News for Immediate Release Aug. 17, 2007 Contact: Joel Webster, 406-360-3904, jwebster@trcp.org BLM Withdraws Energy Leases on 42 Parcels in Utah Agency acknowledges that development would harm mule deer and sage grouse habitat WASHINGTON – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced Aug. 15 that it deferred 42 parcels for its Aug. 21 oil and gas lease sale because of wildlife concerns related to mule deer and sage grouse. Of these 42 parcels, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) had officially protested 29 only days earlier. The BLM’s reversal closely follows a similar decision made by the agency in Montana, in which 73,000 acres were pulled from auction after they were protested by the TRCP due to concerns over planning for sage grouse populations. TRCP’s Utah protest covered 46,000 acres in the Deep Creek Range, southern West Tintric and Sheeprock Mountains, and along the Canyon Mountains, Pahvant Range and Valley Mountains. In filing the protest, TRCP cited evidence that the proposed lease areas were located on critical mule deer winter range and lacked the necessary upfront planning and conservation analysis to minimize impacts to deer and future hunting opportunities. “This is positive news for the Utah hunting community,” said TRCP Field Representative Joel Webster. “The BLM was pursuing energy leasing on some of Utah’s finest mule deer habitat without the planning needed to develop that resource in a way that minimized impacts to mule deer and sportsmen. It’s time to formulate an approach to energy development that reduces impacts to fish, wildlife and public uses before lease parcels are sold.” “We hope the BLM takes this opportunity to start managing for multiple uses and begin upfront planning for wildlife in advance of leasing our nation’s public lands,” said William Geer, a TRCP initiative manager and former director of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. “As we’ve seen in other states, poorly planned energy development can disastrously impact big-game hunting opportunities. “Given sportsmen’s contributions to conservation over the past century, the federal government has an obligation to hunters and anglers to take the time to develop our resources the right way,” continued Geer. “TRCP, which acts in the interests of American sportsmen, stands ready to assist the Department of the Interior in devising a new conservation strategy that fits with a sound mineral extraction program.” 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. |