News for Immediate Release
March 18, 2008
Contact: Dwayne Meadows, 307-760-6802, dmeadows@trcp.org
TRCP Files Second Wyoming Lease Protest of 2008
Group asks BLM to defer energy development on 112,000-plus acres due to mule deer, sage grouse habitat concerns
WASHINGTON — The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership today continued to advocate responsible energy development in Wyoming, protesting more than 112,000 acres up for auction in the Bureau of Land Management's April 1 energy lease sale. Encompassing sage grouse breeding habitat and mule deer winter range and migration corridors, the conservation group's protest is the second it has filed in Wyoming in 2008.
Approximately 150,000 acres of Wyoming public lands have been sold for energy development so far this year; the BLM is offering more than 370,000 acres in the April sale alone.
"Although this sale is scheduled for April Fools' Day, the government's approach to energy development on Wyoming public lands is no joke," said Dwayne Meadows, a TRCP field representative who lives in Laramie. "Development in these areas could severely affect game populations and the recreational opportunities they provide tens of thousands of sportsmen each fall in Wyoming."
Crucial winter range and migration routes are identified by Wyoming Game and Fish Department policy as "vital" to the survival and sustainability of big game. In many regions of Wyoming, harsh winter weather conditions already have taken a toll on big-game animals. Winter conditions combined with degraded habitats creates the formula for a devastating winter kill.
"The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has issued public notices of the extreme conditions and reminders not to disturb wintering wildlife," continued Meadows. "If the BLM leases winter range in Wyoming without first establishing a development plan that balances energy extraction with wildlife resources, the opportunity to protect big game during hard winters like this one will be lost indefinitely. Once a lease is developed, production of the wells will entail winter activity, potentially compounding the stress animals on winter range must endure. In some cases, a single event or disturbance can make the difference in an animal's survival."
Thus far in 2008, the TRCP has protested close to a quarter-million acres in Wyoming, Colorado and Utah BLM energy sales. In response to the conservation group's Utah protest, the BLM last month deferred several thousand acres from its Feb. 19 lease sale.
"While the BLM's decision to defer this Utah acreage is heartening, the fact remains that identical concerns for big game and sage grouse drove all of the TRCP's 2008 lease protests," said Steve Belinda, manager of the TRCP's energy initiative. "Uniformity of action among BLM offices has been identified by the agency as critical in wildlife management. By employing consistent standards for resource management, the BLM can help ensure a future for both fish and wildlife habitat and America's hunting and fishing heritage."
The TRCP believes that to better balance the concerns of fish and wildlife in the face of accelerating energy development, federal land management agencies must 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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