Part of energy production is delving into the past

By KEN LARSON Contributing writer

Stephen Sandau works hand-in-hand with the gas anti oil companies providing a valuable service.

"Think of our Company as a liaison between land management of the 'Tribe and tile gas and oil companies."

Sandau's company survey's areas that have been selected for drilling to make sure there are not any fossils being disturbed. The process is necessary in order for permits to be granted.

There are three professional consulting agencies at every site: paleontologists are looking for fossils 10,000 years or older, archeologists are examining the area 10,000 years and forward, and biologists are examining the area to make sure that no endangered species are being disturbed. `Once these companies report on their findings the permitting process can continue.

In order toy work on public lands, these drilling companies must meet certain requirements and "ensure that they're not disturbing things that are of interest to people. Like archeological sites or dinosaur bones," says Sandau.

As a consultant, lie searches the areas around potential drilling and pipeline sites to make sure they are clear of artifacts, fossils and habitats. If anything of significance is found around the proposed work site, a company may need to re-route a pipeline or move to a different drill site.

He says he is finding that the gas and oil companies he is working closely with are very environmentally conscious and not only are required to follow procedures, but often take additional steps to minimize their footprint in the area.

In this area and throughout most of Utah, many of the fossil retrains are close to the surface of the ground. This is unusual. Most of the rocks are sedimentary and therefore exposed. Other areas have forests or types of rock that make it more difficult to uncover tile remains. There is a rich or wide swath that runs along tile Rocky Mountains starting in central Alberta, Canada, and runs through Montana, Wyoming and Utah.

So what are they finding in the fields? Among the remains are skulls and bones from crocodiles, turtles and smaller mammals. The majority of the fossils they find are similar to tropical areas, such as Florida. They find remains of palm trees and plants that would be found in subtropical environments.

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Part of energy production is delving into the past