Nepal Earthquake

Beyond the Boom

Western Colorado is currently experiencing one of the largest natural gas booms in history. The energy rush has brought sudden prosperity, but it also is bringing labor and housing shortages, inflation, health concerns, social ills, scarred lands, polluted water, potential species declines and crumbling roads. 

  • As a gas drilling rig begins to light up the evening sky, Katrina West, 5, plays on a swing set in the backyard of her grandparents Oxford Farms home of outside Erie, Colo. Photo by Matt McClain
  • Workers from BJ Services operate fracing equipment at a gas well owned by EnCana Oil and Gas Inc. outside of Parachute, Colo. Many environmentalists are trying to get oil and gas companies to disclose the chemicals that are used in the fracing process. Photo by Matt McClain
  • A drilling pad is nestled amid the ridges of the Roan Plateau in northwest Colorado. There are currently over 30,000 active wells in Colorado as thousands more are on the drawing board. Photo by Matt McClain
  • Greg Hall, right, watches as driller, Cody Hollenbach is hoisted into the air to unhook equipment as maintenance work is done to a Bronco Drilling rig Tuesday 11/20/07 near the Roan Plateau in Rio Blanco County. Photo by Matt McClain
  • Howard Long of BJ Services checks hoses at a gas well fracing site outside of Parachute, Colo. Patented advances in fracing technology in 2002 made possible deep rock exploration for natural gas, and greatly heightened interest in Colorado's gas fields. Photo by Matt McClain
  • Trucks serving drilling operations rumble up Spruce Creek Rd. outside Rifle, Colo., raising dust and disturbing the once-serene backcountry. Increased traffic has also destroyed many local roads that were not build to withstand the weight of heavy trucks. Photo by Matt McClain
  • Chad Wiltfang, 22, holds his girlfriend, Brittany Moon, 22, in the back of a pickup truck Thursday August 2, 2007 as they watch cowboys compete during the Carbondale, Colo. Wild West Rodeo Series. Many locals are concerned that the influx of gas workers may change their way of life. Photo by Matt McClain
  • Natural gas rig lights up the night sky near the Garfield County Airport. Photo by Matt McClain
  • Frances Hoffpowier, center left, feeds her youngest son, Mason, 2, as her daughter Chloe, 4, takes a drink of soda while the families' father, Michael Hoffpowier, talks with fellow natural gas worker, Tommy Jones at the River Camp RV Park outside of Meeker, Colo. The family moved from Texas so Michael could make better money as a welder in the gas fields. Gas workers see a conflict between themselves and locals in the community they now call home. {quote}The people here have absolutely no use for us,{quote} Hoffpowier said. Photo by Matt McClain
  • With his hands covered in grease and grit, worker, Shawn Howard, waits to work as maintenance work is done to a Bronco Drilling rig located near the Roan Plateau in Rio Blanco County. Photo by Matt McClain
  • The remains of a deer lies off 321 Road outside Rifle, Colo. The increase of traffic in remote areas of Colorado as a result of the energy boom has led to more road kill. Migration routes and habitat have also been disrupted. Photo by Matt McClain
  • A natural gas worker walks through a maze of pipes on a gas well fracing site operated by EnCana Oil and Gas Inc. outside of Parachute, Colo. Currently under construction, the Rockies Express Pipeline will bring natural gas from Colorado to the energy starved midwest. Photo by Matt McClain
  • A typical man camp, like this one outside of Parachute, Colo. is capable of housing two-dozen men, providing them with meals, laundry and other services. Large gas companies are setting them up near drilling sites to help alleviate the housing crunch in energy boom areas. Photo by Matt McClain
  • Welding pieces that will be used on a Bronco Drilling rig that is being set up in the background, Johnny King, left, and Matthew Buckner work Tuesday 11/20/07 late afternoon outside of Rifle, Colo. The rig will drill three natural gas well on the site. Photo by Matt McClain
  • Sublette County Sheriff's Department Detective Sergeant K.C. Lehr, who is head of the drug task force holds a pure form of meth called ice at the Sheriff's office in Pinedale, Wyoming. There was a hundred percent increase in meth related arrests from 2004-2005. Wyoming is several years ahead of Colorado in natural gas drilling. Towns like Pinedale, Wyoming has become an example of what is in the future for other states affected by natural gas drilling. Many workers say that using meth will allow them to work longer hours. Photo by Matt McClain
  • Blowing off steam after a twelve hour day of work, atural gas roughneck workers, Joe Rodriguez of Cheyenne, Wyoming, left, and Kamron McMahan of St. Jo, Texas, right, are sung a karoke song by Tawnia Marney, back left, and Debbie Gieck , back right, at the Sports Corner Saloon in downtown Rifle, Colo. Photo by Matt McClain
  • Garfield County sheriff's deputies Perry St. Laurent, in mirror, and Jesse Burris, right, stand by as Rifle police Sgt. Samuel Stewart attends to a handcuffed suspect detained for his alleged involvement in a fight at a Rifle, Colo. bar. As the energy boom continues to draw more workers from abroad, local police forces find themselves understaffed and unable to handle the increase in crime. Photo by Matt McClain
  • Oil and natural gas worker, Michael Hoffpowier pulls his son, Mason, 2, onto his dirt bike for a ride at Love's RV Park outside of Meeker, Colo. An influx of workers has caused a lack of affordable housing in parts of western Colorado. Photo by Matt McClain
  • An oil pump operates in a field near a housing development in the growing Weld County town of Dacono, Colo. Many new subdivisions in Weld County have built new homes around existing oil pump units. Photo by Matt McClain
  • Megan Klatt rocks her youngest son, Gunnar Klatt, seven months, to sleep before putting him down for a nap in their home outside of Rifle, Colo. Photo by Matt McClain
  • Colorado Governor, Bill Ritter's shadow is seen over County Commissioners as Ritter spoke about the possibility of diverting oil and gas severance tax money. The surge of natural gas drilling has helped fund many state programs. Photo by Matt McClain
  • An oil derrick sits in a field as a thunderstorm blows through the town of Dacono, Cclo. Tuesday 8/14/07. For many the amount of natural gas and oil production in Weld County represents the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Photo by Matt McClain
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