FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 2, 2018
Proposal would strip protections for imperiled bird, increase drilling opportunities for oil and gas companies
DENVER—The Bureau of Land Management released draft environmental impact statements proposing significant changes to sage-grouse conservation efforts in Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Oregon. The original sage-grouse plans, adopted by the Obama administration in 2015, were the result of years of negotiations between Western governors, ranchers, conservationists, and industry, and were designed to keep the imperiled bird off of the endangered species list.
Within the Interior Department, efforts to revise sage-grouse conservation plans were led by Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt, a former oil and gas industry lobbyist with clients that staunchly opposed the plans. In response, the Center for Western Priorities released the following statement from Advocacy Director Jesse Prentice-Dunn:
“The beat rolls on for Secretary Zinke’s plan to increase oil and gas development at all costs. This proposal breaks a compromise deal designed to balance wildlife protections with responsible energy development in favor of a plan to expand drilling at the expense of imperiled wildlife.
“More than 400,000 Americans told this administration to support the sage-grouse and leave these plans alone, but it appears that overwhelming public input was ignored. When you put an oil and gas lobbyist in charge of overhauling wildlife protections, this is what you get.”
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For more information, visit westernpriorities.org. To speak with an expert on public lands, contact Aaron Weiss at 720-279-0019 or aaron@westernpriorities.org. Sign up for Look West to get daily public lands and energy news sent to your inbox.