Energy development, whether it's coal or shale oil, will most certainly destroy enormous areas of public lands. It has already done so in North Dakota, northeastern Montana, and Wyoming. It does produce huge income for the lessees and short-term jobs for miners and other laborers. The energy boom in the West is a sad repetition of the region's history, an extractive exploitation that leaves behind abandoned communities and a devastated landscape. The future of fossil fuel consumption is a dead end. There's not much point in worrying about recreational access if we're willing to cede dominion of public lands to the coal and oil industries.