Anschutz will be required to install a gate at the entrance of the site and patrol the area during all hours of operation. The proposed drilling site is one-quarter mile from any known cultural site eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, the BLM ruling stated. If additional oil is found, more stringent environmental and cultural studies will need to be conducted before more wells are drilled. The fact that this project may be controversial to some does not automatically make its impacts significant, the ruling stated. At a visit to the site in early May, tribal leaders said the valley is known as a sacred area where no warfare should occur.
Tribal members continue to use the valley for sweat ceremonies and vision quests.
Beneath one overhanging ledge, logs from a ceremonial shelter continue to stand in a tepee formation. The Shoshone people, including the Comanche, lived in the area until they migrated south three centuries ago, Arterberry said. Their oral histories trace their creation to the area surrounding the valley. The valley relates to our very beginning. It s very significant to us, he said.