Our Public Lands

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that the Greater Sage-grouse will have to wait in line for Endangered Species Act protection behind higher-priority species. This so-called “warranted but precluded” designation means federal land managers will continue to treat the sage-grouse as a sensitive species and monitor its numbers and health throughout its range in 11 Western states.

The "warranted but precluded" designation of the Greater Sage-grouse is a wake-up call about the bird’s dwindling numbers and its disappearing sagebrush habitat. Most populations of Greater Sage-grouse have been declining for years due to pressure from energy development, invasive species, fires, herbicides and more recently the West Nile virus.

Endangered wetlands and waterways are the focus of a series of reports released by a coalition of conservation groups this month.  The case studies on Colorado and Montana waters focus on the impact to trout, waterfowl, and other wildlife.

You can read the reports -- released by the National Wildlife Federation, Ducks Unlimited, and Trout Unlimited -- here.

To ask your representatives in Congress to restore protections to water and wetlands under the Clean Water Act, click here.

OurPublicLands members and other citizens sent hundreds of emails in the last month to the BLM concerning the impact of coalbed methane development on the elk herd of Fortification Creek, Wyoming.  In a victory for wildlife and public lands, the BLM director has suspended drilling pending further environmental review.  The Casper Star-Tribune reports, "concerns about elk have prompted the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to suspend coal-bed methane drilling in part of the gas-rich Powder River Basin in northeast Wyoming." Read the full article.

This month, the Men's Journal has written a story about the Roan Plateau in Colorado.  Click here to read the article from Men's Journal.  The article summarizes the fight between energy companies that want to drill 3,200 gas wells on the Roan, and the sportsmen, local outfitters, ranchers, and other outdoor enthusiasts that want to save this precious landscape and the wildlife and game species that depend on it.  Ken Salazar, the Secretary of the Interior, can overturn the leases at any time.  PLEASE CLICK HERE to send an email to Ken Salazar asking him to cancel the gas leases on the Roan.

Wyoming's 120,000-acre Fortification Creek area - and its majestic elk herd - is currently being threatened by rushed plans for coal bed methane gas development.

CLICK HERE to watch recent news video by KOTA TV about the threat to this trophy elk herd by energy development on federal lands.  Then take action by writing to the Bureau of Land Management to oppose any more energy leasing.

It's hard to believe but currently, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service have no standards requiring that land management activities sustain fish and wildlife populations.

The America's Wildlife Heritage Act, H.R. 2807, seeks to change that. Public lands administered by the Forest Service and BLM are supposed to be managed for "multiple uses." The goal of that mandate is to meet the nation's needs for timber, energy, mineral development and livestock grazing, but at the same time ensure that fish and wildlife resources are protected and recreational opportunities are guaranteed.

By Amanda Cardenas

Embarking on a tour of the Atlantic Rim region in Wyoming, one immediately feels the desolation and serenity of a landscape raised by plateaus and mesas and filled with stream-laden valleys carpeted in multiple blue-gray to blue-green species of sagebrush.  It does not take much to find yourself disoriented in this impressive landscape.  In July of 2009, National Wildlife Federation (NWF) attorneys Joe Feller and Michael Saul, NWF Public Lands Organizer Dwayne Meadows, Wyoming Wildlife Federation’s Field Director Joy Bannon, and I found ourselves traversing a landscape that unfortunately may look, sound, and feel much different several decades from now.

On June 15th, 2009 the Western Governors' Association (WGA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released a joint report that takes the first steps toward identifying those areas in the West that have both the potential for large scale development of renewable resources and low environmental impacts.

The Western Governors' Association and U.S. Department of Energy launched the Western Renewable Energy Zones initiative in May 2008. Renewable energy resources are being analyzed within 11 states, two Canadian provinces, and areas in Mexico.

Just a couple weeks ago, a short-sighted proposal to open up Ohio's state parks to oil and gas development was under debate in the General Assembly. State parks provide vital habitat for wildlife, recreation opportunities and clean water for us all. Concerned citizens from all across the state spoke up to safeguard these special places and the Ohio legislature listened! The proposal to allow drilling in Ohio's state parks was removed from the budget and for now, state parks will remain free from drilling. Thanks to everyone who spoke up!

America's public lands — and the fish and wildlife that they call home — are struggling with the effects of a century of hardrock mining. Recognizing that an outdated federal law is to blame for much of the damage, America's sportsmen and conservationists have for decades set their sights on reforming the 1872 Mining Law.

WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW:

On April 2nd, Senate Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman introduced legislation aimed at modernizing the 1872 mining law -- the "Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2009" (S. 796). The Senate Energy Committee plans to take up this legislation on July 14th. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar also supports reform of the legislation, stating that "There is a new administration in town, and we do want to get the 1872 mining law reformed. We are committed to that and are committed to deploying significant resources from the Department of Interior to get this done."

Ask your Senators to support this historic bill...

Read more about the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2009...

UPDATE 3/31/2009 -- On March 30th President Obama signed into law the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009, one of the most sweeping pieces of conservation and public land management legislation in decades.

This legislation includes more than 160 separate public lands proposals that will secure wilderness designation for more than two million acres in nine states, protect over a thousand miles of rushing rivers and streams and give legal status to the 26-million acre National Landscape Conservation System, which protects some of the most spectacular landscapes.

While signing the bill, President Obama stated, "As Americans, we possess few blessings greater than the vast and varied landscapes that stretch the breadth of our continent. Our lands have always provided great bounty -- food and shelter for the first Americans, for settlers and pioneers; the raw materials that grew our industry; the energy that powers our economy. What these gifts require in return is our wise and responsible stewardship."

Timeline:

• On January 15th the U.S. Senate passed the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act.
• On March 11th, the U.S. House failed to pass the bill by just two votes.
• On March 19th, the bill was sent back to the Senate where it passed as an amendment to the Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Battlefield Protection Act (H.R. 146).
• On March 24th, the U.S. House Passed the bill.
• On March 30th, President Obama signed the bill into law.

On November 18th the Bureau of Land Management prematurely finalized regulations to govern the commercial development of oil shale on 2 million acres of federal lands in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. However, the new Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, is stepping in to ensure development does not move forward without sufficient information and environmental protections.

Secretary Salazar recently announced that while the department will consider oil shale as an energy source, it would do so only after cautious and careful consideration. Some of the questions that remain unanswered include the amount of energy required to extract oil from shale rock, the amount of water needed for the process, and the impacts to local watersheds, wildlife habitat and recreation.

Oil and gas development is occurring at an unprecedented rate in the Rocky Mountain West. Millions of acres of wildlife habitat are being converted to industrial zones carved by drill pads, roads, power lines and pipelines. The pace and intensity of this development are quickly overwhelming the ability of wildlife to adapt to a changing landscape.

Our nation needs energy supplies now more than ever, but we must balance development with conserving our public lands that sustain some of the cleanest water, healthiest habitats and finest recreation in North America.