED MANAGEMENT SI RATEGY FOR THE ZONE ACREAGE PERCENTAGE
Management facilities,necessary for
the preservation and enjoyment of
recreational values.
Management facilities and practices
necessary to tuttam grazing limited
to non-mechanical types.
Same at for the NATURAL
management zone, except includes
mining facilities, utility lines,
unpaved roads, and primitive
(railhead facilities (such as parking
and sanitary devices).
Relatively elaborate and permanent
structure! necessary to support
recreational activitiei.
Access to the cultural resources.
Trails for confining and containing
use
PtOtective enclosures.
Interpretive facilities.
No utility right*.of way.
Includes dam
Maintenance ol isolation and natu
rat proceites
Con iu rnp t ion o l renewable
resource* .ub|ect to protection of
recreational values
Maintenance of natural processes
Enhancement of fish and gjme pop
ulationt.
Consumption of renewable and
nonrenewable ietource* tubiect (o
protection of recreational values
Maintenance ol the facilities.
Provision of vmtor seivicet
Preservation.
Restoration where deemed appro
priate by professional analysis
Interpretation.
< ?
1.24S.8SS
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III. PROPOSED BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENTS
Proposed deletions of 13,555 acres and additions of 4,410 acres will decrease the Recreation Area's acreage by 9,145 acres to 1,245,855 or 8,975 acres more than the legislative limit. Deletions (Map 1) are proposed in the Imperial-Bull Valley (3,730 acres; a flat, isolated tableland not accessible from the Recreation Area and, accordingly, not readily manageable by the NPS), Purple Hills (9,265 acres; a mineralized area of relatively low scenic value), and the isolated rolling shrubland south of Highway 89 in the northwest corner of the I'.'ahweap Development Zone (560 acres). Additions (Map 1) consist of establishing trailheads along the Hole-in-the-Rock Road (4,410 acres) to facilitate NPS management of backcountry use in the canyons of the Escalante.
It is proposed that the boundary as shown on Map 1 be established by Congress, and, that the present Congressional limitation of not to exceed 1,236,880 acres be changed to approximately 1,250,000 acres. The proposed boundary adjustments are predicated on the assumption that legislation will be enacted accordingly.
IV. PROPOSALS FOR LAND EXCHANGE
The acquisition of state lands and interests in lands is a long-range goal of the NPS so as to better facilitate the management and use of the Recreation Area's resources. The Recreation Area's enabling legislation permits such acquisition only by donation or exchange. This Congressional limitation should be amended to permit acquisition also by purchase. The ongoing program, so far unsuccessful, for exchanging Federal lands administered by the BLM outside the Recreation Area boundary for Arizona and Utah state lands within it should continue. Under this program, the NPS, the BLM, and the states are trying to determine the priorities and scheduling for exchanging particular holdings.
V. MINERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN
Special attention should be given to a statement in the comments column of Table 1 referring to the Recreation and Resource Utilization Zone (RRU). This table appeared also in the GMP and set the stage for preparation of this Mineral Management Plan. The statement provides that "mining may be subsequently prohibited in certain areas identified by a future Mineral Resources Management Plan." This has been accomplished as shown on Map 2.
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The Recreation Area has been divided into two basic parts: (1) open to mineral disposition; and (2) closed to mineral disposition. Locations open to mineral disposition consist of most of the areas within the RRU Zone with the following exceptions. The area encompassed by the surface of Lake Powell at its maximum elevation of 3,700 feet was excluded because this is the primary recreation resource within the Recreation Area. Land areas adjacent to, in close proximity to, and which can easily be seen from Lake Powell were excluded because these locations form the immediate scenic setting for visitors as viewed from its surface.
Recent archeological field studies, since preparation of the GMP, identified several new sites which have been placed in the Cultural Zone. These exceptions are closed to mineral disposition. Also closed are those areas in the GMP in the Natural, Development and Cultural Zones.
Some small islands, which are in the Natural Zone did not appear in the GMP because these were too small to show on those maps.
As in the GMP, this plan shows the intent of the NPS to manage lands containing outstanding mineral rights if and when they are acquired. Until that takes place the proposed classifications, i.e., open to mineral disposition and closed to mineral disposition, wil1 not apply.
The primary purpose of this plan is to identify areas within the RRU Zone which are open to mineral disposition. This does not mean that every acre there would be suitable for this use. It does mean that plans of operations for any mineral activity by prospective users for disposition within these areas would be considered on a case by case basis. When a plan of operations is approved, then disposition activities can take place, subject to applicable laws, rules and regulations.
Following this Mineral Management Plan will be the preparation of two other documents. One will be such regulations as are required for mining and mineral activities within the Recreation Area. These, when approved, will be published in the Federal Register as a part of the appropriate Code of Federal Regulations. The other will be the preparation of procedural guidelines which will describe, in laymans' terms, operator and Federal agency responsibilities. It will be a "cookbook" type document which will lay out the necessary procedures from the beginning to the end of mineral disposition activities. These two documents will be jointly prepared by the BLM, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the NPS.
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VI. CONTIGUOUS AREAS OF WILDERNESS, PRIMITIVE OR NATURAL CHARACTER
A. Prel iminary Wi 1 d_erness Proposals for Canyon!ands and Capitol Reef Nationa1 Parks
Public hearings were held in August 1974 on preliminary Wilderness proposals for Canyonlands and Capitol Reef National Parks (Map 3). President Carter recommended to Congress in May 1977 that suitable areas within Canyonlands be added to the National Wilderness Preservation System.
B. Preliminary Wilderness Proposal for Grand Canyon National Park
Public hearings were held in May 1971 on a preliminary Wilderness proposal for Grand Canyon National Park. Subsequently, Congress enlarged the Park to include what was Marble Canyon National Monument and 3% miles of the Colorado River in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (to the confluence with the Paria River). At the same time, the Congress also called for a Wilderness study, now underway. Wilderness is being proposed for that section of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park from the Navajo Bridge (Alternate U.S. Highway 89) to Separation Canyon.
C. Existing Bureau of Land Management Primitive or Outstanding Natural Areas
The Secretary of the Interior has designated five primitive or outstanding natural areas containing a total of 170,000 acres that adjoin the Recreation Area (Map 3). These are the Vermilion Cliffs (50,135 acres), Paria Canyon (27,635 acres), North Escalante Canyon (5,800 acres), Grand Gulch (26,729 acres), and Dark Canyon (57,248 acres). Parts of these areas are now included within Glen Canyon.
D. Bureau of Land Management Roadless Areas Larger Than 5,000 Acres Included in the Initial Wilderness Inventory Proposal Which Will Require More Intensive Study
Congress, in 1976, mandated the BLM to review all lands under its care to determine if any of these lands should be added to the National Wilderness Preservation System. Initial studies by the BLM identified several areas contiguous to the Recreation Area (Map 3) which are undergoing more intensive study.
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E. Wi 1 d and Sc_e_ni_c _Ri vers_Act of 19-^l
On September 11, 1970, the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture identified the Escalante River, from its source to Lake Powell, as a potential addition to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
VII. MINERAL RESOURCES
The mineral resources of Glen Canyon are defined according to terminology officially adopted by the Department of the Interior. Certain of these definitions appear below and in Appendix 2. The principle source for the conclusions reached in this section is an unpublished report by the USGS (1975).
A. Oil-Impregnated Rocks
Within the Recreation Area a number of rock units have been identified that contain deposits of semi-solid petroleum residuals. This resource, in its natural state, cannot be recovered by methods normally effective in the recovery of petroleum that is liquid in-situ. These deposits, often referred to as "tar sands,'1 are thought to be the residues of petroleum that at one time were fluid, but have become nonfluid due to a loss of the volatile constituents. The resulting bitumens are characterized by low specific gravity.
This country's single largest deposit of tar sands occurs in an area approximately 12 by 18 miles in extent known as the Tar Sand Triangle (Map 4). Ritzma (1973) estimates the deposit contains between 12.5 and 16.0 billion barrels of oil. The thickness of the bitumen-saturated White Rim sandstone ranges between 5 and 300 feet and extends from surface exposure on the east, principally in the Elaterite Basin, to depths greater than 2,000 feet on the west. About 45 percent of the areal extent of the deposit lies within the Recreation Area (Campbell 1975).
The very high viscosity of the bitumen-saturated material prevents its being removed by ordinary pumping methods. Because no proven methods exist for economic recovery, the deposit is defined as an "identified subeconomic resource," i.e., a "known deposit not now mineable economically" (Appendix 2).
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Pilot Fireflood Project
The Oil Development Company of Utah has proposed an attempt to recover commercial quantities of oil from the oil-impregnated White Rim sandstone of the Tar Sand Triangle. A test well drilled at the project site penetrated about 200 feet of the White Rim sandstone below a depth of 1,450 feet in the well bore. The project calls for the drilling of four additional wells on a 2-acre site in the Orange Cliffs section of the Recreation Area (Map 5). Compressed air (or the alternate of natural gas or a combustible liquid) would be injected down the central well and then ignited. The resulting heat and pressure would lower the viscosity of the highly viscous oil and force it up and out of the four surrounding well bores. If successful, the project would be expanded to commercial fireflood operations, and the 16,636 acres of Federal and state oil and gas leases within the proposed Gordon Flats Fireflood Unit would be subject to development. Thirty-five percent (5,758 acres) of the Unit lies within the Recreation Area. The project's impacts on the Recreation Area would be discussed in a separate environmental impact statement by the USGS.
In a letter dated October 15, 1975, the Department's Associate Solicitor - Energy and Resources concluded that the tar sand deposits could only be leased and developed under Section 21 of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920. Because the Oil Development Company has been issued leases under Section 17 of that Act, it is not presently authorized to develop this resource. In a letter dated October 19, 1976, the Department declined this Company's offer to enter into a cooperative agreement under the Public Lands Administration Act to conduct tests on the tar sand deposits within the Recreation Area. The Department offered to enter into such an agreement on lands outside the Recreation Area. However, no such agreement has been consummated to date.
The areas open to mineral disposition may allow the extraction of oil from the tar sand (a residual bituminous deposit) in the area west of the Orange Cliffs subject to regulations which will be developed. The depth of the occurrence is too great to allow strip mining. The tar sand deposits are identified as a subeconomic resource in the submarginal category requiring new technology before economic recovery is feasible. In-situ methods of recovery may be the only practical means for the foreseeable future. It is not known what fraction of the estimated 12.5- to 16-billion barrel deposit lies west of the Orange Cliffs.
Since the portion of the tar sand deposit east of the Orange Cliffs is in the Natural Zone, leasing of the deposit and extraction of oil in this area will be prohibited, except where prior valid mineral rights exist. As the aerial extent and volume of this deposit are based mainly on projection and inference, it is not known how much of this resource lies within the Recreation Area or the Natural Zone.
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Outcrops of bitumen-impregnated limestone and sandy limestone occur along the San Juan River at the eastern tip of the Recreation Area (Map 4). (The Utah Geological and Mineral Survey estimates the deposit, an "indicated, identified subeconomic" resource, to contain 200,000-250,000 barrels of oil in place within the Recreation Area--Appendix 2.) No method has been devised to date to make an economic recovery from these deposits.
The subsurface extent of the bitumen-impregnated sandstone and siltstone in the Circle Cliffs tar sand deposit (Map 4) is not completely known, and bitumen-impregnated rocks may occur along the Circle Cliffs north and southeast of the mapped deposits. Most of the bitumen-bearing rocks in the area are covered by more than 1,000 feet of overburden.
B. Oil and Gas
In the views of some oil and gas specialists, the Recreation Area is considered to contain undiscovered (speculative) oil and gas resources (see definition in Appendix 2). The LISGS (1975) has estimated these speculative resources to consist of between 51 and 155 million barrels of potentially recoverable oil (no estimate is available for gas).
To date, however, there is no evidence indicating the existence of commercially recoverable oil and gas resources within the Recreation Area.
The facts pertaining to the Recreation Area's speculative oil and gas resources are these:
Seven dry test wells for oil have been drilled in the Recreation Area, about 41 in its general vicinity (Map 4). The largest concentration of wells is just beyond the San Juan arm; other concentrations occur near the Orange Cliffs where 5 of the 7 wells within the Recreation Area are located, at the southern end of the Escalante area where the remaining 2 occur, and in the vicinity of the Escalante extension. None of these areas contain a producing well. Of the 7 wells within the Recreation Area, one bailed 26 barrels of crude oil before being abandoned; and another produced 24 barrels per day for several days before it was abandoned. Only about one-third of the wells in the general vicinity of the Recreation Area reported oil shows or oil-stained cores; the balance were either blanks (dry holes) or had no record. All were plugged and abandoned.
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The Recreation Area contains structural features favorable to the migration, charge, and entrapment of hydrocarbons. The USGS hypothesizes that most of the speculative reserves occur in stratigraphic accumulations. The large anticlinal structures that have been drilled to date have yielded few hydrocarbons, probably because they post-date the major periods of oil and gas migration. Appendix 3 describes the technical basis of these conclusions. Geologic uplift and subsequent erosion, however, have either allowed the leakage or flushing by water of the postulated ancient reservoirs.
It is reported that the erosional and geomorphological history of the Colorado Plateau has disrupted the expected relationships of gas, oil, and water in potential petroleum reservoirs, heightening the uncertainty over oil and gas resources. Some specialists feel that insufficient testing in the area has aggravated this uncertainty. Howard Ritzma of the Utah Geological and Mineral Survey comments on this situation in Appendix 4.
Several small seeps have been recorded in Slickhorn Canyon. Other seeps, now inundated by Lake Powell, were previously found along Oil Seep Bar.
Three oil and gas fields some distance outside the boundary produce from formations that underlie portions of the Recreation Area: The Upper Valley field, 16 miles west of the Escalante arm (Map 4 ) , produced 18,268,098 barrels of oil from the Permian Kaibab formation from 1964 through September 1979; the Big Flat Field, some 12 miles west and 2 miles north of the extreme northern tip of the Recreation Area, produced 82,600 barrels of oil and 20,152 MCF of gas from the Mississippian Redwall limestone before being shut down during 1968. The Mexican Hat field, just beyond the end of the San Juan arm, produced 25,917 barrels of oil and 316 MCF of gas from the Pennsylvanian Hermosa group from 1948 thru the end of September 1979.
It is not known, nor can it presently be estimated, what portion of the USGS gross estimates lie in these areas. Opportunities for the extraction of these speculative oil and gas resources may be permitted within the areas open to mineral disposition subject to appropriate regulations.
The USGS estimate of the Recreation Area's total speculative petroleum resources is 51-155 million barrels. In USGS Circular 725, published in 1975, it was estimated that the recoverable undiscovered oil resources of the Western Rocky Mountain Region (Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico) were between 2 and 8 billion barrels of oil. The undiscovered petroleum resources within the Recreation Area may then represent between 2 and 8 percent
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of the potential of this region. It should be emphasized that the likelihood of any impact on the availability of oil resources must be viewed in light of the definition of "speculative resources": undiscovered materials that may occur either in known types of deposits in a favorable geologic setting where no discoveries have been made, or in as yet unknown types of deposits that remain to be recognized.
C. Coal
Some coal-bearing strata occur in the Recreation Area (Map 4) along the southernmost outer fringes of the Kaiparowits Plateau coalfield, the largest in southeastern Utah. Although the coal beds in the Recreation Area are 4 feet or more thick and, thus, are considered of commercial value, they are in rugged terrain with cliffs and steep slopes. Many of them have been burned at the surface and a short distance underground. The burning not only reduces the amount of coal remaining but also produces unstable conditions underground, making it hazardous to mine the coal near these areas. For all practical purposes the coal cannot be removed by stripping methods and, hence, must be mined underground due to thick overburden.
The coal is either bituminous or subbituminous in rank with the following typical analysis:
Moisture 5.4 percent Volatile Matter 38.1 percent Fixed carbon 51.0 percent Ash 5.5 percent Sulfur 0.6 percent Energy yield 10,610 Btu/lb of coal
About 9.75 million tons of coal occur within the Recreation Area in three places: Wahweap Creek area (contains a bed averaging 4.5 feet in thickness under 339 acres; about 2.75 million tons within the Recreation Area); Last Chance Creek area, northern part (contains at least two coal beds 4 feet or more thick; one 10-foot bed under 209 acres; about 3.76 million tons within the Recreation Area); and Last Chance Creek area, southern part (contains at least one coal seam more than 4 feet thick; one 6-foot bed under 300 acres; about 3.24 million tons within the Recreation Area).
Minor amounts of coal also occur in the easternmost part of the Kaiparowits Plateau under Spencer and Navajo Points. These coal beds are less than 4 feet thick and thus not considered of commercial significance. The isolation and ruggedness of the terrain would seriously impede development in this area.
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The removal of the Recreation Area's coal within the areas shown as open to mineral disposition may be permitted subject to law, but it is unlikely as pointed out previously.
D. Uranium
The identified uranium resources (Map 6) occur in several uranium bearing areas that produced during the 1950's and 1960's (nominal amounts only). The Recreation Area contains (USGS estimate) 14,500,000 pounds of U308. These resources are of both the identified and hypothetical category. The quantity in each category is unknown. Host of the mines in these areas have ceased production. The Utah portion of the Monument Valley District ceased production in 1966. The White Canyon District (principally outside the Recreation Area), the Purple Hills area, and along the San Juan have blocks of unpatented mining claims.
The uranium deposits have been subeconomic since the early sixties but may become economic in the future. (During 1977 interest in recovery of these resources increased markedly. Areas adjacent to the Recreation Area, such as Mancos Mesa, heretofore unexplored, were under active exploration. Helicopter reconnaissance of active zones of interest within the Recreation Area is reported to have been recently conducted.) All of the hypothetical resources within the Recreation Area are inferred to be in the Chinle formation, which has accounted for 91 percent of production and 99 percent of inferred reserves in the surrounding mining districts. Because most outcrops of potential Chinle host rocks were well explored during the uranium "boom" of the 1950's and 1960's, much of the remaining favorable ground is buried, some as deeply as 7,000 feet; and, accordingly, not economically recoverable at present.
About 30 percent of the areal extent of all of the favorable uranium zones (identified and hypothetical resources) occurs within the areas closed to mineral disposition. Uranium resources in the remaining 70 percent may be available for mineral disposition subject to regulations.
Shootering Canyon Uranium Project
Plateau Resources Limited, released an environmental report in May 1978 about this project which proposes to process uranium ore in the vicinity of Shootering Canyon, Garfield County, in southeastern Utah. The facilities will be located approximately 14 miles north of Bullfrog Marina and are designed to operate at the rate of 750 tons per day. Also, Plateau is mining and purchasing uranium ore from other mines in the region and proposes to process those ores at the Shootering Canyon facilities.
The UPS is very interested in this project and has and will continue to work with Plateau as planning proceeds by both organizations.
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E. Va n adjum
Deposits of vanadium and uranium are generally intimately associated within the Recreation Area. Accordingly, ore bodies of vanadium are inferred to have size and distribution characteristics similar to those of uranium (Map 6). The inferred vanadium resource potential of the Recreation Area is calculated from the uranium-to-vanadium production ratios of the region as a whole. These ratios yield about 10 million pounds of hypothetical and identified, recoverable, and subeconomic quantities of V205 within the Recreation Area. The quantities in each of these four categories are not known.
Because vanadium is recovered only as a byproduct of uranium mining, the impacts on its production are the same as those for uranium.
F. Copper, Manganese and Gold
Speculative resources of 25,000 tons of copper are estimated by the USGS to exist within the Recreation Area. Very minor amounts of copper have been recovered as a milling byproduct of uranium in the White Canyon area. No large deposits are inferred to exist within the Recreation Area; most are less than 10,000 tons of ore (0.5 percent copper). All are inferred to occur in conjunction with uranium deposits and could be economically extracted only as a milling byproduct.
Manganese and gold do not occur in economically significant quantities within the Recreation Area. Small gold placer operations in sediments of the San Juan and Colorado Rivers were intermittently active around the turn of the century; none were economic.
Since copper occurrences within the Recreation Area are generally associated with uranium, impacts on its production will be the same as those for uranium and vanadium.
G. Construction Materials
Gravel for construction and maintenance of roads is not abundant in the general vicinity of the Recreation Area. Deposits do occur along the Colorado River and its tributaries and adjacent to the river as terrace and pediment gravels. The deposits along Wahweap Creek (above Lake Powell) continue upstream 8 miles northwest of the Recreation Area boundary and are in more or less continual use by both Utah and Arizona for construction projects. A considerable quantity of terrace and pediment gravels occur both within and north of the Recreation Area above Bullfrog. Additional deposits of various kinds occur at Halls Crossing, Farley Canyon, and Hite.
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The areas closed to mineral disposition will prevent the excavation of known deposits of construction materials from that portion of the Wahweap deposit that lies in the Recreation Area, where development zoning will prohibit exploitation. This will also be the case at Hite and Farley Canyon. The majority of these deposits are below lake level most of the time. Other known deposits will remain available for regulated exploitation. The magnitude of these deposits is not known.
H. Halite and Gypsum
Although the halite resources in the Orange Cliffs section of the Recreation Area are quite large, they are too far from markets to have any economic value in the foreseeable future. Should a need for halite develop in this region, there are many other more favorably located sources that could meet the demand.
Between Gypsum Canyon and Spanish Bottom are several localities where gypsum deposits are exposed in the canyon walls. At Gypsum Canyon the gypsum-bearing interval is about 250 feet thick; some of the deposits at Gypsum Canyon and other localities are probably of adequate thickness and quality for industrial use. The economic value of any gypsum deposit, however, is dependent on its location relative to market and the availability of inexpensive transportation. The remote location of the deposits along the Colorado River makes it highly improbable that they would be of economic value in the foreseeable future.
I. Availablility of Mineral Resources (Summary)
The impacts of areas closed to mineral disposition on the availability for exploitation of mineral resources are impossible to determine with any certainty at this time. This is directly due to the uncertain nature of most of the available evidence about these resources. The effect on national mineral needs of prohibiting access to hypothetical resources can only be as certain, or uncertain, as the measure of facts versus hypothetical possibility allows. In some cases considerable emphasis is placed on the possibility of large quantities being present in favorable formations solely because no previous exploration has been completed.
The tar sand and coal deposits and uranium occurrences (though only partially identified) are the most fully supported mineral resource estimates in the area. The great uncertainty over the recoverability of the tar sand deposit within the Recreation Area, makes it impossible to estimate this plan's effect on regional or national oil resources.
22
Uranium deposits, some in the identified reserves and most in the hypothetical-resource categories, have been reported within the Recreation Area. The U308 content of those deposits "in place" (source data indicate no allowance made for either mining or beneficiation losses) is estimated at 14,520,000 pounds. Source data also leave unknown the proportion of the deposits too small or too deep to be economically exploited in the foreseeable future.
The greatest potential for degrading both ground and surface water quality occurs in the areas open to mineral disposition, where mining, utility corridors, and motorized activities are, or may be, permitted. Petroleum byproducts, sediment, and leachates from mines and mine tailings could find their way into the Recreation Area's watercourses, causing unsightly or unhealthful conditions. Warm Creek, Last Chance Creek, Moody Creek, Red Canyon, and White Canyon, and their tributary streams, are the most probable locations for these effects to occur. It is possible that drilling activities in these areas, by penetrating groundwater in perched aquifers or at the level of the regional water table, could lower perched water tables, and introduce foreign substances, such as bituminous materials, brines or drilling fluids into the water.
VIII. LANDOWNERSHIP, MINERAL INTERESTS AND ACCESS
Map 7 shows mineral interests and ownerships within the Recreation Area. The enabling legislation for Glen Canyon calls for the administration of mineral leases by the BLM. In addition to 95,185 acres of Federal oil and gas leases, 65,949 acres of state land rights, 39,480 acres of Navajo mineral rights, and 995 acres of private mineral rights (almost all submerged), the Recreation Area contains 556 unpatented mining claims (lode and placer) which cover approximately 11,120 acres. These claims will be examined to determine their validity.
A. State Lands and Mineral Interests
The zoning in the GMP assumes the eventual acquisition of all state lands and state mineral interests (state land rights--Map 7) within the Recreation Area. The total quantity of mineral resources on these lands is unknown. When these lands and interests are acquired, the zoning categories of Maps 1 and 2 will be applied. Once acquired, 4,320 acres of oil and gas leases now on state land in the Natural Zone in the Orange Cliffs and Escalante areas (3,000 acres), and San Juan area (360 acres) will be allowed to expire if undeveloped. Similarly, 6,400 acres of mineral leases now on state land within the Natural Zone in the Escalante area will be allowed to expire.
23
In the RRU Zone 8,157 acres of oil and gas leases and 1,911 acres of mineral leases now on state land will be examined on a case by case basis for renewal or nonrenewal, if and when these lands are acquired.
B. Federal Oil and Gas Leases and Mining Claims
Activities resulting from the exercise of Federal oil and gas leasehold interests shall be in accordance with approved regulations.
Examinations of unpatented mining claim locations which have been recorded under the provisions of "the Mining in the Parks Act" (Public Law 94-429, September 28, 1976) will be conducted for purposes of establishing their validity. Activities resulting from the exercise of valid existing mineral rights on mining claims will be in accordance with the provisions as contained in 36 CFR Part 9, Subpart A (Mining and Mining Claims). Consideration may be given to the acquisition of mining claims which are valid and situated in areas closed to mineral disposition.
The management policy for areas closed to mineral disposition is the elimination of outstanding mineral ownership interests.
C. Access to Mineral Interests
The road system is shown on Map 1. This system within the Recreation Area includes Federal and state highways, and designated MPS roads. Use of these designated roads for access may be permitted to valid existing mineral interests, and to areas open to mineral disposition.
Use of designated NPS roads will not be permitted for access to mineral interests outside of the Recreation Area except for situations where no reasonable alternatives exist, and where such use would not interfere with the primary recreation and reclamation purposes for which the Recreation Area was established.
Access grants may be accomplished by issuance of special use permits approved by the NPS Regional Director which must be supported by information about the proposed activities and an environmental document. Access traversing roadless topography within areas open to mineral disposition should minimize damage to the environment. Access to valid existing mineral interests may be granted in accordance with applicable Federal laws, regulations, and court decisions.
25
IX. QONSULTATI_ON__AN_D _COORD.I_N_A_T I ON. W1TH_OTHE_RS
Initial contacts about the preparation of this Mineral Management Plan were made with representatives from the BLM and the USGS in April 1979. A meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, was held on April 11 with BLM personnel from their Moab and Cedar City Districts and Utah State Office; and another in St. George, Utah, with personnel from their Arizona Strip District. A telephone contact was made that week with a representative from the Oil and Gas Operations of the USGS in Salt Lake City, Utah.
A coordination meeting was held on July 26, 1979, in Salt Lake City, Utah, which was attended by twenty-eight (28) representatives from the BLM and the NPS.
In late September of 1979 a preliminary draft of this plan was given to several Federal and state agencies for review and comments. These agencies were the BLM in Arizona and Utah, the Arizona Bureau of Geology and Mineral Technology, Utah's Division of State Lands and Geological and Mineral Survey, the Water and Power Resources Service, and the USGS in Utah.
On November 27, 1979, a second coordination meeting was held in Salt Lake City, Utah, attended by personnel from the BLM and the NPS.
From December 11, 1979 through January 14, 1980, the draft plan was available to the public for review and comments. Changes had been made in this draft plan as the result of comments received from the Federal and state agencies during their review in the fall of 1979.
This Mineral Management Plan was approved on March 3, 1980 after the public comments received about the draft plan were analyzed.
26
X. BIBLIOGRAPHY
BR03ST, DONALD A., AND WALDEN P. PRATT 1973 United States mineral resources. Geological Survey
Professional Paper 820. United States Department of the Interior, Geological Survey. Washington, D.C. 722 p.
CAMPBELL, JOCK A. 1975 Oil-impregnated sandstone deposits of Utah.
Engineering, May 1975. Mining
DOELLING, HELLMUT H. 1969 Mineral resources, San Juan County, Utah, and adjacent
areas. Part II: uranium and other metals in sedimentary host rocks. Utah Geological and Mineral Survey. Salt Lake City, Utah 64 p.
1967 Uranium deposits of Garfield County, Utah. Special Studies 22. Utah Geological and Mineral Survey. Salt Lake City, Utah 113 p.
AND R.L. GRAHAM 1972 Southwestern Utah coal fields; Alton, Kaiparowits Plateau
and Kolob-Harmony. Monograph Series No. 1. Utah Geological and Mineral Survey, affiliated with The College of Mines and Mineral Industries. University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 333 p.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 1975 Geology, mineral and hydrocarbon resources, and hydrology
of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Unpublished report to the National Park Service, Denver, Colorado 60 p.
HACKMAN, ROBERT H., AND DONALD G. WYANT 1973 Geology, structure, and uranium deposits of the Escalante
quadrangle, Utah and Arizona. U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado 2 maps.
HINTZE, LEHI F., J. KEITH RIGBY, AND BYRON J. SHARP, EDS. 1967 Guidebook to the geology of Utah. Utah Geological Society.
Distributed by the Utah Geological and Mineral Survey, Salt Lake City, Utah.
JOHNSON, W.E. 1972 Status of the uranium producing industry.
Journal. 58(2): 59-64. Mining Congress
27
PRATT, VJALDEN P., AND DONALD A. EROBST 1974 Mineral resources: potentials and problems. U.S. Geological
Survey Circular 698. 20 p.
RITZMA, HOWARD R. 1974 Oil-impregnated rock deposits of Utah. Map 33. Utah
Geological and Mineral Survey. Salt Lake City, Utah. 2 sheets.
RITZMA, HOWARD R. AND HELLMUX H. DOELLING 1969 Mineral resources, San Juan County, Utah and adjacent areas.
Part I: Petroleum, Potash, Groundwater, and Miscellaneous Minerals. Utah Geological and Mineral Survey. Salt Lake City, Utah 125 p.
SHEPARDSON, JOHN W. 1973 Untitled article on coal and the coal industry in Utah.
Coal Age, Western Coal Edition. April 1973, pp. 159-177.
SINGER, S. FRED 1975 Letter to the editor on oil resource estimates. Science,
May 2, 1975, p. 401.
WALSH, JOHN 1974 Problems of expanding coal production. Science 184(4134):
336-339.
28
XI. THE PLANNING TEAM AND CONSULTANTS
Planning Team
William R. Supernaugh, Resource Management Specialist, Glen Canyon NRA
G. Bryan Harry, Superintendent, Glen Canyon NRA
Otis A. Kittle, Assistant to the Chief, Mining and Minerals Division, WASO
Lawrence F. Knowles, Landscape Architect, Midwest/Rocky Mountain Team, DSC
Consultants
Benjamin J. Zerbey, Assistant to the Regional Director, Utah
C. Keith Miller, Chief, Division of Mining and Minerals, RMR
Harold A. Ellingson, Mining Engineer Technician, UTMO
Larry A. May, Chief, Branch of Special Programs, DSC
Bureau of Land Management, Arizona State Office
Bureau of Land Management, Utah State Office
U.S. Geological Survey, Oil and Gas Operations, Salt Lake City, Utah
Office of the Regional Solicitor, Salt Lake City, Utah
Office of the Field Solicitor, San Francisco, California
Division of State Lands, State of Utah
Utah Geological and Mineral Survey
Arizona Bureau of Geology and Mineral Technology
29
APPENDIX 1
Public Law 92-593
An Act to es'.aMi.sh the Glen Canyon Notional Recreat ion A r t * in the S'.sies of Arizona and Utah . (S5 Sta t . 1311)
Be it eroded oy the Senate and Bov-te of Representatives of thf Z'rii'td State* of A??u:rica in Conprest assembled. That in order to provide for public outdoor recreation use and enjoyment of Lnke Powell and lands adjacent thereto in the States of Arizona and Utah and to preserve scenic, scientific, and historic features contributing to public enjoyment of the area, there is established the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (hereafter referred to as the "recreation area"') to comprise the area generally depicted on the drawing entitled ' 'Boundary Map Glen Canyon National Recreation A r e a " numbered GLC-91,006, and dated August 1972, which is on file and available for public inspection in the office of the National Park Service. Department of the Interior. The, Secretary of the Interior (hereafter referred to as the "Secretary") may revise the boundaries of the recreation area from time to time by publication in the Federal Register of a revised drawing or other boundary description, but. the total acreage of the national recreation area may not exceed one million two hundred and thirty-six thousand eight hundred and eighty acres.
SEC. 2. (a) Within the boundaries of the re-creation area, the Secretary maj- acquire lands and interests in lands by donation, purchase, or exchange. Any lands owned by the States of Utah or Arizona, or any State, political subdivisions thereof, may be acquired only by donation or exchange. No lands "held in trust for any Indian tribe may be acquired except, with the concurrence of the tribal council.
(b) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect the mineral rights reserved to the Navajo Indian Tribe under section 2 of the Act of September 2, 1958 (72 Stat. 16S6), or the rights reserved to the Navajo Indian Tribal Council in said section 2 'with respect to the use of the lands there- decsribed under the heading ' :PAKCEL B" .
SEC. 3. (a) The lands within the recreation area, subject to valid existing rights, are withdrawn from location, entry, and patent under the United States mining laws. Under such regulations as he deems appropriate, the Secretary shall permit the removal of the nonlcr.sable minerals from lands or interests in lands within the national recreation area in the manner prescribed by section 10 of the Act of August 4, 193P, as amended (53 Stat, 1196; 43 U.S.C. 3S7 et seq.j . and he shall permit, the removal of leasable minerals from lands or interests in lands within the recreation area in accordance with the Mineral Leasing Act of February 25, 1P20, as amended
30
(30 U.S.C. 1S1 et seq.). or the Acquired Lands Miner,':! Leasing Act of August 7. 1947 (30 U.S .C 351 et soq.1. if he finds that, such disposition -would not have signiti-cant adverse effects on the Glen Canyon project or on the administration of the national recreation area pursuant to this Act.
(b) All receipts derived from penr.it? and leases issued on lands in the recreation area under the Mineral Leasing Act of Februray 2;";. 1920. as amended, or the Act of August 7, 1947, shall be disposed of as provided in the applicable Act; and receipts from the disposition or. non-leasable minerals -within the recreation area shall be disposed of in the same manner as moneys received from the sale of public lands.
SEC. 4. The Secretary shall administer, protect, and develop the recreatiomarca in accordance -with the provisions of the Act of August 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 535; 10 U.S .C 1 et seq.). as amended and supplemented, and with any other statutory- authority availabh' to trim for the conservation and management of natural resources to the extent he finds such authority -will further the purpose of this Act : Provided, henvevcr. That nothing in this Act shall affect or interfere with the authority of the Secretary granted by Public La-w 4S5. Eighty-fourth Congress. second session, to operate Glen Canyon Dam and reservoir in accordance -with the purposes of the Colorado River Storage Project Act for river regulation, irrigation, flood control, and generation of hydroelectric power.
SEC. 5. The Secretary shall permit hunting, fishing, and t rapping on lands and -waters under his jurisdiction -within the boundaries of the recreation area in accordance -with applicable laws of the TJnited States and the States of Utah and Arizona, except that the Secretary may designate zones where, and establish periods when, no hunting, fishing, or t rapping shall be permitted for reasons of public safety, administration, or public u^e and enjoyment. Except in emergencies, any regulation of the Secretary pursuant to this section, shall bv put- into effect
- only after consultation with the appropriate State fish and game department.
SEC. 6. The administration of mineral and grazing leases within trie recreation area shall be bv the Bureau of Land Management. The same policies followed by the Bureau of Land Management in issuing and administering mineral and grazing leases on other lands under its jurisdiction shall be followed in regard to the lands within the boundaries of the recreation area, subject to the provisions of sections 3(a) and 4 of this Act.
SEC. 7. The Secretary shall grant easements and rights-of-way on a nondiscriminatory basis upon, over, under, across, or along any component of the recreation area tin-less he finds that the route of such easements and rights-
31
of-way would have significant adverse tf!eci.s on tlie administration of the recreation area.
SEC.S. (a) The Secretary together with tlie Highway Department, of the Stat* of Utah, shall conduct a study of proposed road alinements within and adjacent, to tlie recreation area. Such study shall locate the specific l-out-e of a scenic, low-speed road, hereby authorized, from Glen Canyon City to Bullfrog Basin, crossing tlie Esca-lante River south of the point where the river has entered Lake Powell when the lake is at the three thousand seven hundred-foot level. In determining the route for this road, special care shall !>e taken to minimize any adverse, environmental impact .and said road is not required to meet ordinary secondary road standards as to grade. nlinement. and curvature. Turnouts, overlooks, and scenic vistas may be included in the road plan. In no event shall said route cross the. Escalante River north of Stephens ATCIL.
(b) The study shall include a reasonable timetable for the engineering, planning, and constuction of the road authorized in section S(a) and the Secretary of tlie Interior shall adhere to said timetable in ever}" way feasible to him.
(c) The Secretary is authorized to construct, and maintain markers and other interpretive devices consistent with highway safety standards.
(d) The study specified in section 8(a) hereof shall designate what additional roads are appropriate and necessary for full utilization of the area for the purposes of this Act and to connect with all roads of ingress to. and egress from the recreation area.
(e) The findings and conclusions of the Secretary and the Highway Department of the State of LTtah, specified in section S(a) , shall be submitted to Congress within two years of the date, of enactment of thfs Act, and shall include recommendations for any further legislation necessary to implement the findings and conclusions. It shall .specify the funds necessary for appropriation in order to meet the timetable fixed in section S(b) .
SEC. 9. Within two years from the dat^ of enactment of this Act. the Secretary shall report to the President, in accordance with subsections 3(c) and 3(d) of the "Wilderness Act (78 Stat. 890; 16U.S .C 1132 (c) and ( d ) ) . h i s recommendations as to the suitability or nonsuit ability of any area within the recreation area for preservation as wilderness, and any designation of any such urea as wilderness shall be in accordance with said Wilderness Act.
SEC. 10. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act, not to exceed, however. £400.000 for the acquisition of lands and interests in lands and not. to exceed £537,325,400 for development. The sums authorized in
32
this seciion shall be available for acquisition and development undertaken subsequent to the approval of tms A c t
Approved October 27,1972. Lrffinlntirt Hiftory House Report No. 02-1446 a r r r reponj i r . c H.R. 13718 ( C o c c l : t r f on Inte
rior nnd Inpular Affairs). ? emue Report No. 9 2 - ] 06 ( Con, mil tee. on Inter ior and Insu la r A JTaL-a). Ccri£rc--s!i>r,a] Record :
Vol. 117 (1.971) : June 21 , considered t a d ^t*pe<l Serifttt. Vol. I IP (1072) :
Oct. 33. considered and passed Houbt, amended. In lieu of HH. 15716.
Oct. 14, Senate concurred In Hocce i m e n d a e n t , with aiae-ad-meats ; Hout>e concurred In Senate fcQf&dment.
TTt'rklT ComrUntlon of President ia l Documen t s : Vol. S, No. 44 (1972) : Oct. 2S, President ia l f la. i t '3eat.
33
APPENDIX 2
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR GLOSSARY OF MINERAL RESOURCE TERMS
Resource--A concentration of naturally occurring solid, liquid, or gaseous materials in or on the earth's crust in such form that economic extraction of a commodity is currently or potentially feasible.
Identified resources--Specific bodies of mineral-bearing material whose location, quality, and quantity are known from geologic evidence supported by engineering measurements with respect to the demonstrated category.
Undiscovered resources—Un spec ified bodies of mineral-bearing material surmised to exist on the basis of broad geologic knowledge and theory.
Reserve—That portion of the identified resource from which a usable mineral and energy commodity can be economically and legally extracted at the time of determination. The term ore is also used for reserves of some minerals.
The following definitions for measured, indicated, and inferred are applicable to both the Reserve and Identified-Subeconomic resource components:
Measured—Materials for which estimates of the quality and quantity have been computed, within a margin of error of less than 20 percent, from analyses and measurements from closely spaced and geologically well-known sample sites.
Indicated--Material for which estimates of the quality and quantity have been computed partly from sample analyses and measurements and partly from reasonable geologic projections.
Demonstrated—A collective term for the sum of materials in both measured and indicated resources.
Inferred—Material in unexplored but identified deposits for which estimates of the quality and size are based on geologic evidence and projections.
Identified-Subeconomic respurees--Known deposits not now mineable economically.
Paramarginal—The portion of subeconomic resources that (a) borders being economically producible or (b) is not commercially available solely because of legal or political circumstances.
34
SiJ_b;T,ar̂ in_al_--The portion of subeconomic resources which would require a substantially higher price (more than 1.5 times the price at the time of determination) or a major cost reducing advance in technology.
Hypothetical respurees--Undiscovered materials that may reasonably be expected to exist in a known mining district under known geologic conditions. Exploration that confirms their existence and reveals quantity and quality will permit their reclassification as a reserve or identified-subeconomic resource.
Speculative respurees--Undiscovered materials that may occur either in known types of depesits in a favorable geologic setting where no discoveries have been made, or in as yet unknown types of deposits that remain to be recognized. Exploration that confirms their existence and reveals quantity and quality will permit their reclassification as reserves or identified-subeconomic resources.
35
APPENDIX 3
OIL AND GAS RESOURCES WITHIN GLEN CANYON NATIONAL RECREATION AREA, FROM A REPORT ON THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY (1975)
From the standpoint of hydrocarbon charge and migration routes the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area occupies a very favorable position. During the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic time the Glen Canyon area received easterly migrating hydrocarbons that were derived from the Cordilleran geosyncline. Slightly later (Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous), the area experienced a second phase of hydrocarbon migration, this time from the Paradox Basin situated in southeast Utah. Hydrocarbons generated during both phases were probably initially trapped along permeability barriers and in large paleostructures such as the Emery and Kaibab Uplifts. The Circle Cliffs anticline, which trends north-northwest through the Glen Canyon area, is probably akin to these early uplifts and received large quantities of first generation hydrocarbons. Later structural adjustments in the area redistributed some of the oil into other structural and stratigraphic traps.
The Glen Canyon area contains a wide variety of potential reservoirs and traps. The most favorable reservoirs are Paleozoic in age and include the Kaibab Formation (Permian), White Rim Sandstone (Permian), Hermosa Group (Pennsylvanian), Paradox Formation (Pennsylvanian), Redwall Limestone (Mississippian), and the McCracken Sandstone Member (Devonian). Major potential traps are of the stratigraphic variety and include regional pinchouts of the Kaibab; White Rim; and McCracken; shelf-margin, intertidal, and supratidal carbonate units of the Hermosa and Paradox; and leached crinoidal and oolitic shelf carbonates of the Redwall. The anticlinal structures, excepting the Circle Cliffs anticline, are not considered to be primary targets because they formed after the major migration events. However, some of the later structures may contain remigrated oil accumulations, and if hydrodynamic conditions exist, they may be offset from the crest of the structure.
Perhaps the most discouraging factor, in terms of oil and gas potential, is the large amount of late Tertiary and Holocene (?) uplift and subsequent erosional dissection that has occurred in the area. The regional uplift has exhumed at least a billion barrel oilfield in the White Rim Sandstone and has subjected numerous formations as old as Pennsylvanian to flushing action by fresh water. Another problem in the area may be "leaky" seals. This problem is particularly evident in the vicinity of the Circle Cliffs anticline where abundant oil-impregnated sandstone and siltstone unit of the Triassic Moekopi Formation are manifested. It seems that large amounts of first-generation oil migrated into the Kaibab and White Rim along the Circle Cliffs anticline but, owing to erosion and poor sealing quality of the overlying Moenkopi, it has escaped. The large degree of fracturing associated with the Circle Cliffs anticline and the region in general could also facilitate the leakage of hydrocarbons.
36
APPENDIX 4
Comments on the Oil and Gas Resources of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
by Howard R. Ritzma, Assistant Director Utah Geological and Mineral Survey
"In the Colorado Plateau area, the deep cutting of the canyons of the Colorado and its tributaries and extensive joint and fracture systems have completely disrupted the "normal" or expected relationships of gas, oil, and water in potential petroleum reservoirs. In fact, we may have exactly the opposite relationships; large quantities of oil may actually have sub-ided to low structural positions on the flanks of anticlines or in the bottoms of subclines. Exploration in the area to date suggests that this may be the case, but there is not enough data at hand to identify these areas with any certainty. Exploratory activity in this part of Utah has been \/ery sparse and sporadic since the 1920's. Really concentrated drilling, particularly to the formations below the Pennsyl-vanian, has not yet taken place.
"There is...little known about the deeper formations here--Mississippian, Devonian and Cambrian--about 2,500 to 3,000 feet of sediments...Exploration in these formations has had little success to date, but there are always surprises in the business of finding oil."
SOURCE
Letter to Paul Howard, Utah State Director, U.S. Bureau of Land Management
March 25, 1974
MPS 1558
37
MANAGEMENT ZONES ACREAGE NAVAJO RESERVATION SHORELINE
POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT SITES
RECREATION AND RESOURCE UTILIZATION
(INCLUDES LAKE POWELL1
DEVELOPMENT
BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENTS
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF I H f INTERIOR
MAP 1
MANAGEMENT ZONING PLAN GLEN C A N Y O N
N A T I O N A L R E C R E A T I O N A R E A
ARIZONA AND UTAH
OPEN TO MINERAL DISPOSITION
RECREATION AND RESOURCE UTILIZATION ZONE
CLOSED TO MINERAL DISPOSITION
ATURAL ZONE
RECREATION ANO RESOURCE UTILIZATION ZONE
DEVELOPMENT ZONE
CULTURAL ZONE
EXISTING BOUNDARY
PROPOSED BOUNDAR
1INING CLAIM
UNITED STATFS DEPARTMENT or THE INTERIOR
MAP 2
MINERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN GLEN CANYON
NATIONAL RECREATION AREA ARIZONA AND UTAH
WILDERNESS PROPOSAL,
OTHER N.P.S AREAS
EXISTING B.L.M. PRIMITIVE OR OUTSTANDING NA1URAI AREA
B.L.M. ROADLESS AREAS LARGER THAN 5,000 ACRES INCIUDED IN THE INITIAL WILDERNESS INVENTORY PROPOSAL WHICH WILL REQUIRE MORE INTENSIVE STUDY ! "
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
MAP 3
CONTIGUOUS AREAS OF WILDERNESS, PRIMITIVE, OR NATURAL CHARACTER
GLEN C A N Y O N N A T I O N A L R E C R E A T I O N AREA
ARIZONA AND UTAH
TEST WELL
TAR SAND TRIANGLE
CIRCLE CLIFFS TAR SANDS
BITUMINOUS LIMESTONE
I V." • . +_
.» r** r^-Ar* 8t
/ • • .
I
r - 1 v <
rJ' f •" 1 ^ _1 ** 1 r-1
:' r -, r -
,i _:vi
v̂
51 «:
H,
(^"V^Nr,r'''v"
>:J
^ ^ " ^ \
.vJ
/VJT^-" •• 11./
N A y A J 0 '• N 11 I A
• [: R V A H O N
MEXICAN HAT
U N I T E D S T A T E S D E P A R T M E N T O F T H E I N T t R I O H
MAP 4
F O S S I L FUEL R E S O U R C E S GLEN CANYON
NATIONAL RECREATION AREA ARIZONA AND UTAH
J^ PILOT FIREFLOOD PROJECT 2 ACHES
GOROON FLATS FIREFLOOQ UNIT ifi 63fi ATHES
^ "">--"'
W OPEN TO MINERAL DISPOSITION
RECREATION AND RESOURCE UTILIZATION Z'
CLOSED TO MINERAL DISPOSITION
NATURAL ZONE
RECREATION AND RESOURCE UTILIZATION Z<
DEVELOPMENT ZONE
CULTURAL ZONE
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
N A T I O N A L P A H H S F R V I C t
MAP 5
TAR SAND TRIANGLE AND
PILOT FIREFLOOD PROJECT G L E N C A N Y O N
N A T I O N A L R E C R E A T I O N A R E A
ARIZONA AND UTAH
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTFRIOR
MAP 6
URANIUM-VANADIUM RESOURCES GLEN CANYON
NATIONAL RECREATION AREA ARIZONA AND UTAH
STATE LAND RIGHTS
NAVAJO INDIAN TRIBE MINERAL RIGHTS
PRIVATE MINERAL RIGHTS
FEDERAL OIL AND GAS LEASE
MINING CLAIMS
A V~r? r~! i ' "" ""
rA< 4' , /X
i -? '••• }
r
5r-tiR
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
MAP 7
MINERAL INTERESTS AND OWNERSHIP
GLEN C A N Y O N N A T I O N A L R E C R E A T I O N AREA
ARIZONA AND UTAH