The Roan Plateau, in Colorado’s Piceance Basin, is a major target of gas drillers seeking to expand the heavily developed area. The surface of the Roan’s east side is leased, but conservationists are fighting to keep the plateau wild. The Roan Plateau is home to imperiled Colorado River cutthroat trout, one of Colorado’s largest mule deer herds and many other endemic species. LightHawk mission on July 12, 2011 over the Roan Plateau, documenting gas drilling development and threatened areas on and around the Roan Plateau. Moffatt County, Colorado.