Dust up over natural gas, ancient rock art

This summer, two other kinds of dust suppressants will be tried on the road.

"While there's no definitive information on the effect of magnesium chloride on the art itself, we have enough information we're concerned to the point where we're looking for alternatives," said Brad Higdon, a BLM environmental coordinator.

Company spokesman Jim Felton defended the project, saying if drilling does not go forward, the implications will be "immediate, dire and drastic" given the demand for energy in the U.S. The project would also create nearly 1,000 jobs in the area, according to the BLM.

Bill Barrett Corp. said it has put about $2 million into improving roads in the area, including rounding out curves to make them safer and building a route that moves traffic away from one of the most famous panels. By the time the project is complete, the rock art won't be any worse off and visitors will have a better experience, Felton said.

"There are those out there trying to create a false paradox, that you must either protect the artifacts or allow for oil and gas development," Felton said. "They're not mutually exclusive deals."

Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, is among those who have come out against the drilling project. He said Nine Mile Canyon is of "global importance" as a "historic document that we don't yet know how to read."

Douglas C. Pizac / AP Petroglyphs just a few feet away from the famed "Great Hunt Panel" are covered with road dust on April 30 in Nine Mile Canyon.

"The threat is real and imminent and frightening," Moe said in a statement. "If you compare photographs taken last year with photos taken in 2003, you can see what the dust is doing to the images."

Already, it seems, the character of the canyon is changing. The site has long been a popular stop for rock art enthusiasts from around the world.

In the past two years or so, visitors' inquiries about the canyon have dropped off as gas drilling and truck traffic picked up, according to Chanel Atwood at the Castle Country Regional Information Center in Price.

Some worry about the health effects of the dust, and others are concerned for their safety as they try to share the curvy road with pickups and big rigs, Atwood said.

"I had some people say it's their last visit, they're not going back," Atwood said. "It's just too dusty and too busy and they were looking for a more serene place to see rock art."

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