Western Energy Boom Fuels Land Conflicts

Just down the road are shopping centers and subdivisions packed with new homes, gobbling up land around this once-sleepy agricultural town that just happens to sit atop the Wattenberg gas field, one of the nation’s most productive. Ed Orr knows this land well. A rancher and developer whose family roots in Colorado date back more than a century, Orr says the real estate business is growing increasingly difficult because gas producers want access no matter what the plans are for the property.

Most analysts believe the gas boom will remain strong, noting there is an insatiable demand not only in the United States but overseas. “We’re looking for continued production increases for 10, 15 years at least and perhaps longer than that,” Gist said. “Our view of things out to 2020 has gas production in the region continuing to increase. This is indeed a long-term trend.”

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