Citizens for Huerfano County

Citizens for Huerfano County or "CHC" was founded in response to the potential threat posed by Shell Western Exploration and Production, Inc. (SWEPI), a unit of Royal Dutch Shell exploratory drilling for natural gas and oil in the pristine Cuchara Valley, Spanish Peak and Gardner areas of Huerfano County.Our mission is to protect the public health, safety, environment, and wildlife in Huerfano County from the effects of oil and gas development.Huerfano County is a a special place and where we have chosen to create our future, raise our families, build our homes and businesses and connect with the land. Like many who live here, visitors come to this corner of Colorado’s Southern Front Range to escape from the pollution and noise of the big city, hike the hills and mountains and enjoy a slower, more peaceful existence immersed in the natural beauty of the southeastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.In Colorado, New Mexico, California, Wyoming, Texas and a growing number of places across the country where gas drilling and fracking (the process of injecting fluids and chemicals deep underground to release gas) has occurred, water is contaminated, air pollution is common, and miles of roads and truck traffic scar the land and overrun our tranquility.Citizens for a Huerfano County was founded in 2011 by a group of concerned residents who believe strongly in protecting this unique place from these very real threats posed by natural gas drilling.