News for Immediate Release
April 22, 2008

Contact:
Dwayne Meadows, 307-760-6802, dmeadows@trcp.org
Ross Tuckwiller, 304-667-8987, rtuckwiller@trcp.org

TRCP, Citizens Groups Protest Colorado Energy Leases

Headwaters of Rio Grande, North Platte rivers proposed for energy development; federal officials again fail to coordinate with state wildlife agency

WASHINGTON — Concerns for important fish and wildlife habitat in Colorado prompted numerous protests of a Bureau of Land Management energy lease sale by sportsmen's and citizens groups, including one filed today by the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. The 162,000-plus acres of public lands protested by the TRCP encompass crucial big-game winter range and migration routes, vital breeding habitat for greater sage grouse and miles of rivers populated by Rio Grande cutthroat trout and Colorado River cutthroat trout.

Areas proposed for energy development by the BLM include the headwaters and tributaries of two iconic Western rivers, the Rio Grande and the North Platte, and parallel stretches of the Rio Grande classified by the Colorado Division of Wildlife as "gold-medal waters." A designation reserved for the state's highest-quality coldwater fish habitats, gold-medal waters comprise only 168 miles of Colorado's more than 9,000 miles of waterways. The Rio Grande has 22.5 miles of gold-medal waters.

"Energy development as proposed could negatively affect populations of Rio Grande cutthroat trout," said TRCP Field Representative Ross Tuckwiller, who lives in Durango. "Populations of this native trout species already have been reduced to a fraction of their historic range and in some places are at risk of extirpation."

The BLM decision to lease areas of designated Rio Grande cutthroat trout habitat without first consulting with CDOW violates the terms of a multi-agency conservation agreement signed in 2003 by those two agencies and the U.S. Forest Service, among others. Likewise, the agency's decision to lease areas of designated Colorado River cutthroat trout habitat contravenes a similar agreement between the agencies regarding that species, which both the BLM and CDOW acknowledge is a "species of concern" or "sensitive species."

"The BLM keeps opening areas to energy developers without consulting state wildlife monitors," said TRCP Senior Vice President Tom Franklin. "It has happened in Montana and New Mexico, and now we're seeing the same scenario play out in Colorado. The BLM's pattern of missteps is resulting in substantive, on-the-ground impacts to fish and wildlife populations and habitat — the very resources it's charged with managing as part of the public trust."

"Anglers come to Colorado from all over the world to enjoy a quintessentially Western fly-fishing experience," stated Tuckwiller. "Widespread energy development in these areas could irreversibly alter that experience — as well as upend the region's economy and the livelihoods of residents who rely on recreational anglers to help sustain that economy."

The BLM's selection of the protested acreage is based on outdated planning documents and fails to incorporate recent scientific studies about the effects of energy development on species such as mule deer and sage grouse. The BLM is legally required to take a "hard look" at new information or circumstances concerning the environmental consequences of its actions. A 2006 study demonstrating that sage grouse avoid energy development in breeding and wintering seasons indicates that leasing these Colorado public lands could jeopardize populations of the species, currently being considered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for listing under the Endangered Species Act.

"Once these leases have been sold to the energy industry, very little can be done to stop drilling and development activity," said Dwayne Meadows, a TRCP field representative. "We're not asking that energy development on public lands cease. We're simply stating that leasing these public lands, which encompass documented sage grouse habitat, is simply not prudent until the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has rendered a decision regarding the bird's endangered status.

"The BLM is required to coordinate its public-lands management with state agencies," continued Meadows. "The areas being opened by the BLM for drilling include winter range and migration routes identified by the Colorado Division of Wildlife as ‘vital' to the survival and sustainability of big game. Last winter, the BLM field office in Gunnison had to enact emergency closures of public lands in the region to protect animals on winter ranges. If the areas in question are leased to the energy industry, we'll no longer have the ability to protect big game — and, again, local residents and sportsmen will be the first to feel the results.

"Uniformity of action between BLM offices is something the agency has identified as critical in wildlife management," concluded Meadows. "Sadly, the BLM's dogged adherence to its flawed and inconsistent management strategies here in Colorado is risking already-imperiled fish and wildlife populations and America's outdoor traditions."

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.