A Koch brother's energy firm wants to drill in the North Fork and Thompson Divide. A federal judge said no.

Judge Marcia Krieger, a George W. Bush appointee, sided with Carbondale-based Wilderness Workshop and other advocacy groups. The groups sued the federal government and Gunnison Energy over a plan that would have allowed 35 new fracking wells in a 35,000 acre area. In the suit, the climate and conservation groups argued the federal government had failed to properly analyze water pollution and climate impacts. Judge Krieger agreed. Gunnison Energy is a subsidiary of billionaire Bill Koch’s Oxbow Carbon. Koch owns a $100 million estate in Aspen and a 4,500 acre ranch in Paonia. For KDNK News, I'm Morgan Neely