Uintah County Approves Well Permit Near Skinwalker Ranch

A permit to construct oil wells on a property adjacent to Skinwalker Ranch was approved, according to a permit resolution document provided to Expanding Frontiers Research by the Uintah County Community Development Office. The Jan. 22 resolution states a Conditional Use Permit was approved for Uinta Wax Operating, LLC, on property owned by Don Hicken Farms.

The document further states:

"There were many comments received from the public opposing the installation of these wells, most of which were from outside of Uintah County. Of the comments received, just under half specifically mentioned concerns about light, noise and vibration and the rest expressed a general concern for how the well might affect the Skinwalker Ranch, located on a neighboring property owned by Adamantium Real Estate LLC. Uintah County did not receive any evidence supporting the claims that an oil or gas well would disrupt any existing land use on neighboring properties."

Over 200 pages of written comments were submitted to Uintah County and posted by Expanding Frontiers Research in November after cast member of The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch, Thomas Winterton, appealed to Facebook followers to voice opposition to the permit. Winterton asserted the proposed well would introduce noise, vibrations, and artificial light to the surrounding area, which would “seriously jeopardize our ability to study many of the anomalies on the ENTIRE ranch.”

A letter expressing similar concerns was submitted to the county by reported Skinwalker Ranch owner Brandon Fugal, adamantly opposing the proposed land use. The envisioned oil well constituted an egregious, irreparable threat to the irreplaceable scientific and cultural value of the property, Fugal argued. The talking points were echoed by fans of the show through emails sent to the Community Development Office.

Local resident Ray Willis took an alternative view. He wrote that he finds it concerning when individuals such as Skinwalker Ranch owners feel entitled to dictate what is done on private land. Willis explained how the Skinwalker camp's approach was “an interesting way to phrase the filming of their lucrative largely fictional television show that has, to date, resulted in no disclosures to the community regarding the nature of their spurious and exaggerated claims.”

It would seem county zoning agreed, at least for now. Its observation that it "did not receive any evidence supporting the claims that an oil or gas well would disrupt any existing land use on neighboring properties" indeed goes to the heart of the Skinwalker matter. There is a demographic eagerly willing to credulously accept pretty much anything said by those who promote paranormal pie in the sky, but when it comes to creating economic consequences in the real world, more evidence of an 'irreparable threat to irreplaceable scientific value' is apparently required than Fugal and Winterton simply said so.

Another point worthy of consideration is the comments submitted to the county largely consisted of concerns about whether the television show would continue to film. Letters directly addressing arguably valid environmental concerns were slim to nonexistent. They generally didn't mind oil wells; they were opposed to oil wells near Skinwalker Ranch.

In what should be an obvious drawback to loading that basket full of eggs, it put the county in the position of potentially ruling that activities entirely permissible and even encouraged on other parcels are banned near Skinwalker Ranch. Because they're filming a television show. About a spaceship buried in a mesa.

The idea that all types of activity on surrounding properties should be tightly restricted, above and beyond normal zoning codes, on the grounds some of it may or may not one day impede the production of The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch, is a tough argument to cast upon rational-thinking people. Oil wells and their detrimental environmental impact are a different argument altogether and one that the Skinwalker faithful largely failed to make.