BLM’S PLANNING RULE FOR PUBLIC LANDS WILL GIVE LOCALS MORE OF A VOICE, NOT LESS

News for Immediate Release

May. 12, 2016

Contact: Kristyn Brady, 617-501-6352, kbrady@trcp.org

Stakeholders call on House subcommittee to support Planning 2.0 when county commissioners voice their concerns today

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sportsmen, Western landowners, and other public-lands stakeholders are expressing clear support for the Bureau of Land Management’s proposed land-use planning rule, dubbed “Planning 2.0,” as House lawmakers convene a May 12 oversight hearing to discuss county commissioner concerns about this revision to the planning process.

“We appreciate the careful and thoughtful approach BLM used in revising its planning regulations,” says Ed Shepard, president of the Public Lands Foundation, which represents a broad spectrum of knowledge and experience in public land management. “This rulemaking makes clear that the BLM, the public, and others have matured in their approach to planning, based on results achieved on the ground. It will be critical to garnering valuable public input.”

The effort to update how the agency creates Resource Management Plans (RMPs), which are the basis for every action and approved use of BLM-managed lands, represents the first substantial revision to the land-use planning process since 1983.

“Many Western landowners depend on BLM-managed public lands to make a living,” says Lesli Allison, executive director of the Western Landowners Alliance. “We believe that the BLM Planning 2.0 proposals are a positive step forward, because they would create more transparency and opportunity for public involvement when decisions are made about the management of our public lands. Enabling earlier and more meaningful participation by stakeholders in assessing resource values and management needs should result in higher quality information, better plans, and better outcomes.”

The proposed rule would also see that the BLM is planning at the landscape level to account for resources that span jurisdictional boundaries, like a mule deer herd that might migrate beyond the borders of a local BLM field office. “The agency should be able to take into account the landscape conditions, not just what they see inside the drawn lines on a map,” says Joel Webster, director of Western lands for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.

According to the oversight hearing memo, some county commissioners are concerned that landscape-level planning will move decision making out of their communities, reducing their influence over the process. Yet, some commissioners have questioned the agency’s recent move to create additional opportunities for the public to comment, saying that it undermines their special cooperator status.

“If county and federal lawmakers are truly interested in creating better management of our public lands and increased community involvement on land-use decisions, they should be giving Planning 2.0 a big thumbs-up at this hearing,” says Webster. “The proposed revisions would increase public engagement and satisfaction with the use of our public lands, while also giving local, state, and tribal governments more chances to participate in BLM land management decisions.”

The comment period for the proposed BLM planning rule closes on May 25, and the final rule is expected to be published later this year. Many public lands stakeholder groups are encouraging their members to comment in support of the overarching principles of the proposed rule.

Inspired by the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, the TRCP is a coalition of organizations and grassroots partners working together to preserve the traditions of hunting and fishing.

by: Kristyn Brady

posted in: Press Releases

May 10, 2016

Sportsmen Laud Browns Canyon National Monument as Model for Landscape-Scale Conservation

Maintaining outdoor traditions, generating local sportsmen support must be key considerations for future national monument proposals, according to national report

Designation of the new, 21,586-acre Browns Canyon National Monument is delivering landscape-scale conservation benefits, continued hunting and angling opportunity, and economic payoffs, said sportsmen-conservation leaders at a gathering of decision-makers and journalists on the Arkansas River over the weekend. Coloradans worked for more than 40 years to permanently conserve and protect the diverse terrain of Browns Canyon, which includes high alpine meadows and lakes, winter range in the pinon-juniper hills, habitat for iconic big game species, and the Arkansas River—one of Colorado’s most popular trout fisheries. The monument was formally designated on Feb. 19, 2015.

“The Arkansas River and Browns Canyon is a story about persistence and working together for the common good,” said Corey Fisher, senior policy director for Trout Unlimited’s Sportsmen’s Conservation Project. “Fixing water quality problems caused by historical mining pollution has taken decades of work and numerous partners, and the same can be said for finally achieving protection for Browns Canyon. Protecting and restoring Colorado’s longest Gold Medal trout fishery has required all of the tools in the tool box, including the Antiquities Act.”

Permanent protection of this area also safeguards the estimated $55 million in recreation spending that boosts central Colorado’s economy each year. “Maintaining public access to one of the most popular and iconic stretches of the Arkansas River is a major benefit for the wellbeing of the upper Arkansas valley communities,” said Bob Hamel, owner of Arkansas River Tours in Cotopaxi and Canon City. “The businesses in this area can now rest assured that Browns Canyon will remain a special place to share with locals and visitors.”

Last weekend’s media event, including speakers, roundtable discussions and field tours, was hosted in Browns Canyon by a coalition of sportsmen’s organizations and businesses that earlier this year released a national report, which lays out a new approach for creating national monuments with hunter and angler support.

“Hunters and anglers have come together in support of leveraging the federal Antiquities Act to permanently conserve landscapes important to fish, wildlife and sportsmen,” said John Gale, conservation director of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. “Our report outlines a strategy for advancing national monument proposals that can be supported by our constituency. Browns Canyon National Monument, which encompasses wilderness-quality lands and waters that represent some of our most valuable backcountry hunting and angling opportunities, serves as a model for this approach.”

Judicious use of the Antiquities Act can be an effective method for protecting lands and waters of value in lieu of congressional action. It’s a tool that local sportsmen say was necessary to conserve Browns Canyon. “I remember one time we had 900 people show up at a public meeting. Ninety-five percent of them wanted protection for Browns Canyon, but the politics just dragged on and on,” said Bill Dvorak, who owns Dvorak Rafting and Kayaking Expeditions and holds the first outfitter license ever issued by the state of Colorado. “Nobody could get any kind of conservation bill passed, even though this is the most popular whitewater river in Colorado – and not one other protected area in the state has the same diversity of wildlife.”

“National Monuments: A Sportsmen’s Perspective” outlines a series of tenets for creating national monuments aligned with the intent of the Antiquities Act. Also featured in the report are profiles of existing national monuments where sportsmen played a key role, including Browns Canyon and Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument in New Mexico, where the report was officially released in January 2016.

To ensure the success of monuments, while improving highly valued habitat and sportsmen’s access, the 28 sporting groups and businesses backing the report call for local involvement in management decisions, a stakeholder-driven public process, multiple-use management, reasonable public access, state management of fish and wildlife resources and continued hunting and fishing opportunities, among other criteria.

Many national monuments offer world-class hunting and fishing. For that to continue, new proposals need to be locally driven, transparent, incorporate the science-based management and conservation of important fish and wildlife habitat, and uphold hunting and fishing opportunities.

For more information on Browns Canyon and finding common ground on public lands management, read “National Monuments: A Sportsmen’s Perspective.”

Inspired by the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, the TRCP is a coalition of organizations and grassroots partners working together to preserve the traditions of hunting and fishing.

Header image courtesy of Bob Wick, BLM.

by: Kristyn Brady

posted in: Press Releases

April 27, 2016

TRCP AND CONSERVATION COMMUNITY CELEBRATE CONTRIBUTIONS OF SPORTSMEN WITH SECRETARY JEWELL

News for Immediate Release

Apr. 27, 2016

Contact: Kristyn Brady, 617-501-6352, kbrady@trcp.org

Jewell discussed the power of hunter and angler voices in Washington and her dedication to public lands access and sage-grouse restoration at annual barbecue on the Potomac

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last night, at a celebration of her final year in office, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell thanked American sportsmen and women who speak up for conservation funding, habitat management, and the protection of public lands access. The event was hosted by the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership at the Potomac Boat Club.

After chatting over barbecue and beer with conservation community leaders from across the country, Jewell addressed the crowd and was candid about her remaining goals related to conservation, hunting, fishing, habitat restoration, public lands, and youth and minority engagement.

“We’re going to keep our good momentum going,” said Jewell, who highlighted the landscape-scale conservation effort on behalf of sage grouse and the need to look to the future of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. “Every day is a tricky balance between the here and now—non-renewable resources, fish and wildlife habitat, the livelihoods and heritage of the tribes and ranchers—and what we leave to future generations. People expect us to be in the forever business.”

Jewell also had advice for conservation advocates: “Never stop talking about how much sportsmen and women contribute to the economy. You represent a constituency that is Republican, Democrat, Independent, hunting, fishing, Latino, Caucasian, new generations waiting to get outside, and people like me, who grew up in the outdoors. All these people can help to make progress on the things we care about,” she said.

“We have a great conservation ally in Secretary Jewell, who understands the clout of the outdoor recreation industry and the restorative power of spending time on our nation’s public lands—in solitude or with family and friends,” says Whit Fosburgh, president and CEO of the TRCP. “Throughout her term, she has been a champion for many of the things sportsmen stand for, including better investments in conservation, improving fish and wildlife habitat, balancing multiple uses of America’s public lands, and access for all. We’re anxious to work with her this year and see these priorities through.”

Inspired by the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, the TRCP is a coalition of organizations and grassroots partners working together to preserve the traditions of hunting and fishing.

by: Kristyn Brady

posted in: Press Releases

April 26, 2016

TRCP OUTLINES ITS CONSERVATION ACHIEVEMENTS AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY

News for Immediate Release

Apr. 26, 2016

Contact: Kristyn Brady, 617-501-6352, kbrady@trcp.org

Annual report highlights 2015 growth and success in service of guaranteeing all Americans quality places to hunt and fish

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership has released its 2015 Annual Report detailing the group’s diverse array of accomplishments benefiting habitat and sportsmen’s access in the last calendar year. Thanks to its growing coalition of 46 formal partners, 23 corporate affiliates, and thousands of supporters across the U.S., the TRCP has affected positive policy changes and conservation investments in service of Theodore Roosevelt’s legacy and the group’s mission to guarantee all Americans quality places to hunt and fish.

“Too often, people mistake action for accomplishment. Nowhere is this more true than in Washington, where how many meetings you attend is often mistaken for actual success,” writes TRCP President and CEO Whit Fosburgh and Board Chairman Weldon Baird in the opening pages of the report. “For the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, 2015 was about accomplishment— achieving real results that will directly benefit fish and wildlife habitat and Americans’ access to those lands and waters.”

Despite ongoing threats from well-funded anti-conservation interests, the benefits of last year’s work will extend to marine fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico, greater sage grouse and other sagebrush species of the West, headwater streams and wetlands across the country, and all Americans who rely on public lands for their hunting and fishing access. The 501(c)(3) organization also confirms its accountability to donors by sharing 2015 financials and accolades from charity-watch organizations, including a third four-star rating from Charity Navigator.

Read the 2015 Annual Report here, and see what TRCP is up to right now by visiting our blog.

Inspired by the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, the TRCP is a coalition of organizations and grassroots partners working together to preserve the traditions of hunting and fishing.