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Environmental groups appeal to Obama for shift in land use

Letter requests changes on leases, oil shale, drilling

By Todd Hartman, Rocky Mountain News

Published January 13, 2009 at 12:05 a.m.

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Some 40 Western environmental groups are asking the incoming Obama administration for a fundamental shift in the way the federal government manages energy production in Colorado and the West.

In a detailed, 17-page letter, the groups cite a litany of Bush administration actions they say have put energy development too far ahead of other land uses, including wilderness and wildlife protection. Much of the letter identifies locations at risk in Colorado.

"We urge the Obama administration to restore balance to the management of our public lands and resources and to ensure that oil and gas development does not compromise the West's water, air, wildlife and rural communities," the letter said.

The letter, written in December but released Monday, puts more pressure on the nominee for Interior secretary, U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, who must juggle the demands of many environmental and conservation groups with the desire of an industrial coalition for continued access to federal lands.

An advocate for energy development said the letter and other recent documents from environmental activists show their real interest is in shutting down industry on public lands.

"They're truly feeling their oats after this election," said Greg Schnacke, of the Golden-based pro-drilling group Americans for American Energy. "They've got the wherewithal to dramatically curtail, if not shut down, huge tracts of land . . . that otherwise would be available to energy development."

Activists want changes in policies at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which, under President Bush, made numerous internal shifts designed to ease approval for oil and gas drilling and harder for land managers to consider other, competing factors when leasing land to energy companies. In Colorado, the groups seek:

* Suspension or cancellation of leases issued on 55,000 acres atop the Roan Plateau near Rifle, as well leases OK'd by the U.S. Forest Service to drill in the HD Mountains roadless area near Durango.

* Protection of sensitive lands in the Vermillion Basin in northwestern Colorado. The BLM is revising land management plans for the area, and activists want the agency to "work with local and national conservation groups to channel drilling away from citizen proposed wilderness areas."

* An executive order directing federal agencies to coordinate with the Western Governor's Association to make wildlife protection a bigger priority when considering oil and gas development. Big game herds are in decline, and several species, including the sage grouse, are close to becoming endangered, the letter said.

* A withdrawal of commercial oil shale leasing rules issued by the BLM last November and a review of its approach to oil shale. The federal government "has acknowledged that oil shale development will compromise a major source of water . . . destroy important wildlife habitat and contribute substantially to climate change," the letter says.

hartmant@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5048

Comments

  • January 13, 2009

    6:35 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Freedom writes:

    I believe treason is in progress by the environmental extremists, why would I think that? They wish to takes some of our public land away from the right to mine or drill for oil, natural Gas, or Geo thermo wells. These Oil, Natural Gas and Geothermal enriched lands are strategic natural resources, strategic to the security of our nation. To make public land policy that denies these resources to the benefit of the American people for our national security is an act of treason: At least an attempt to conspire to make restrictive land use laws that results to weaken our access to our national resources could be interpreted as a conspiracy to commit treason, and a Grand Jury should be assembled to investigate.

  • January 14, 2009

    12:41 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    ElPescador writes:

    Hunters, anglers, and those that appreciate our public lands resources including oil and gas, are only seeking for balance. Energy industry in Colorado currently enjoys some of the largest financial incentives in the world, certainly the most in the U.S., and oil and gas industry are currently being given priority use of public lands with dramatic staggering increases in production and leasing over the last 8 years.

    Our lands are to be managed under multiple use management imperatives and energy production is currently the dominant use putting wildlife, habitat, hunters, anglers, and other user groups in the back seat for a finite resource that will dry up soon. We need to establish responsible development practices while maintaining our western heritage and public lands integrity so that we provide a stable example of natural resources stewardship for generations to come. Recreation, hunting, fishing, and related public lands uses provide billions to the west annually and are sustainable over time. Oil and gas are not and while we need to develop those resources, proponents of the "drill here drill now" philosophy need to reevaluate so that we reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and begin innovating like true Americans again to shift reliance. Renewables need to be developed responsibly as well.

    Poorly placed wind farms and solar fields will have many of the same impacts as oil and gas on our wildlife habitat and landscapes. I came across some very good recommendations recently that can be applied across these sectors. The provide real solutions for resource management and a responsible road map for encouraging oil and gas development while maintaining the other important, if not more important, public lands assets like wildlife and connected, unfragmented habitat corridors. Check out Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development to read their recommendations: http://sportsmen4responsibleenergy.org/

    Hunters and anglers like me acknowledge our need to continue developing oil and gas resources responsibly while preserving the heritage of our public lands and western resources understand that the challenge here is to achieve certainty for wildlife, habitat, and access in the same manner industry asks for certainty in business.