News for Immediate Release
Feb. 22, 2008
Contact: Joel Webster, 406-360-3904, jwebster@trcp.org
Following TRCP Protest, BLM Defers Utah Energy Leases
Oil and gas development on contested areas would compromise big game and sage grouse; BLM decision underscores inconsistent management practices
WASHINGTON — In the wake of protests by sportsmen, the Bureau of Land Management withdrew more than 7,400 acres of prime wildlife habitat from its Feb. 19 energy lease sale, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) announced today. Concerns about important big-game range and sage grouse habitat drove the Feb. 4 TRCP protest, which asserted that the BLM failed to conduct the necessary upfront planning for habitat conservation and that game and fish populations would be significantly altered by energy development as proposed.
"Sportsmen can celebrate the fact that, for the time being at least, these valuable Utah public lands will continue to provide world-class big-game hunting opportunities," said Joel Webster, a TRCP field representative.
"The TRCP is extremely pleased that the BLM made the right decision in Utah and deferred these areas from leasing," Webster continued, "because energy leases are managed as a contractual obligation for development. Oil and gas development should not proceed until the agency undertakes comprehensive planning for development and considers the full range of impacts to this important habitat."
So far in 2008, the national conservation coalition has filed protests of BLM lease sales in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming based on concerns for populations of big game, including mule deer, elk and pronghorn, and sage grouse, which presently is being considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Recent research on the impacts to sage grouse from energy development shows that development is detrimental to sustaining local populations of this species. An ESA listing would fundamentally affect sportsmen due to the possibility of the elimination or restriction of hunting opportunities.
"The BLM's decision, while welcome news to hunters and anglers, only underscores the agency's inconsistent approach to dealing with mineral leasing," said Steve Belinda, energy initiative manager for the TRCP and a former BLM biologist. "In the past month, we've protested close to 200,000 acres across the Rocky Mountain West, all motivated by sportsmen's concerns for big game, trout and sage grouse. The BLM response — deferring only a few thousand acres in Utah — sends a clear message: The agency's model is broken."
The TRCP believes that to better balance the concerns of fish and wildlife in the face of accelerating energy development, federal land management agencies should follow the conservation tenets outlined in the FACTS for Fish and Wildlife.
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.
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