The Denver Post recently opined on the need for greater compromise regarding oil and gas development in the state — especially in light of plans by public companies to ramp up drilling operations to the tune of $4 billion this year.

Garfield County commissioners have the opportunity to lead the way on what compromise looks like, but they’re off to a rocky start. They’re dealing with an issue more common on the Front Range — urban drilling.

Ursa Resources has begun drilling for natural gas in Battlement Mesa, an unincorporated development of several thousand residents near Parachute in Garfield County.

The company, to its credit, has undertaken site-specific measures — some voluntarily — to reduce impacts on residents who live near the well pads. As the Sentinel’s Dennis Webb reported in Tuesday’s paper, Ursa offered tours to participants of an energy symposium hosted by Garfield County and Colorado Mesa University’s Unconventional Energy Center to show how drilling can co-exist with residential life.

Read more at The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.